Overall responsibility for the education system lies with the National Ministry of Education and Research. There are also two independent national agencies for education which are funded by the Government. The National Agency for Education (Skolverket) is primarily responsible for the inspection, evaluation and monitoring of the public school system. In addition, the National Agency for School Improvement plays a key role in supporting municipalities and schools in achieving national goals for education.
At local level, municipalities make decisions regarding how schools are run in accordance with national Ministry guidelines. Their responsibilities include school organisation, staffing and management of resources.
Local municipalities receive funding from the federal budget for a range of municipal activities including education. The majority of students attend state schools, which provide tuition free of charge.
There are also independent schools, which are open to all and must be approved by the National Agency for Education. Such schools receive a grant from the home municipality of each registered student which covers most costs. Independent schools are also entitled to charge reasonable fees. The education provided in independent schools generally has to correspond with the skills and knowledge offered in state schools, and should allow students to work towards the general goals of compulsory education.
The principal language of instruction is Swedish. However, mother tongue teaching is available for students from the Sami-speaking minorities, which are mainly grouped in northern Sweden. One option is to attend a special sameskola (Sami school, usually for children aged 7 to 13), where teaching takes place in Sami and Swedish, and also includes Sami culture and history. The other option is to attend a mainstream school offering teaching in both Sami and Swedish.
Education is compulsory for nine years, usually between the ages of 7 and 16. However, all children wishing to start school at age 6 must be allowed to do so, and exceptionally, children may be allowed to start school at age 8. In such cases, children complete compulsory education either a year earlier or later than usual. Compulsory education is generally provided in an all-through compulsory school (grundskola), which caters for all nine years of compulsory primary and lower secondary education. All-through schools are non-selective, full-time and co-educational.
Participation in pre-compulsory education (0 – 6/7) is voluntary, although municipalities are required to ensure provision for all children over the age of 1 whose parents are working or studying. Provision includes:
Municipalities are entitled to charge fees for pre-school places, although such fees should not be such that they prevent parents taking a place which may be of benefit to a child. However, pre-school provision in the förskoleklass (6- to 7-year-olds) is generally available free of charge. In addition, in January 2003, the Government introduced free pre-school places for all 4- and 5-year-olds whose parents want one.
In 1998 a national curriculum for daghem was introduced, which also applies to familjedaghem. This provides goals and guidelines for providers in the areas of norms and values; development and learning; influence of the child, pre-school and home; and cooperation between the pre-school class, the school and the after-school centre.
All municipalities are required by law to provide post-compulsory education to all students aged 16+ to 19/20 who have completed basic compulsory education. It is free of charge and voluntary for students. Post-compulsory education is usually provided in gymnasieskolan (integrated upper secondary schools), although some vocational studies (such as those for horticulture and some care professions) take place in schools run by county councils.
A total of 17 national programmes are offered at upper secondary level; 15 are vocational in nature and the remaining two provide a foundation for university-level education. All programmes consist of a common foundation of eight core subjects -Swedish, mathematics, English, social studies/civics, science, religious studies, artistic activities, and sport/physical and health education; subjects specific to the national programme; and individual options.
The normal period of study is three years, but students can complete upper secondary school over a shorter or longer period.
The vast majority of students with special needs are educated in mainstream schools, with the provision of additional support where necessary. Special needs provision is however also provided in:
The Swedish National Curriculum applies to special education provided within or outside the mainstream education system, as well as to general mainstream education. However, particular targets are specified for students attending special schools.
The school year normally runs from the end of August to early June and consists of a minimum of 178 working days. The exact dates vary between municipalities. The school year comprises two terms, which are divided by a break of around three weeks at Christmas. There are also 12 occasional days’ holiday in autumn and spring, as well as one week’s break in February or March, and at Easter.
Schools have a five-day week from Monday to Friday. They can generally decide themselves on opening and closing hours, provided the school day does not exceed six hours for children in the first two years and eight hours for older students. Schools usually remain open for the whole day with a break for lunch.
There is a statutory national curriculum for the grundskola (all-through compulsory school for 7- to 16-year-olds). This is linked to the two other national curricula for pre-school and upper secondary education (ages 16+ to 19/20), which all take a common view of curriculum, development and learning.
The grundskola curriculum gives prominence to the core subjects, which are Swedish, or Swedish as a second language, mathematics and English, which children normally begin to learn from around age 9. The statutory curriculum also includes practical arts subjects (art, domestic science, sport/physical and health education, music, crafts), social sciences (geography, history, civics, religious studies), sciences (biology, physics, chemistry and technology), a second foreign language (from around age 13) and some optional subjects.
The Government sets out a total minimum teaching time in the various subjects for the whole nine-year period of grundskola. Schools may then determine exactly how these hours should be allocated.
Religious education is included in the national curricula for both compulsory and upper secondary education (children aged from 6/7 to around 19). During compulsory education, religious education is usually taught as part of social sciences. It is one of the eight core subjects at upper secondary level. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religious education.
Civics and health education are both included in the national curriculum for compulsory education (ages 6/7 to 16), and are usually taught as part of social studies and sport/physical and health education respectively.
The grundskola (all-through compulsory school) also has to provide study and vocational guidance (syo). Many schools have special syo staff to inform and instruct students and provide them with personal guidance on the different educational opportunities and vocational options available to them after the grundskola.
Textbooks are not centrally approved and are usually published by commercial firms. Teachers in all subjects are free to select which textbooks they wish to use in class. Schools generally provide textbooks free of charge, although some upper secondary schools (students aged 16+ to 19/20) may request a parental contribution for certain items.
Alongside ongoing teacher assessment of a child's performance in school, it is common for national tests to be administered at particular points during compulsory education (ages 7 to 16). Students frequently take voluntary diagnostic tests in literacy and numeracy in Year 2 (age 9); and voluntary tests in Swedish, English and mathematics at the end of Year 5 (age 12) and, again, in Year 7 (age 14). In addition, there is statutory national assessment on completion of compulsory education (Year 9) (see below).
Students and their parents are provided with regular progress reports throughout compulsory education and meetings are organised to discuss development. It is intended that all reporting should lead to individual development plans, which focus on the coming school year.
At the end of compulsory education (age 16, Year 9), there is statutory student assessment in Swedish, English and mathematics. Although the tests are compulsory for schools, they are not compulsory for individuals. That is, if a student is absent or ill on the day of a particular national test, the school does not have to ensure that he or she takes the test at a later date. A passing final grade in each of the three subjects is required to obtain a school leaving certificate and to be able to progress to post-compulsory upper secondary school.
There is no leaving certificate at the end of upper secondary school. Instead, teachers assess modules completed by students in line with nationally determined criteria and grades are taken into consideration for admission to higher education.
Initial teacher training is provided in universities or university colleges. Formerly, 11 different teaching degrees were available in the areas of child and youth education and training, art education, compulsory school education, upper secondary school education, home economics, physical education, music education and craft education. However, following reforms implemented in 2001, an integrated teaching degree was introduced, replacing eight of the above programmes. The integrated teaching degree means that all prospective teachers gain a common basic competence, combined with a chosen specialisation in particular subjects and/or age groups. The teacher training degree courses take between three and five-and-a-half years to complete, depending on the age group students wish to teach.