The data consist of interview transcripts of individuals who were active in student associations in secondary schools in Finland. The interviewees' experiences are situated in Iisalmi, Kuopio, and Oulu during the 1950s-1970s. Most of the interviewees had served as active members of student associations, such as chairpersons or secretaries; some identified themselves as ordinary members, and two interviewees had served as teacher curators (faculty advisers) of student associations.

At the beginning of the interviews, respondents were asked to briefly describe their life course as well as their childhood and adolescent living environments. They were then asked to recount their educational paths and entry into secondary school, and to describe the school atmosphere, fellow students, and teachers. After this, they were asked to discuss their school's student association, its activities, and their own roles within it, using concrete examples. With some interviewees, supplementary materials such as photographs or copies of student association meeting minutes or annual reports were used. Interviewees were also asked, among other things, to reflect on gender roles in student association activities, their political or non-political character, and their relationship to wider society. In addition, interviewees were asked to share their views on the activities and history of the national umbrella organization of student associations, the Finnish Union of Secondary School Students. Finally, interviewees were asked to summarize the significance that student association activities had had for their personal lives and, more broadly, for Finnish secondary schooling.

Four of the interviews were conducted as paired interviews, with the remainder being individual interviews. In total, 30 individuals participated in the interviews, of whom 17 were men and 13 women. Background information collected on the interviewees includes gender, year of birth, date of interview, and the role the interviewee held in the student association.