This study investigates the professional learning of school leaders in Swedish Municipal Adult Education (SMAE) as they engage in pedagogical leadership through action research. Conducted within a university course, the study explores how leaders address local challenges and foster praxis development by embedding learning in everyday practice. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures, analysis of leaders’ written reports reveals how they re-engaged with practice through problematisation, reconfigured practice arrangements, and enabled teacher agency. Action research emerged as both a methodological and transformative tool, supporting collaborative inquiry and reflective dialogue. Leaders shifted towards facilitative, co-constructed leadership, cultivating professional communities grounded in trust and shared responsibility. The course structure effectively integrated theory and practice, promoting sustainable educational change. While the sample size was limited, the study offers rich, practice-based insights into leadership as a relational and transformative process, contributing to the understanding of professional learning in adult education contexts.

This study examines principals’ leadership practices within Swedish Municipal Adult Education (SMAE), focusing on strategies for advancing inclusive education in a marketised system. Data consist of observation notes from dialogical network meetings with twenty-three principals and one quality manager representing twelve municipalities, organised collaboratively by the National Agency for Education and a university. The analysis applies the theory of practice architectures as both a theoretical lens and methodological tool. Findings reveal that principals operate within a complex and often contradictory educational landscape. Their strategic actions – such as creative financial manoeuvring and cross-sector collaboration – demonstrate adaptability while exposing ethical tensions under systemic constraints. The principals’ leadership strategies emerge as a situated, adaptive practice shaped by fragmented policy and governance environments. The study provides insights into how principals can lead transformative change by adopting alternative approaches and leveraging collaborative strategies to advance inclusive education across institutional and community contexts.

There is increasing interest in research-based education in the Western World as it is assumed to strengthen school improvementcapacity. Previous research shows that school principals play a pivotal role in realising such vision. The aim of this article is toexplore the influence of principals on research-based education in their local municipal adult education (MAE) institutions. Thestudy is informed by the theory of practice architecture. Data rely on 10 interviews with the principals of eight local MAE insti-tutions. The study draws attention to how inherent contradictions in the national education system may hinder the policy am-bitions related to research-based adult education. These contradictions not only affect principals' leadership practices in variousways, but also their ability to ensure research-based adult education. It is suggested that understanding the practice architectureis fundamental to enhancing leadership practice, which is also exemplified.

 Principals in Sweden face significant challenges. While there is a national professional training program for principals, they may find themselves working in vastly different contexts, ranging from preschools to specialized schools and adult education (Portfelt, 2021). Sweden’s 290 municipalities vary greatly in size, population, and economic resources, all of which impact the conditions under which principals work to achieve educational goals (Mufic & Fejes, 2022). This variability is particularly evident in municipal adult education (MAE), where the municipality retains overarching responsibility for education, regardless of whether it is outsourced or managed in-house (Mufic, 2023). Previous research highlights that principals’ perceptions of their roles are influenced by how adult education is organized in their specific municipality (Bjursell, et al., 2015; Portfelt, 2021). Studies have also shown that principals in MAE emphasize its complexity, particularly in understanding the intricate regulatory framework, which - due to its general guidelines - can be implemented in different ways across municipalities (Bjursell, et al., 2015; Holmqvist, Andersson & Muhrman, 2024; Mufic, 2024).  To improve quality and equity in MAE, the Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE) has established networks across the country specifically targeting principals (Mufic, unpublished). These networks focus on systematic quality work (SQW) and aim to provide principals with opportunities to meet, exchange experiences, and develop their approaches to the improvement of quality assurance processes, thereby developing principals’ professional learning. Despite the fact that MAE enrolls almost as many students as upper secondary school (SNAE, 2024), there is a notable lack of research and knowledge about this kind of education – especially in the light of the new network initiative from SNAE. Earlier studies have highlighted that teacher education does not adequately prepare teachers to work with adult learners (Fejes, 2019); similarly, one might question how well the national professional training program for principals equips principals to manage adult education (Portfelt, 2024).   Given the demand for insights into the professional learning of MAE principals from both researchers and practitioners, this study aims to investigate how principals’ professional learning manifests during network meetings and to identify what enables or constrains their learning within the specific network context. The study takes its point of departure from the following questions: How do principals’ professional learning practices manifest during network meetings? What enable or constrain their learning within the specific network context? How can these arrangements be reconfigured to better enable and support their professional learning? The site of the network is seen as a practice that is focused within a specific time and space. Given this focus, the study employs the framework of theory of practice architecture (Kemmis et al. 2014).  By focusing on the professional learning of principals within the decentralized, market-oriented, and fragmented context of Swedish adult education, the study situates itself within a case of international relevance. The expected outcome is a deeper understanding of how professional learning is manifested during the network meetings, how arrangements enable as well as constrain principals’ professional learning, as well as how these arrangements can be improved to support professional learning.

 The empirical material for this study comprises observations of a series of network meetings organized by the SNAE between 2022 and 2023. This data includes observations of ten network meetings focused on SQW  and the needs of newly arrived students. Attendees included in totalt 15 principals. Besides from one in person meeting, the rest of the sessions took place online, facilitating accessibility for participants across diverse geographic locations. The structure of the meetings varied, incorporating guest lectures, updates on recent policy changes, and open discussion time where participants engaged with one another, raised questions, and shared perspectives on key topics. This flexible structure encouraged active dialogue, enabling participants to share practical experiences and strategies relevant to their own contexts.  The observational approach was non-participatory (Cooper & Schindler, 2001), with the researcher acting as a passive observer to capture a detailed account of the meetings without influencing their content. Detailed observational notes were taken during the meeting. The methodological choice provided an opportunity to observe network meetings as they unfolded, offering valuable ‘in situ’ insights into both the verbal and non-verbal dynamics of discussion and decision-making in a collaborative educational setting (Wellington, 2015). The participants were aware of the researchers precense, a fact that may have affected what was said and done during the network meetings. All participants were informed of the study’s purpose, and written consent was obtained from each attendee. As no sensitive personal data was collected, ethical approval was not required, in line with regulations from the Swedish Research Council (2024).  Data have been analyzed through the framework of theory of practice architecture (Kemmis et al. 2014), with a particular focus on revealing the surrounding arrangements that enable as well as constrain the principals’ professional learning within the networking context, arrangement by the Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE). This analysis does not only reveal the practice architecture of the network and how it influences principals’ professional learning, it also enables the identification of how the network arrangements can be improved to support professional learning.

 The expected outcome is a deeper understanding of how professional learning is manifested during the network meetings, how arrangements enable as well as constrain principals’ professional learning, as well as how these arrangements can be improved to support professional learning. The network meetings emerge as a crucial platform for professional learning, enabling principals to share experiences, reflect on policy obligations, and navigate competing demands. This collaborative space fosters the development of locally tailored strategies while addressing the ambiguities of policy frameworks.   The study also highlights evaluation and review practices, showing how principals adapt these processes to their municipalities’ unique conditions. The findings reveal that vague policies allow for local innovation but also introduce inconsistencies and "messy" practices.

By focusing on MAE, the study contributes to the understanding of leadership in adult education, addressing a significant gap in both research and practice. It emphasizes the importance of professional networks and SQW in navigating the complexities of decentralized education systems, offering actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners.

References

 Bjursell, C., Chaib, C., Falkner, C., & Ludvigsson, A. (2015). Kvalitetsarbete i vuxenutbildning. Nomen.  

Cooper, D. C., & Schindler, P. S. (2001). Business Research Methods(7th Ed.). McGraw-Hill. Fejes, A. (2019). Redo för komvux? Hur förbereder ämneslärarprogrammen och yrkeslärarprogrammen studenter för arbete i kommunal vuxenutbildning? https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1320505/FULLTEXT01.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj1ndbO9O2JAxXXKRAIHeLaLmQQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0vo2TWOAeg7jkofNfGqykw 

Holmqvist, D., Andersson, P., & Muhrman, K. (2024). Fast delivery, on demand: how flexibility and individualization policy are enacted in Swedish municipal adult education. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 10(1), 60-72. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2024.2339402 

Mufic, J. (2023). How the concept of the “chain of command” is construed through problematizations in Swedish adult education policy. International Journal of Leadership in Education. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2023.2272138 

Mufic, J. (2024). Skolchef i komvux - mellan politik och rekror i styrkedjan. Utbildning & Demokrati, 33(1), 111-134. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.48059/uod.v33i1.2282 

Mufic, J. (unpublished). School leaders’ perspectives on managing systematic quality work in a decentralised and market-oriented adult education system.  

Mufic, J., & Fejes, A. (2022). 'Lack of quality' in Swedish adult education: a policy study. Journal of Education Policy,37(2), 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2020.1817567  

Portfelt, I. (2021). Komvuxrektorers autonomi - frivillig eller påtvingad? In B. Ahlström, G. Berg, M. Håkansson Lindqvist, & F. Sundh (Eds.), Att jobba som rektor - om rektorer som profesionella yrkesutövare (pp. 137-151). Studentlitteratur. 

Portfelt, I. (2024). Att leda lokal skolutveckling i komvux med aktionsforskande ansats. I Ove Johansson och Lars Svedberg (Eds.), Att leda mot skolans mål (pp. 133-145). Gleerups. 

SNAE. (2024). Elever och studieresultat i kommunal vuxenutbildning 2023. https://www.skolverket.se/skolutveckling/statistik/fler-statistiknyheter/statistik/2024-06-11-elever-och-studieresultat-i-kommunal-vuxenutbildning-2023 

Swedish Research Council. (2024). God forskningssed. https://www.vr.se/analys/rapporter/vara-rapporter/2024-10-02-god-forskningssed-2024.html 

Wellington, J. (2015). Educational Research (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.   

Den svenska kommunala vuxenutbildningen, komvux, utmanas av stora kvalitetsproblem. Under 2022 var 397 000 individer registrerade i kurser inom komvux. Endast 65 procent av dessa uppnådde godkända betyg, vilket kan jämföras med gymnasieskolan där 79,7 procent av eleverna fullföljde sina studier på nationellt program med godkända betyg, och 74,1 procent av eleverna i grund-skolan hade godkänt i alla ämnen (Skolverket 2023). Målgruppen i komvux är heterogen, varav merparten har kort utbildningsbakgrund och behov avstöd i sitt lärande. Trots målgruppens behov saknar komvux lagkrav att orga-nisera elevhälsa. Komvux förväntas därmed att med olikvärdiga förutsättningar utbilda de individer som grund- och gymnasieskolan misslyckats med. Avsikten är att komvux ska klara att möta målgruppens behov genom att individanpassa utbildningen utifrån elevens individuella behov och förutsättningar. Forskning visar emellertid att marknadiseringen av komvux snarare har ökat standardisering av undervisning än individanpassat utbildningen, och att standardiseringenär baserat på ett förlegat antagande om att vuxna elever är självgående i sina studier just för att de är vuxna (Fejes m.fl. 2016). Ökad standardisering leder till avprofessionalisering, hävdar Fejes med flera (2016), och till att elever i behov avstöd i lärandet inte möts ändamålsenligt. Avprofessionaliseringsprocessen kan möjligtvis bidra till att förklara varför komvux hade högre rektorsomsättning än grundskolan och gymnasiet under 2021 (Portfelt 2021) och att 69 procent avtillfrågade lärare i komvux övervägde att lämna skolformen under 2022 (Skol-världen 2022). En sådan professionell massflykt underminerar den stabilitet och långsiktighet i skolledarskap och lärarkollegium som utgör förutsättning för framgångsrik skolutveckling (Hargreaves & Harris 2015; Ärlestig m.fl. 2016;Grissom m.fl. 2021; Hargreaves & Harris, 2015; Ärlestig, Day & Johansson,2016) och som är så välbehövlig och efterfrågad i komvux. Det saknas därmed inte utmaningar i att bedriva lokal skolutveckling i komvux.

Ska lokal skolutveckling i komvux dessutom drivas på vetenskaplig grundoch beprövad erfarenhet i enlighet med skollagens krav blir utmaningarna ännu större. Det saknas nämligen skolutvecklingsforskning om och i komvux(Fejes & Henning Loeb 2021). Nationell rektorsutbildning har därmed svårt att spegla komvux uppdrag och kontext och de konsekvenser detta får för ledarskapspraktiken. Därmed kan det vara svårt att förbereda blivande rektorer påde utmaningar de kan komma att möta i komvux. Detta kan möjligen förklara varför yrkesverksammas dialoger om kvalitet i komvux tenderar att fokusera på bristen på kvalitet snarare än på att definiera vad kvalitet i komvux är eller kan vara (Mufic 2022) och framför allt hur denna kan utvecklas.Det här kapitlet fokuserar på hur rektorer i komvux kan leda lokal skolutveckling på vetenskaplig grund och beprövad erfarenhet genom att tillämpa en aktionsforskande ansats. Sådana ansatser kan användas i vilka skolformer som helst när förbättringsarbete initieras, men kan vara särskilt väl lämpade i komvuxkontexten då skolutvecklingsforskning saknas. I kapitlet beskrivs ett exempel på en rektor som använde en sådan ansats inom ramen för en fortbildningskurs för vuxenutbildningsrektorer organiserad av Karlstads universitet 2021/2022 i samverkan med Mittuniversitetet och Stockholms universitet. Av exemplet framgår komvux särskiljande drag som formar en unik ledarskapskontext och hur detta sammantaget inverkar på förutsättningarna för att bedriva lokal skolutveckling. Där framgår även hur rektor tillsammans med medarbetare kom att utforma utprövande aktioner för att förbättra praktiken.Kapitlet avslutas med en kort diskussion om den aktionsforskande ansatsens betydelse för den lokala skolutvecklingen i komvux i exemplet, liksom för kom-vuxrektorns utveckling av en egen pedagogisk ledarskapspraktik, samt kapitletshuvudsakliga teser.

The aim of this study is to explore what happened – and why – in a collaboration between ourselves as researchers and school leaders from two different schools in Sweden. The theory of practice architectures is used to frame the study. The goal of the collaboration was to enhance the scientific foundation of school practices, which motivated the use of action research as the methodological approach for designing the collaboration. The results allow us to propose a number of critical aspects to take into consideration when establishing a collaboration between researchers and school leaders. The first aspect concerns aiming for co-ownership and an equivalent collaboration. These involve trustful and respectful relations, empowering individuals in their professional roles. The second aspect is linked to attention to local infrastructures and the importance of organisational settings that facilitate a holistic approach and a shared understanding of the aims of both the research and the collaboration. The third and final aspect is related to school leaders’ legitimacy to organise research-based school improvements. School leaders are responsible for educational quality in schools, and this makes them best suited for leading school improvements. However, theoretical frameworks and methods introduced by researchers can support the ambition to enhance the scientific foundation of school practices. We advocate the development of practices inhabited by school practitioners and school researchers within the educational complex. In addition, we promote the creation of healthy environments in the form of arrangements that create spaces where equivalent collaborations, shared responsibility and co-ownership may grow.

Background and study context

Principals’ professional learning is an essential practice within the educational complex (Kemmis,2022). The aims vary depending on situation, time, and context, which also affects how schools’ ownersmake arrangements for principals’ professional learning. The professional learning we discuss in thispresentation is a Master course designed as action research and planned in collaboration between aschool superintendent in a Swedish municipality and two researchers (also authors of this text) in aSwedish university.

 Principals’ professional learning is an essential practice within the educational complex (Kemmis, 2022). The aims vary depending on situation, time, and context, which also affects how schools’ owners make arrangements for principals’ professional learning. The professional learning we discuss in this presentation is a Master course designed as action research and planned in collaboration between a school superintendent in a Swedish municipality and two researchers (also authors of this text) in a Swedish university. 

The school superintendent was the one who took the initiative and contacted the university with a request to arrange a Master course for interested principals in compulsory schools in the municipality. Initially, the superintendent contacted the person who was responsible for the regular Master programme, but for various reasons it turned out to be difficult to find a solution that fitted the needs in the municipality and the superintendent’s expectations. Therefore, the school superintendent took the question further, which finally resulted in contact with two action researchers who are also engaged within the national school leader training programs. In the continuing process, a specific professional learning course is organised especially designed to suit the school superintendent’s ideas and thoughts, and based on the researchers’ knowledge about action research and findings from a previous study on collaboration between school leaders and researchers (Forssten Seiser & Portfelt, 2022). In that previous study, the results reveal the crucial role of the initiation of this kind of collaboration, the prerequisite of co-ownership, and the importance of relations built on trust and respect for each other’s professions, knowledge, and expertise. The study also stresses the importance of setting the arrangements for the collaboration in good time before proceeding to the work. 

The present study aims to explore the initiation process of the collaboration between the municipality and the university in the design of the first part of the course, and its influence on the principals’ professional learning in terms of their pedagogical leadership. The research questions are; ·      

What was the purpose of the course and the collaboration between the partners, and how was it developed in the collaboration practice?·    

How was the initiation part of the course developed in collaboration practice throughout the first semester?·    

How has the design of the first part of the course influenced principals’ professional learning about their pedagogical leadership and local school improvement so far?

These questions will be considered through the lens of the theory of practices architecture (Kemmis et al. 2014). The theory stresses that practices are human-made and socially established; therefore, it highlights the role of the participant in the practice and in the shaping of the practice (Kaukko & Wilkinson, 2020). According to Kemmis et al. (2014), a practice is constituted by the sayings, doings, and relatings that hang together in the project of a specific practice. These sayings, doings, and relatings are prefigured, but not predetermined, by practice architectures present in or brought into the site. Sayings are prefigured by the cultural-discursive arrangements in a site, doings are prefigured by the material-economic arrangements in a site; and relatings are prefigured by the social-political arrangements in a site.

Methods/methodology

The study has an action research approach, and is based on qualitative data such as notes carried out by one of the researchers who was the educator in the initiation stage of the course, an audio recording from an individual semistructured interview with the school superintendent (60 min), and individually written assignments produced by 16 participating principals in the course. The participants were fully informed about the research project and their rights in accordance with research ethics, and have given their consent to participate in recordings, analyses, and reports of the findings. The study has been approved by the local university’s ethical committee. The interviews have been transcribed.  Data have been transferred into the qualitative software programme NVivo. First, data were sorted out of relevance for this particular study. Second, data were coded into sayings, doings, and relatings in accordance with the theoretical framework. Third, coded sayings, doings, and relatings were analysed to identify its surrounding arrangements; the cultural-discursive, the material-economic, and the social-political arrangements. In the fourth phase, the interrelations between the arrangements were analysed to reveal the practice architecture of the collaboration practice, how it shaped the principals’ professional learning, and its constraining and enabling traits (Kemmis et al., 2014).  The outcomes are reliable for this specific practice and context only, and are not generalizable.

Expected results

The purpose of the course and collaborationAt an early stage of the collaboration, a shared vision of the purpose of the course was formulated; to create an advanced professional training course for principals that corresponds with their needs of developing their pedagogical leadership to meet the challenges on their local schools, and integrate the course with the already existing meeting structures on the local municipality level. The traditional Master course at the university would not have enabled such integration. By setting up the entire course as an action research study, the principals could use the course to explore their practice when attempting to improve their local schools, and to improve their skills to use scientific approaches. The purpose of the collaboration became to enable principals’ professional learning on the Master level, integrated in everyday practice.  

The development of the first part of the course. The first part of the course was negotiated by the partners to focus on interview methods and qualitative analysis, to enable the principals to explore the challenges in their local schools, and how they are related to their pedagogical leadership. An overall frame of the course was set in terms of content and scheduled. Time, space, and resources were distributed. Content and time were renegotiated as each step of the course was evaluated, and adjusted along the course to meet the principals on the right level, at the right time. As both partners had experience as school leaders as well as researchers, there was a mutual understanding and respect for each other’s roles and competencies.

The influence on principals’ professional learningSo far, the design of the course seems to have influenced principals’ understanding of the importance of using scientific approaches to address local school challenges, and how their pedagogical leadership is related to other local practices.  

References

Forssten Seiser, A., & Portfelt, I. (2022). Critical aspects to consider when establishing collaboration between school leaders and researchers: two cases from Sweden. Educational action research, 1-16.

Kaukko, M., & Wilkinson, J. (2020). “Learning how to go on”: Refugee students and informal learning practices. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(11), 1175–1193. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1514080

Kemmis, S., J. Wilkinson, C. Edwards-Groves, I. Hardy, P. Grootenboer, and L. Bristol. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. Singapore: Springer. Kemmis, S. (2022). Transforming Practices: Changing the World with the Theory of Practice Architectures. Springer Singapore.   

Presentationen beskriver ett unikt samverkansprojekt mellan ett universitet och en kommun där magisterkurser anpassats till rektorers behov av professionellt lärande och lokal skolutveckling. Hela utbildningen har utformats som ett aktionsforskningsprojekt där rektorerna undersöker och utvecklar sin egna praktik genom tillämpning av aktionsforskande ansats. Samverkanspraktiken mellan universitetet och kommunen följeforskas.