The Problem of the Welfare Profession: An Example — The Municipalisation of the Teaching Profession

Abstract

As an answer to the welfare state's transformation and increased focus on goal- and result-oriented regulation, Swedish educational policy is in a state of change. The matter of the teaching profession's aspirations with regard to professionalisation has come up once again: reminders that reference the introduction of teacher certification in order to guarantee the quality of education have emerged from political quarters, while union quarters are pleading for greater status for the teaching profession. The article discusses whether the municipalisation of the teaching profession in 1989 was a break with the goal of Sweden's previous political debate on education - namely, a comprehensive school for all - and whether the increased control over the work of the teachers can be said to be a consequence of the reform.