Local School Choice Policies in Sweden

Abstract

More choice for parents and students is a major recent change in school policies in most Western countries. In Sweden, these changes coincided with the decentralization of power and responsibilities within primary and secondary education from central to local government. This gave municipalities an important role in the actual implementation of choice policies. The question addressed here is how and why local authorities vary with regard to their promotion of choice in schooling. A theory of local government school choice policies is developed, focusing on the social and political composition of the locality. Four factors are seen as likely to be particularly important: the strength of liberal conservatism, the size of the middle class, ethnic diversity and urban location. The empirical investigation is based on data from the 288 municipalities in Sweden. All four factors turn out to be important, but contrary to previous assumptions, choice policies are not primarily linked to the success of the Moderate (Conservative) Party. Instead, the strength of the middle class is the major explanation. In Sweden, but also in other Western societies, the middle class has emerged as the dominant social stratum. Middle class parents, who themselves are well educated, take a keen interest in their children’s education and are more likely to demand greater opportunities for choice. In the final analysis, this is linked to the changing position of the Social Democratic Party and its aim to broaden its electoral basis by appealing to middle class voters.