This thesis focuses on the Swedish folk high school and the work of this type of school in the practical and artistic subject sector. This sector is defined to comprise the subjects history of art, drawing, and male and female craft education. The overall aim is to describe the status of these subjects in the folk high school and what traces the way the folk high school has handled its freedom has left in the subject activities. The study describes the relationship between the subject group and other folk high school activities and how the subject work has taken shape and developed as to organisation and design and what it is that has influenced this development. Elements from comtemporary public discussions on culture and education, if there are any in the subject activities, have also been dealt with. Restrictions as to time have been made by a concentration of the investigation on the situation in the folk high school and the practical and artistic subject group during five school years viz. the school years 1900-1, 1928-9, 1960-1 and 1978-9. The activity of some separate schools during theses periods have been described in close-ups. For each of the four periods the working conditions in this type of school, this subject group and some separate schools have been described.

The main object of study of this investigation has been written documents (articles in magazines, annual reports, minutes, teachers' records) which the folk high school actors have produced. For the handling of this historical source material I have applied a functional concept of source. I have also referred to theories in the area of culture and education.

Of the practical and artistic subjects the two craft education subjects existed during four, and history of art and drawing during three of the periods. The distribution of courses in the subjects was uneven and meant that some subjects had many and other subjects no elements at all. It was characteristic of the distribution that the practical and artistic activities were separated from the winter courses (the general courses) and were concentrated to special courses  During the 1970 period these courses had a considerable increase in numbers. In its large and free scope for lessons the folk high schools gave priority to qualifying subjects. Room was seldom left for the practical and artistic subjects. Typical for teachers of the subject group was that they, to a large extent, had temporary terms of employment.

During the studied periods the subject activities lacked elements from the contemporary cultural debate. The subject work in the history of art was carried out in the same unaltered manner. Male and female craft education was changed as to content but retained a similar methodological direction. Drawing, on the other hand, changed both as to content and methods. In the area of pedagogic there were methodological impulses from the externally recruited teachers who introduced working methods from other educational institutions.

The relationship between these subjects and other folk high school activities and other organisational circumstances have been of decisive influence for the design and development of this subject group. These circumstances have interacted and resulted in a weak subject debate, a heterogenous teaching-staff and a weak subject identity