Competing discourses and the positioning of students in an adult basic education programme

This article presents a case study of the learning processes of students enrolled in anadult basic education programme in the social and health care sector in Denmark.Theoretically the project draws on 'positioning theory', i.e. a poststructuralistapproach. The issues being researched are how the students are positioned and positionthemselves in relation to the discourses mobilised in the programme. A qualitativeinquiry, the empirical aspects consist of observations, interviews and studyingdocuments. In addition to suggesting that competition exists between the opposingdiscourses mobilised in the programme, the preliminary constructions presented in thisarticle point to processes that involve the inclusion and exclusion of students.