Swedish Educational System Research Articles

The autonomy of middle managers in local education administrations: a Swedish viewpoint

ABSTRACT The focus of this article is on how the relative autonomy of middle managers is expressed in the context of local education administrations. In the Swedish education system, middle managers often constitute the link between principals at schools and local government education administrators. Little is known about what such middle managers do and why. To fill this knowledge gap, this article presents and discusses the results of interviews with middle managers, chief education officers and principals linked to four local education administrations in Sweden. A previously developed analytical model has been adapted to facilitate the interpretation of results and how they relate to the concept of autonomy in education administration. The framework encompasses four cognitive domains: educational, social, developmental, and administrative. The results display middle manager autonomy as fostered and limited by all four domains and how the use of relative autonomy varies between middle managers. There are differences between middle managers in separate local education administrations and middle managers working in the same organization. A major finding is that autonomy is always conditioned, not only by organization but significantly also by cognition and administrative interaction.

When fairness is an abstraction: equity and AI in Swedish compulsory education

ABSTRACT The paper emphasises the need to consider the social, political, and economic contexts within which educational systems operate and use Artificial Intelligence (AI). Focused on Swedish compulsory education, this study explores whether the use of AI envisioned by national authorities and educational technology companies contributes to unfairness. Through qualitative content analysis of Swedish policy documents and educational company reports, the study employs the concept of Relevant Social Groups to assess how diverse stakeholders perceive the risks and benefits of using AI in education regarding fairness. Three distinct groups are identified, each prioritising different forms of “efficiency” as a key value—economic, pedagogical, and accessibility-related. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interplay between fairness and the use of AI in the Swedish educational system. It also questions the concept of fairness revolving around formal equality of opportunities that separates fairness from the broader context of social justice.

Building a Corpus of Written Tasks of Swedish National Tests in English: Motivation, Method and Research Applications

This article describes a collaborative project involving the construction of a corpus of graded year 9 National Tests in written English. National Tests are standardized high stakes tests which are an important part of the Swedish education system because the results provide an indication of performance at national level, and also feed into pupils’ overall assessment. The grading of National Tests in written English has been found to be problematic for teachers, and a need for assessment training identified (Erickson and Tholin 2022). By providing a searchable database of graded written texts, together with the teacher feedback, this project aims to create a resource to support pre- and in-service teachers in interpreting knowledge requirements and assessment guidelines, and providing effective feedback. The corpus will also provide a resource for research into the features of student writing at different grade levels.
 To create the corpus, past papers from collaborating schools have been anonymized, digitized and coded. As a result, pupils’ texts can be easily sorted by a range of criteria, for example, year, gender, education type, grade achieved on the written paper and overall grade for the National Test. Teacher feedback can be accessed similarly. We outline potential research areas provided by this resource, and demonstrate how some of these might be explored. We also give examples of how the developing corpus has already been used as a resource for English teacher training programmes, and outline future plans for the project.

Digital tools and social-ecological sustainability. Going beyond mainstream ways of understanding the roles of tools in contemporary eduscapes

All education in Sweden, or the Swedish eduscape, is permeated by discourses of compensation and inclusion, conceptualized in this study as a one-school-for-all ethos or perspective. This ethos contributes to a social-ecological framing, wherein the intentions are a society where everyone can participate as active members. This study scrutinizes the governmental strategy of 2017 to digitalize the Swedish educational system based on a one-school-for-all perspective. The study is framed by SWaSP (Second Wave of Southern Perspective) theoretical ideas, with a special focus on positionings, languaging, timespaces, and epistemological-methodological dimensions, including ethics based on the entangled tenets of sociocultural, integrationist, and southern perspectives. Furthermore, this study is anchored in three research projects and one societal developmental project. Materials - e.g., video recordings, audio recordings, photos, artifacts, fieldnotes – from these projects have been generated through (n)ethnographic methods from different institutions in the Swedish educational landscape i.e., eduscape. These span across compulsory schools to Swedish for Immigrants (SFI), within Municipal Adult Education. Three themes have emerged in the multi-scalar data analysis from across settings: (i) intended inclusion, (ii) unintended exclusion, and (iii) intended exclusion. The first theme highlights how digital tools (DTs) create inclusion for students with special needs, or those who are new to the named-language Swedish, in the classroom community, thus contributing to social-ecological sustainability. The second theme illustrates how DTs intended for inclusion in classroom practices morph into tools of exclusion for individuals in mainstream classrooms. The third theme highlights how students in the Swedish eduscape are intentionally excluded from mainstream classrooms. We argue that a social-ecological sustainable stance troubles the division of eduscapes into “mainstream” and “other” settings in contemporary societies, calling for the inclusion of all students irrespective of their positionalities. Our findings highlight that multimodal use of DTs potentially can facilitate inclusion, by providing tools where individual students can participate in and contribute to teaching and learning—what we frame as a third position of classroom organization.

A REVIEW ON THE STRUCTURE AND PRIORITIES OF THE SWEDISH EDUCATION SYSTEM

Education is closely linked to a person's life chances, income, and well-being worldwide. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what factors influence educational attainment. This conceptual paper employs content analysis methods, using Esping-Andersen's classification of social welfare state concept, to understand the structure of the Swedish education system through a 5-week desk-based data collection. The findings revealed that the Swedish pedagogical system is structured around an objectives-based management system. To improve educational outcomes, the Swedish government prioritizes smaller class sizes, best practices for teacher preparation, adequate compensation for educators, and experiential learning over testing. The paper provides insights into the strengths and challenges of the Swedish pedagogical system and its potential as a model for other nations.

Hur blir en litteraturvetare litteraturdidaktiker?

How can a Literary Scholar be Transformed Into a Literary Didact?: A Case Study on Competence Provision and Competence Development This article highlights issues that deal with the relationship between comparative literature and literature in education. Our point of departure is a problem with competence maintenance within the subject of comparative literature in relation to teacher education. We address areas such as collaboration between comparative literature and literature in education and the role of thehumanities in the Swedish educational system. Previous publications on the relationship between comparative literature and literature in education, as well as interviews with active researchers, form the basis for a case study in which we do an overview of ways to acquire competence in literature in education. The context consists of local strategies, visions and perceptions of competence, as well as UKÄ’s (Swedish Higher Education Authority) national evaluations of subject teacher education in Swedish. Our results demonstrate that the fields have moved closer to each other in different ways, and we suggest that increased collaboration between comparative literature and literature in education would be mutualy beneficial and that the specific expertise of both fields together would strengthen the role of teaching literature and the subject of Swedish in schools and teacher training. The results also indicate that it is crucial for literary scholars to approach issues related to literature in education in their research. A more literature-oriented didactic is needed when teaching future teachers to strengthen the students’ literary competence and raise questions about the meaning and function of literature – and humanities – in schools. The future professionalism (faglighet) of teachers in literary studies and literature in education should therefore focus on what unites the fields and be open to each other’s specific research competencies. Increased cooperation can contribute to strengthening the role of the humanities and Bildung in schools, above all by clarifying its importance for the future teachers that we teach.

VTS in the English language classroom in Sweden

The position in this paper is that Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) are very relevant for children’s education in Sweden, and that their practice makes them highly adaptable to English language teaching. The rationale for this position is that this elicitation and communication technique has proven very effective in nurturing the abilities and skills which are identified in the Swedish curriculum for compulsory schooling. The impact of VTS in the Swedish education system could be significant. First, once known and understood by teachers, VTS can be a very efficient technique in the English language classroom and can directly help to fulfil several of the ambitions of the curriculum and the English language syllabus. Second, abilities and sensitivities developed by VTS correspond to the core values of Swedish society in its promotion of democratic values, which are espoused in the compulsory school curriculum. Third, VTS lends itself to being actively used across school subjects and therefore supports an interdisciplinary sensitivity in students. VTS can help student performance and confidence across subject areas, thus again fulfilling the wider ambitions of the compulsory school curriculum and encourage these students in their growing independence as individuals and as active members of society.

Learning to Teach as a Spectator or a Participant—Ideas of Vocational Learning in Policy on Teacher Education

This article explores how ideas about teacher student learning are expressed in policy documents, especially the school-based part of teacher education in the Swedish educational system. The study concerns how these parts of the education process are outlined through two reforms, one in 2001 and one in 2011. Of particular interest in the article is how these reforms represent, and to some extent, produce ideas for learning the teaching profession in relation to the specific context of practicum, and that this context pertains to specific knowledge, theoretical and practical knowledge. However, the analysis of the documents points towards a tension between theory and practice. By additionally analyzing policy documents on a local level, where the national policy is operationalized, the tension between theory and practice becomes more explicit. By introducing the notion of spectatorship knowledge and participatory knowledge, two different visions of students’ learning emerge in policy. However, the relation between these two perspectives is problematic, as will be shown in the concluding part of the article. In conclusion, it is suggested that rather than muddling spectatorship knowledge and participatory knowledge together, teacher education programmes should provide for conditions where these knowledge forms are better taken care of.

School achievement and changes in inclusive vs exclusive support over 50 years in Sweden regarding students with intellectual disabilities and special educational needs

ABSTRACT The Swedish educational system is recognized as being highly inclusive. Nevertheless, support in special classes and placing students with intellectual disabilities in special schools have increased after the mid-1990s. The study involves 65 thousand students in seven cohorts (born 1967–2004), participating in the Swedish longitudinal project Evaluation through Follow Up. It focuses on students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) in the Swedish compulsory school and students with special educational needs (SEN) who received inclusive or exclusive support, compared to regular students without MID, SEN or support. Findings show inclusive support to dominate prior to the mid-1990s for both MID and SEN students. After that, increases in exclusive support solutions are noted. The high achievements demonstrated by MID and SEN students with inclusive support in all cohorts over a period of 50 years provide impetus for offering vulnerable student groups better opportunities for equal participation in regular classes.

Aktualne problemy edukacji w szwedzkim systemie oświatowym

Current problems of education in the Swedish educational system The aim of the paper is to present current problems in the Swedish education system. In recent years, Sweden, similarly to many other European countries, has had to adjust the organization of their system to new social needs that are a result of growing migration. The article outlines in general how the Swedish education system works by describing its organization and funding, but also the promoted attitudes towards students and the educational recommendations. Swedish education is egalitarian, aiming towards equitable chances. When writing the article, the author was mainly using texts written in English and Swedish, but also the Swedish Education Act (Skollagen) and the preschool curriculum (Lpfö 18). The research contains analyses of official documents from the Ministry of Education and Research and of thematic texts. The results show original solutions implemented in the Swedish education system.

Exploring physical education teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards digital technology in outdoor education

ABSTRACT In the Swedish educational system, there has been a recent push for digital technology in different school subjects. This paper investigates what regulates Swedish physical education teachers’ perceptions of digital technology in outdoor education. The results is reflected in a number of rules that govern Swedish physical education teachers’ perceptions and use of digital technology in outdoor education. Findings suggest that teachers’ views on the relevance of digital technology in outdoor education depends partly on curriculum formulations, but of significant importance are also other factors such as: the addressed knowledge area, grade level, choice of digital device, needs of students, and teachers’ ideological beliefs. These rules are discussed in relation to the construction of outdoor education as knowledge area within physical education and in relation to the ways in which Swedish physical education teachers relate to curriculum changes.

Overall, a Good Test, but…—Swedish Lower Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions and Use of National Test Results of English

This article builds on a study set within the Swedish educational system and focuses on lower secondary teachers’ use of national test results when awarding final grades of English as a foreign language (EFL). In Sweden, teachers are entrusted with the responsibility of assessing their own students’ competences as well as assigning grades. To support them, there are compulsory national tests to be used as important advisory tools; however, they are not exams in a strict decisive sense. After a brief contextualization and conceptualization regarding language education in Sweden, including the assessment, teachers’ somewhat contradictory perceptions and use of results from the national EFL test for 11–12-year-olds are described and discussed. Data emanate from large-scale teacher questionnaires conducted for three years (2013, 2016 and 2019), which are analyzed from quantitative as well as qualitative angles. Results indicate that a number of teachers struggle with factors related to the language construct as well as to the educational context and consequences at individual, pedagogical and structural levels. This is discussed from various angles, linked not least to the policy, curriculum and other frame factors. Furthermore, the need for further research in direct collaboration with teachers is emphasized.

Swedish Vocational Adult Education in the Wake of Marketisation

Context: This study is about vocational education and training for adults within municipal adult education (MAE). Sweden has a long tradition of adult education, and has one of the world's highest proportions of participants in adult education. The Swedish education system is characterised by extensive marketisation with many private actors, particularly in adult education. The focus of this article is on the enactment of the market orientation in vocational adult education, with the purpose of showing how vocational adult education is organised in different ways in Swedish municipalities and how national adult education policy is enacted in local VET practices. Methods: The data consist of documents presenting relevant national policies for adult education, in particular on vocational education, and semi-structured interviews with adult education leaders in 20 municipalities. Findings: The findings show that MAE in Sweden has a clear labour market focus on offering education that corresponds to working life's labour requirements. Most municipalities have a shortage of staff in elderly care and childcare, which is why they offer a large number of training places in these professions. Many immigrants choose these training programmes to get a job. It is also common for municipalities to offer these training programmes in combination with SFI (Swedish for immigrants). This means that MAE fulfils an important function for integration. VET in MAE is offered as school-based training, apprenticeships or distance education. Offering VET at a distance makes it possible to provide a wider range of training programmes, and enables people who have difficulties participating in on-site training (due to commitments such as work or young children) to take part. Apprenticeship training provides work experience and often leads to employment. However, a weak interest in apprenticeship training among students and difficulties finding apprenticeship placements are examples of reasons why the number of apprenticeships is often very limited. Conclusion: Swedish MAE is characterised by flexibility and a broad supply of courses. However, there is a clear focus on certain vocational areas – mainly within the municipal organisation. This gives reason to question whether publicly funded VET for adults should mainly prepare participants for publicly funded labour-market sectors, or whether other sectors could also benefit from newly trained adults. Since vocational training within MAE is of great importance for immigrants' establishment in the labour market, there is a risk that unilateral investments in certain vocations will limit immigrants' career opportunities.

Prospective teachers constructing dynamic geometry activities for gifted pupils: Connections between the frameworks of Krutetskii and van Hiele

The Swedish educational system has, so far, accorded little attention to the development of gifted pupils. Moreover, up to date, no Swedish studies have investigated teacher education from the perspective of mathematically gifted pupils. Our study is based on an instructional intervention, aimed to introduce the notion of giftedness in mathematics and to prepare prospective teachers (PTs) for the needs of the gifted. The data consists of 10 dynamic geometry software activities, constructed by 24 PTs. We investigated the constructed activities for their qualitative aspects, according to two frameworks: Krutetskii’s framework for mathematical giftedness and van Hiele’s model of geometrical thinking. The results indicate that nine of the 10 activities have the potential to address pivotal abilities of mathematically gifted pupils. In another aspect, the analysis suggests that Krutetskii’s holistic description of mathematical giftedness does not strictly correspond with the discrete levels of geometrical thinking proposed by van Hiele.

How Swedish Curricula Legitimise the Engagement with Literature in English

Literary works are read and studied in English across the different parts of the Swedish education system, primary education, secondary education, higher education and teacher education. This article considers the rationale—the purposes and benefits—for doing so that are implicitly or explicitly pointed to in curricular documents, with special focus on the kinds of engagement with literature that are authorised by the academic English subject community for the Swedish academic and school contexts. By juxtaposing and synthesising findings from three previous curricular studies, the article identifies substantive justifications and, drawing on linguistic legitimation theory, discursive forms of legitimation that interoperate in syllabi and in other steering documents to claim the validity of engaging with literature in English. It shows that the rationale that remains constant across the education system relies on the links between literature and cultural learning, or analysis, and likewise on the potential of engagement with literature in English for furthering an understanding of the world and for fostering a desired democratic citizen ethos. The cross-educational perspective of the article shows that the interdependence between the different parts of the education system has both thematic and conceptual consequences for the kinds of engagement with literature that are given the status of official legitimations.

On the effects of public policy on the fragmentation of the Swedish education system and its impact on Cultural diversity (Article 1 of 4)

On the effects of public policy on the fragmentation of the Swedish education system and its impact on Cultural diversity (Article 1 of 4)

Additional support for pupils with reading difficulties – a case study

ABSTRACT The importance of reading competence has been increasingly acknowledged in the Swedish educational system, not least through the demands for higher standards in reading in all subjects stated in the national curriculum. Still, in the school year 2018/19, approximately 7% of all Swedish pupils did not achieve the learning goals related to reading competence stated for the subject Swedish in the national curriculum for compulsory school (grades 0–9) (Skolverkets statistikdatabas). In order to identify and support pupils with reading difficulties as early as possible, compulsory reading development assessments are conducted in grades 1, 3, 6 and 9 according to which all pupils displaying a delayed development are to receive additional support. The provision of this support is the responsibility of every municipality, but in what form and to what extent and duration it should be given is not prescribed. The present study aims to give insight into how Swedish policy reforms to improve reading ability among pupils in compulsory school are operationalised in one Swedish municipality during the school year 2018/2019. Further, the study seeks to exemplify how the policy guidelines are implemented at three schools and how policy and practice are related.

Bortom mitt barn och andras ungar. Omsorgsetisk grammatik för skolväljande föräldrar

A grammar of ethics of care for school choosing parents. To choose a school for one’s child is part and parcel of urban parenting in the contemporary Swedish educational system. While previous studies have investigated the consequences of the school choice empirically through both qualitative and quantitative methods, there are no previous studies investigating the issue of school choice as an ethical concern. Through the author’s situated experience of being a school choosing parent in Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö, the author uses educational philosopher Nel Nodding’s work on ethics of care and applies it to the question of what situated, responsible parenting in Malmö could mean today. The author introduces the metaphor of a grammar of ethics of care where the relationship between “our kid” and “our kids” is seen as relational, with an opening for caring for children outside the immediate family.

The marketisation of education and the democratic deficit

This article deals with the question of what has happened to ‘the public’ in the Swedish education system during the last three decades. In our search for an answer we illuminate and discuss how the process of marketisation, together with the learnification and individualisation of education, replaced ‘the public’ from public education with the logic of the market place. To shed some further light on the current discourse on Swedish education, we contrast two principles in education and teaching, the aristocratic principle and the democratic principle. According to the aristocratic principle, education is about fixating and reproducing existing power relations as the cornerstone of a well-ordered society. According to the democratic principle of education, equality is the cornerstone of a well-ordered democratic society. Considering the shift in the very infrastructure of the Swedish educational system, we arrive at the conclusion that the principles in education and teaching are characterised by the aristocratic principle, rather than those we have characterised as democratic principles. The educational message is clear: upcoming generations are to accept the rules of the market economy and play the game accordingly.

How to counteract racism in education – A typology of teachers’ anti-racist actions

ABSTRACT In this article we develop a typology of anti-racist action in education. Using teachers’ practices and experiences, we highlight six approaches on how teachers counter racism in their schools. Each approach entails a different set of actions and aims to address different manifestations of racism. They range from actions that seek to challenge structural racism (the emancipatory, norm-critical and intercultural perspectives), to approaches that engage individualized forms of racism (the relational, democratic and knowledge-focused perspectives). Our analysis makes the complexity of both racism and anti-racism visible. It provides an opportunity to navigate the various types of anti-racist actions, and make conscious decisions regarding what type should be used in relation to different manifestations of racism. The analysis is based on interviews with 27 high-school teachers working in the Swedish educational system.