Increased international attention paid to research-based education has resulted in various national initiatives to exploit research in education. However, this poses challenges for school professionals. Based on an ethnographic single case study in a Swedish educational setting, this article investigates how national policy on research-based…

This article examines individualising processes in the context of Municipal Adult Education in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI). Demands to adapt education to individual students' needs are increasingly evident in adult education policies, requiring accountable authorities' active engagement in enacting effective organisational frameworks while…

This article examines the contemporary Swedish policy responses to increased cultural and linguistic diversity in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). More specifically, it explores how national authorities and organizations initiate collaborations, use and produce policy knowledge and identify priorities and challenges. The…

Policies of dispersal are increasingly favoured internationally for the resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers. With forty percent of the world's forcibly displaced people being school-aged children, the dispersal of refugee-background people into regional areas means that rural schools are central sites of community response to refugees.…

National policy states that Swedish adult education should be flexible and individualized, based on students' needs. However, adult education in Sweden is a municipal responsibility with a high level of decentralization. Drawing on national policies, this study focuses on how the concepts of flexibility and individualization are enacted locally…

This study examines the reference societies of Norway and Sweden embedded in their education policy documents. We examined 4,260 bibliographic references in 19 white papers and green papers prepared for the 2016/2020 renewal of the Knowledge Promotion Reform in Norway and the 2015/2018 Knowledge Achievement Reform in Sweden. In addition, we…

The present paper delves into how symbolic boundaries in a school that is undergoing a desegregation process come to shape social boundaries of 'we-ness' and 'otherness'. The theoretical framework of the study starts from an interest in analysing whether symbolic and social boundaries emerge in new encounters during a desegregation process and…

Few notions seem to capture the imagination of education policymakers today as completely as digitalization and leadership. Through these two, schools are believed to become transformed, and in turn, these transformed schools will transform people and society. This paper critically analyzes a Swedish official digital policy instrument that…

Distance education has received a lot of attention in contemporary policy as something that makes it possible for more students to participate, but also involves a certain set of challenges. When it comes to distance education, Swedish municipal adult education (MAE) stands out with its long history of flexible education, often provided on…

The aim of this study was to explore, analyse, and critically discuss conditions for Swedish ICT coordinators working on school digitalisation in a local municipal school context. More specifically, the study draws on findings from interviews with 13 Swedish information and communication technology (ICT) coordinators working in eight…

Within the specific cultural and historical context of Swedish adult education, this article employs autoethnography to explore teachers' complex experiences during the era of neoliberalism. Its aim is to illuminate teachers' multifaceted realities within this dynamic and shed light on the diverse challenges and struggles they encounter. Drawing…

The article is an exploratory study assessing the stance selected higher education institutes (HEIs) have adopted regarding the usage of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications in academic research. The HEIs are selected based on purposive sampling in order to showcase different stances they have adopted to curb plagiarism and uphold…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is changing across Europe, reflecting multiple-policy intentions and assumptions about education in early years, and the role of the state in supporting, funding and regulating its institutions. In this article, we examine the evolution of ECEC comparatively in Finland and Sweden, and we explore the shifts…

The concept of democracy is a central component in education policy at all levels, yet its meaning can be interpreted in a number of ways. This paper examines how democracy is conceptualised and utilised as a legitimising force driving education policy reform. More specifically, attention is given to the use of democracy in the process of…

In recent decades, there have been policy changes affecting School-Age Educare (SAE) teachers in Sweden. Today, SAE teachers must be aware of the historical underpinnings, educational policy aims, and a 'new' undergraduate teacher education program. The aim of the present article is to explore in what way SAE teachers, graduated from the basic…