Challenging Epistemic Injustices in Swedish Adult Education as Ethical Issues

Based on a longitudinal study comprising two consecutive action-based and linguistic-ethnographic projects in Swedish adult education offered to students labeled as intellectually disabled, this paper examines how teachers in these programs challenged structural injustices. Guided by Nikolaidis’ (2023) theorizing of structural epistemic injustice in education, we show how two teachers challenged diminishing educational opportunities, limited lesson time, and ableist representations of students. In group discussions, these teachers questioned epistemic injustices regarding educational rights and suggested alternative ways of doing and knowing. Over time, one teacher took action by expanding and enriching the learning space. This paper demonstrates how epistemic activism can emerge within everyday educational practice, potentially disrupting the identified injustices. We also offer a critical discussion of teacher ‘heroism’ as a response to structural failure, including the risk of exploiting teachers’ emotional labor when defending and repeatedly explaining their students’ epistemic worth.