Gösta Vestlund

1913 - Now

Personal Data

•    Born in 1913 in the Dalecarlia region of Sweden into a poor small farmer family.
•    Found an intellectual and emotional home in the folk high school, which brings together people of different backgrounds and vocations.   

Education

•    Students at private Sigtuna grammar school.
•  Degree in history, political science, geography, education and psychology at Uppsala University.

Employment 

•    Became unemployed in the 1930s and was directed into a folk high school as part of a state-run employment programme. 
•    Was teacher and rector in 1934—1982 at different folk high schools (e.g. Brunnsvik, Sigtuna and Tollare).
•    Worked at the national board of education in 1956—1978 as inspector of folk high schools.

Awards and Honors

•  Consulted the building of a folk high school network in Tanzania in the 1970s.  

•  Vestlund is considered the “Grand Old Man” of popular adult education in Sweden.  

•  In 1984, he received an honrary doctorate from the University of Linköping in Sweden and in 2006 he was given Illis Quorum, the highest award that could be conferred upon an individual Swedish citizen by the Swedish government. 

Publications

Folkuppfostran, folkupplysning, folkbildning: det svenska folkets bildningshistoria : en översikt by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Arbetsglädjens problem by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Hur vårdar vi vår demokrati? : en undersökning av föreningslivets och folkbildningsarbetets betydelse för demokratin by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Folkhögskolans interna demokrati : sammanfattning av undersökningar 1967-1987 by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Klassresa utan kupébyte : några livsminnen by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Hela vuxenutbildningen! : en framtidsbild i historiens ljus (Book)

Global livssyn på väg? : om tro och värderingar i ett sextiotal länder by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

The Scandinavian folk high schools by Gösta Vestlund (Book)

Årsboken och informationen om forskning by Gösta Vestlund

Folkrörelserna inför 2000-talet by Gösta Vestlund

The Scandinavian folk high schools: Workshop -83, Arusha, Tanzania, Nov. 15th - 25th, 1983 by Gösta Vestlund(Book)

Major Contributions to Adult Education

Gosta's lifelong dedication has been to strengthen and develop popular adult education at home and internationally. Gosta is still active, reflecting on the future of popular adult education, the situation of mankind today–with emphasis on young people–and the possibilities of keeping and developing a democratic society.

Additional Resources

Articles

http://www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu/2015/Vestlund.html

Video/Audio

http://www.elmmagazine.eu/theme-issues/issue-3-2013/print  

Interesting Facts

Likes: How infinitely! Sports for example. And people who in a peaceful way forward their views so that they can be debated.
Dislikes: Unwarranted reasoning.
 

References

http://insideoutreach.ou.edu/?p=3712

http://www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu/2015/Vestlund.html

http://www.lararnasnyheter.se/pedagogiska-magasinet/2012/11/20/folkhogskolans-grand-old-man