Abstract
The official position of the Swedish government is that municipal adult education should be learner-centered rather than teacher-centered and problem-oriented rather than subject-oriented. The research reported here sought to determine the extent to which the official position is reflected in actual classroom practice. Detailed analyses of classroom interactions, coupled with survey responses from interviews with participants, teachers, and principals, revealed a substantial discrepancy between the governmental ideals and the reality of classroom practice. A theoretical framework is presented in an effort to interpret that discrepancy and to understand more fully the factors that shape the instructional process.
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