Salvation or a Broken Promise? Two Adult Graduates’ Social Positioning in Education and Working Life.

Finland has been celebrated as a country where everyone has the possibility to educate themselves and to get ahead in life through education. However, social differences of educability continue to persist and social differences of employability are further construed in the neo-liberal market economy. In this article we will examine 2 adult graduates’ educational and working life histories based on an 8-year qualitative follow-up study. Lisa with a working-class background and Henri from a middle-class family have both graduated from general upper-secondary school for adults and also accomplished higher education degrees in adulthood. Lisa and Henri's cases show how class and gender, as well as age, intertwine in the construction of educability and employability in different narrative environments. Based on our analysis, academic education may turn out as a broken promise instead of a great salvation with good occupational prospects for individuals like Lisa with a working-class background. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]