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The Swedish Education System Explained
- 1. The Swedish School System The Swedish National Agency for Education
- 3. Preschool • A school form for children aged 1-5 years. • Voluntary, general preschool from the age of 3, or from the age of 1 if this is needed because of parents' work or studies or the child's own needs. • Should ”stimulate the child's development and learning, and also provide a secure care environment."
- 4. Preschool class • Voluntary school form, free of charge for children aged six. • Covers a minimum of 525 hours per school year. • Should ”stimulate pupils' development and learning and prepare them for further education.” • Combines the working approaches and methods of the preschool and school.
- 5. Compulsory school education • Compulsory school attendance starts when the child reaches the age of seven. • Compulsory school attendance is the norm in compulsory school. • Compulsory schools are run by municipal or private education providers.
- 6. Alternatives to the compulsory school • The compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities, sometimes together with the training school, has its own curriculum and syllabuses, for years 1 - 9 with the option of an additional year. • The special school (state), 5 regional schools - hearing, 3 national schools, years 1 – 10. • The Sami school (state), years 1-6. • 7 international schools, 3 national boarding schools, special youth homes and Swedish schools abroad.
- 7. Leisure-time centres • Supplements the school for pupils aged between 6-13 years. • Should ”stimulate pupils' development and also provide them with meaningful recreational activities.” • ”… to the extent needed with regard to parents' work or studies, or the pupil's own need.”
- 8. The upper secondary school • All pupils who have completed compulsory schooling are offered upper secondary education by their home municipality. • The right to start an upper secondary education applies to students up to the age of 20. • Free of charge and voluntary.
- 9. Admission requirements Vocational programmes Pass grades in • Swedish or Swedish as a second language • English • Mathematics • Five other compulsory school subjects. Higher education preparatory programmes Pass grades in • Swedish or Swedish as a second language • English • Mathematics • Eight other compulsory school subjects.
- 10. Education in upper secondary school Vocational programmes/ Apprenticeship education • Child and Recreation • Building and Construction • Electricity and Energy • Vehicle and Transport • Business and Administration • Handicraft • Hotel and Tourism • Industrial technology • Natural Resource Use • Restaurant Management and Food Higher education preparatory programmes • Business Management and Economics • Arts • Humanities • Natural Science • Social Science • Technology. Introductory programmes - Preparatory education - Programme oriented individual options
- 11. Alternatives to the upper secondary school • Upper secondary school for learning disabilities • International schools • National boarding schools • IB education • Distance education at upper secondary level in Torsås • Special institutions (state) • (Swedish schools abroad).
- 12. Municipal adult education Basic adult education from the age of 20. • Upper secondary municipal adult education from the age of 20 or completion of a national programme or equivalent education. • Special education for adults. • Swedish tuition for immigrants (SFI). Students from vocational programmes have the right to attain basic eligibility for higher education.
- 13. Pupil assessment • Formative assessment; developement dialogue; written developement plan: national tests. • Compulsory school: End of semester reports, year 6-9, pilot scheme year 4 (2017). • Literacy and numeracy from year 1 (New). • Upper secondary: Completed course, diploma project, final diploma. • No final exams.
- 14. Grading scale In the compulsory school for learning disabilities, grades are only awarded if the pupil, or the pupil's guardian requests this. F or a (–) dash are not used in the compulsory school for learning disabilities. Pass level
- 15. How Sweden differs from other countriesEquality of education • The voucher system – government funds following the choice of school. • The same expectations on all education providers at local level, regardless of their circumstances. • Responsible authorities do not evaluate their schools on an equal basis. The teachers • Teaching is not an attractive choice of career. • There is no central wage formation. • Teacher appraisal is underdeveloped. • Teachers do not have support staff. Long-term conditions • The municipalisation reform and school choice system have contributed to increase school segregation. • Municipalities can lose their mandate every fourth year, and might not have any knowledge about schools and education.
- 16. Teacher Training Education • Preschool programme • Compulsory teacher programme • Subject teacher programme • Vocational teacher programme • UKÄ, the Swedish Higher Education Authority • Huge lack of teachers • Alternative ways, boosts.
- 17. Top priority challenges • Newly arrived pupils Including all newly arrived pupils into ordinary education as soon as possible. • Educational equity All schools must be developed into good schools. • The teachers Ensure supply of competent teachers. Provide prerequisites for improved quality of teaching. • Long-term conditions Consistency and support for continued implementation of reforms and local development.
Editor's Notes
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- School staff plan pedagogical activities enabling children to create, learn and explore. This takes place, for instance, through playing, cooperating with others, painting, building and singing. Creating security for both children and parents is an important task of the preschool. The preschool lays the foundations for the first part of a pupil's lifelong learning. Children should be provided with good pedagogical activities. The preschool should be enjoyable, secure, and rich in providing learning opportunities for all participating children. Children should have the opportunity of learning through playing, creating and exploring – on their own, in groups and together with adults. The municipality or the organiser decides what the cost of a place in the preschool should be. The Education Act states that the fee should be reasonable. From the autumn term when the child reaches the age of 3 and up to the time when school starts, there is a right to 525 hours free of charge each year. Today all municipalities use a system with a maximum fee. The maximum fee sets an upper limit to the fee payable by families. Municipalities are obliged to provide preschools for children from the age of 1 if the parents are studying or working and for elder children if they do not attend school. On 15 October 2014, 83 percent of all children in this age range were attending preschool, compared with 72 percent ten years earlier. At the same time, the number of children with another mother tongue than Swedish has doubled during the same period. In autumn 2013 there were just under 10 000 preschools. Every fifth child attends an independent preschool. 93 percent of children aged 4-5 attend preschool. <nummer>
- The preschool class is a voluntary school form in the national school system. Its activities should be regarded as teaching in the same sense as other school forms. Provision of places in the preschool class has been compulsory for municipalities since 1998 when all six-year-olds were offered a place with at least 525 hours. During the school year 2014/15, 96 percent of all six year olds were enrolled in a preschool class. Just more than 10 percent of pupils were attending preschool classes with independent education providers, but the proportion differs markedly between municipalities. Of the pupils, 23 percent have another mother tongue than Swedish, and 45 percent of these received support in their mother tongue (plus 6 percent more than last year). The preschool class should function as a transitional arrangement between the preschool and the compulsory school. The preschool class aims to combine the methods and working approaches of both the preschool and the school. The aim of the preschool is that it should stimulate the development and learning of each pupil, and prepare them for further education, as well as promote their harmonious development. Play and creativity are essential components. The education should be based on an overall view of pupils and their needs. Attendance is approximately 3 hours a day. During the rest of the day, most pupils are either in the leisure-time centre or in pedagogical care. The municipalities are responsible for providing preschooling and ensuring that pupils are actually offered places. Activities arranged by independent schools are an alternative to municipal activities. There are, however, significant differences around the country in how preschool classes are run. It varies from being run as a separate preschool to being fully integrated into the compulsory school. Attending the preschool class is free of charge. <nummer>
- The pupils should be between 7 and 16 and resident in Sweden. During the school year 2014/15, 949 460 pupils were attending compulsory school, and of these, 202 attended Sami schools. According to forecasts, the number of pupils will, after an earlier decline, increase to almost 1 000 000 in the school year 2017/18, one year earlier than expected. During the school year there were 4040 municipal schools, 5 Sami schools and 800 independent schools. Of the independent schools, 2014/15, 689 had a general orientation, 62 a denominational orientation and 37 were Waldorf schools. 9 schools were international, for example Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme. Three were national boarding schools but the system with boarding schools is now about to change. Of the compulsory school pupils, 86 percent attend municipal schools. The municipalities are obliged to provide six-year-olds with a place in the compulsory school if the child's parents or guardians so wish. Compulsory schools may be either municipal or independent. The majority of compulsory schools in Sweden are municipally run, and the most common situation is that pupils attend a municipal school close to their home. Each municipal school can develop its own profile, have different orientations, such as Montessori, English classes or cultural and sports profiles. Independent compulsory schools are open to all, and the education should correspond to that provided in municipal compulsory schools. Independent compulsory schools have a different organiser (owner) compared to municipal schools. The organiser may be a company, a foundation or an association. Independent compulsory schools are approved and inspected by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. <nummer>
- Compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities Compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities aims to provide an education for children with learning disabilities that is adapted to each pupil's circumstances, provides education in and which as far as possible corresponds to that provided in the compulsory school. The school subjects, in subject areas, or a combination of these. The education can also cover subjects in accordance with the compulsory school syllabuses. Within the compulsory school for disabilities, there is a special orientation called the training school. The training school is intended for pupils who have not completed either all or parts of their education in various subjects. Special school Children who due to a functional impairment or for other special reasons cannot attend the compulsory school or the compulsory school for learning disabilities, can attend the special school if they are deaf-blind, visually impaired, have other functional impairments, are deaf or hearing impaired, or have a severe speech disorder. The special school provides 10 years of schooling. Sami school Children of Samis can attend the Sami school. Other children can also attend the Sami school if there are special reasons. Education in the Sami school covers years 1-6. After this, pupils go on to the compulsory school. The syllabuses of the compulsory school apply to the Sami school, but the Sami school also has its own syllabus in Sami. If the pupils wish, they can study Sami as a mother tongue in the compulsory school. <nummer>
- The leisure-time centre receives pupils during the day when they are not at school and during holidays. The task of the leisure-time centre is to supplement the preschool class and the school, and make it possible for parents to combine parenthood with work or studies. According to the Education Act, leisure-time centres should also stimulate the development and learning of pupils and provide them with meaningful activities. Leisure-time centres have an important role in promoting social interaction and the sense of being a part of a social community. The leisure-time centre should in applicable parts follow the curriculum for the compulsory school, the preschool class and the leisure-time centre, Lgr 11. <nummer>
- All youth in Sweden who have completed compulsory school are entitled to a three-year upper secondary school education. Upper secondary education aims to provide a good foundation for working life, further studies, personal development and active participation in the life of society. <nummer>
- The admission requirements for starting upper secondary education differ between vocational programmes and programmes preparatory for higher education. To be admitted to a national programme, students must have passing grades in Swedish or Swedish as a second language, English and mathematics. Studying a vocational programme requires passing grades in a further five subjects, making a total of eight. The higher education preparatory programmes require passing grades in a further nine subjects, making a total of 12. For programmes in business management and economics, the humanities and social sciences, four of the other nine passing grades should be in geography, history, social studies and religion. For the natural science and technology programmes, students must have passes in biology, physics and chemistry. For the Arts Programme, the nine subjects are optional - in addition to Swedish/Swedish as a second language, English and mathematics. Some education in the arts area, some cutting-edge education programmes and sports programmes, may have special admission requirements and sometimes selection tests. <nummer>
- There are 18 national programmes in the upper secondary school, 12 vocational programmes and 6 programmes preparatory for higher education. After completing a vocational programme, students should be well prepared for working life, the education should be of high quality and equip students with the necessary vocational skills. It should be possible to start working directly after completing the education. In vocational programmes, it is also possible to choose an upper secondary apprenticeship education where students carry out a large part of their education at one or more workplaces. In order to strengthen cooperation between the upper secondary school and working life, national programme councils exist to validate the vocational programmes. All students in a vocational programme have the opportunity of achieving basic eligibility for higher education in their upper secondary education. The higher education preparatory programmes are intended to prepare students for studies in higher education. Preparatory education aims to make students eligible for a national programme, and is adapted for students who are motivated and wish to achieve eligibility rapidly. It is designed for an individual student and should last a maximum of one year. It should also be possible for a students to make smaller subject supplements in order to be admitted to a national programme after a short period. Programme oriented individual options should lead to admission to a national vocational programme. To be admitted, students should have passing grades in Swedish or Swedish as a second language. In addition, passing grades are required in English or mathematics and in at least four other subjects, or passing grades in English and mathematics and at least three other subjects. Students can follow a number of courses in a national programme at the same time as they study courses needed to achieve eligibility. The vocational introduction is intended for students who lack passing grades for eligibility to a vocational programme. Students should receive a vocationally oriented education which makes it easier for them to establish themselves on the labour market or that leads to studies in a vocational programme. The individual alternative prepares students for the vocational introduction, other forms of further education or the labour market. The education is designed for individual students and is intended for those who lack eligibility to a national vocational programme. The language introduction aims to provide immigrant youth who have recently arrived in Sweden with an education in Swedish enabling them to progress to the upper secondary school or other forms of education. <nummer>
- Upper secondary school for learning disabilities is new as of 2013. <nummer>
- Goals All adults should be given the opportunity of extending their knowledge and developing their competence in order to support their personal development, democracy, gender equality, economic growth and employment, and participate in an equitable society. Strategy Pedagogical approaches and working forms are developed to correspond to individuals' changing and increasing needs for learning in a knowledge-based society. The individual's learning and search for knowledge is supported through guidance and supervision, based on recognition of current already acquired knowledge. Appropriate learning environments and also teaching, supervision and net-based education are provided to an extent that as far as possible corresponds to the varying needs and conditions that adults have for learning. Financial support is available to adults to encourage participation in education and competence development. Society, employers and individuals themselves are jointly responsible for ensuring that the needs of different individuals and different groups for both general and specially designed education are satisfied. All formal and non-formal learning, supported by society, is permeated by democratic approaches and respect for the equal value of each person. The aim is to attain a basic shared view over policy and coordination between authorities, partners on the labour market and popular adult movements in order to realise the individual's learning and competence development. The educational policy goal for adult learning Give all adults the opportunity to extend their knowledge and develop their competence in order to promote personal development, democracy, gender equality, economic growth, employment and participate in an equitable society. <nummer>
- In recent years the number of national tests has increased, particularly in compulsory school and equivalent types of school. Subject tests have been introduced in mathematics, Swedish and Swedish as a second language in year 3. The tests in English, mathematics, Swedish and Swedish as a second language that were previously voluntary in year 5 have now been made compulsory and are conducted in year 6. National tests in science subjects and social science subjects have been introduced in years 6 and 9. However, the year 6 tests in science and social science subjects were made voluntary in spring 2015 and were replaced by voluntary assessment support in spring 2016. In view of the large number of national tests, the spring term of year 9 is felt by both pupils and teachers to be particularly test-intensive. The national tests are very timeconsuming and interrupt teaching time. Research lends no real support to the idea that more tests improve teaching. Instead of national tests conducted at specific times, many teachers would prefer various types of assessment support that they can use in their teaching. The advantage of such support is that the teachers can use it as and when appropriate for their pupils and their teaching. The Inquiry made in 2015 (A new national system for assessment knowledge SOU) considers that the number of compulsory national tests should be reduced and some of the tests should be replaced by national assessment support materials. However, pupils should take compulsory national tests at certain points in time in compulsory school, special school and Sami school, as well as in upper secondary school and municipal adult education at upper secondary level, as the tests enable more equal grading and strengthen pupils’ legal rights. The term national tests should be used in all types of school. <nummer>
- The national knowledge requirements describing grades E, C and A relate to the goals under the heading "Aim of the subject" in the syllabuses. They also relate to the core content in the different subjects. Knowledge requirements are formulated in text form and specify what students should achieve, and with what quality. Irrespective of grade levels, the knowledge requirements describe a broad domain of knowledge. The main principle is that there should be the same assessment of knowledge at E, C and A levels, and that the progression between grades is made visible through the use of structural terms which are marked in the text. National knowledge requirements are drawn up for grades E, C and A. The knowledge requirements for each grade provide a complete description of what is required. A student who has attained the lowest overall acceptable knowledge requirements receives grade E. A student receives grade C if the knowledge requirements for C are fulfilled in their entirety, and similarly for grade A if the knowledge requirements are fulfilled in their entirety. If a student does not satisfy the knowledge requirements for E, the student receives the grade F. However, this does not apply in the compulsory school for learning disabilities, where F and the (–) dash are not used. Dash (–) If there are insufficient grounds for determining a student's knowledge due to extended absenteeism, a dash (–) replaces the grade, but this does not apply in the compulsory school for disabilities. The school must be able to account for the measures it has taken in connection with absenteeism. "Most of the knowledge requirements" Grades D and B reflect knowledge attainment en route to the next grade. For instance, a student who fulfils the knowledge requirements for grade E and most of those for grade C, receives grade D. The assessment "most of" is strictly related to the contents of the knowledge requirements, however, an advanced pedagogical assessment must be made individually for each student. Knowledge requirements for grades B and D are not specified. <nummer>
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- UKÄ, the Swedish Higher Education Authority, is a government agency that deals with questions concerning universities and university colleges. Preschool programme 3.5 years Compulsory teacher programme 3-4 years Compulsory Teacher Training Education within the leisure time centre, 3 years Compulsory teacher education orientation preschool class and compulsory school years 1-3, 4 years. Compulsory teacher education orientation compulsory school years 4-6, 4 years Subject teacher programme 4.5 – 5.5 years Orientation towards school year 7-9, 4.5 years Orientation towards upper secondary school 5-5.5 years Vocational teacher programme 1.5 years Teach for Sweden, 2 years Working persons with a graduate education which corresponds to the eligibility requirements to teach in a subject, preferably mathematics, nature oriented subjects and technology, can, by distance, study the Bridging Teacher Education Programme (KPU) in combination with serving as a teacher at a school for two years. Teach for Sweden, which is a foundation, is responsible for the selection to be accepted to work at a school during the education time and also organises a place for this. The student may themselves make an application to be accepted to KPU. Teach for Sweden cooperates with a couple of universities regarding this education. Other degrees and educations Further Education of Teachers (VAL - Vidareutbildning Av Lärare) is for those who are active as a teacher in theoretical subjects but has no teaching diploma. Within this national project, the student may be admitted to a teaching program and supplement the previous studies to obtain a teaching diploma. To be accepted for the project requires that the applicant is active as a teacher and has relevant higher education and teaching experience in one of subjects so that he or she can complete the studies within the framework of 120 university credits Complementary education (The Bridging Teacher Education Programme (KPU - Kompletterande Pedagogisk Utbildning) is for those who already have studies from University in subjects that exist at schools and who need to complement these with studies in the educational and didactic area to obtain the skills one needs to become qualified to teach in the subjects. There are, among others, courses in pedagogy, didactics, rating and assessment, special education, and ethics. The courses are given both in the University and at a school. The training includes three semesters of full-time studies (90 university credits). <nummer>
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