How do participants in further education perceive society, and how are societal images and educational interests interconnected? What might change during a longer period of further education? The authors have explored these questions in an extensive empirical study. They build on a previously neglected research tradition in adult education. The study breaks new ground in several respects: on one hand, a qualitative longitudinal study was conducted with learning groups from various professional training programs, and on the other hand, societal images were linked to Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus as well as to Klaus Holzkamp's learning and interest approach. As a result, the study provides a typology of differentiated societal images, the reconstruction of which is illustrated through empirical case analyses. Important findings include: societal images.