Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet

Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Learning with dignity: a Capability approach to Church language cafés as spaces of holistic language learning and social well-being
Linköping University, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Education and Adult Learning. Linköping University, Faculty of Educational Sciences.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4112-4806
2026 (English)In: International Journal of Lifelong Education, ISSN 0260-1370, E-ISSN 1464-519XArticle in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

This study aims to challenge dominant, efficiency-driven approaches to migrant language learning by foregrounding the under-researched phenomenon of Church Language Caf & eacute;s (CLCs) in Sweden. It interrogates how these community-rooted spaces create learning conditions that resist labour-market logics and instead foster dignity, belonging, and existential well-being. Drawing on a qualitative ethnographic case study of six CLCs, including participatory observations, informal conversations, seven in-depth interviews and digital artefacts, the analysis follows participants' spatial movements through these venues to develop a five-part model of core qualities: self-governance, community, study-circle learning, work-life connection, and existential values. Interpreted through the Capability Approach, these qualities reveal how CLCs expand migrants' social opportunities and challenge the instrumentalism shaping both Swedish and European adult education landscapes. The study ultimately shows that holistic, dignity-centred learning environments are not peripheral supplements but crucial counterpoints to prevailing so-called 'integration' frameworks - inviting a rethinking of what meaningful language learning could entail.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD , 2026.
Keywords [en]
Adult learning; capability approach; church language caf & eacute
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-226589DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2026.2705492ISI: 001828449700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105045496655OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-226589DiVA, id: diva2:2092324
Note

Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council [2021-00526]; Forte [2021-00526] Funding Source: Forte; Swedish Research Council [2021-00526] Funding Source: Swedish Research Council

Available from: 2026-08-14 Created: 2026-08-14 Last updated: 2026-08-14

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Nordqvist Färnskog, Martina
By organisation
Education and Adult LearningFaculty of Educational Sciences
In the same journal
International Journal of Lifelong Education
Pedagogy

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 5 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf