The Scandinavian countries have a strong tradition of popular education, aiming to empower individuals and communities, rather than merely implementing a State agenda. In Sweden, popular education is notably connected to ideas of participatory democracy. It also brings with it a re-evaluation of which skills and which kinds of knowledge are relevant, emphasising young people’s own lifeworld, holistic development and creativity. Swedish leisure-time pedagogy and the after-school activity centres draw on the tradition of popular education in terms of basic values, while being publicly funded as an institution, and therefore subject to changing education policies (Haglund & Klerfelt, 2013). Education and training of leisure-time pedagogues is formalised, and takes place alongside other teacher training programmes in schools of education. The current debates and shifts in Sweden educational policy have increasingly run in the direction of reducing the autonomy of leisure-time pedagogy, and instead framing the activity centres as an instrument to support school achievement. Recently, the suggestion has even been put forward to use the centres for homework and remedial after-school tutoring. The presentation will outline some of the important characteristics of Swedish leisure-time pedagogy, and summarise recent threats to its autonomy, as well as movements of resistance.