We seek to consider the use of Pierre Bourdieu's 'cultural capital' within Swedish sociology of education focusing on the adoption of the term and asking how the 'cultural capital' is related to the specific context in Sweden. Here we consider the historical context and disciplinary route through which the concept travelled. The Swedish…

The concept of differentiation holds immense significance in education, touching upon aspects like access, inclusion, justice, and equality. However, it is also a complex and elusive notion, which acquires different meanings across historical and cultural contexts. This article explores the shifting reasoning about differentiation in the Swedish…

This article analyzes how childcare vouchers were introduced in the context of the Swedish welfare state by examining vital political decisions from the prohibition of publicly funded private preschools in 1984 and onwards. Basing our argument on theories of political institutions and historical institutionalism, we argue that this remarkable…

This article analyses and compares the evolving role of general subjects in the curricula of initial upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) in Finland and Sweden during the 1990s and 2010s. The research illustrates how Bernstein's concept of 'pedagogic code' supports comparative studies on principles guiding changes to curricula…

This study examines how Swedish students originating from metropolitan areas have used university colleges to access higher education. In the 1970s, as part of a series of reforms to the Swedish higher education system, university colleges were established. One reason being to make higher education more accessible to students outside the…

This article focuses on the Swedish context of upper and post-upper secondary education provided in two sectors, universities and the Swedish Folk High School. The article is centred on the analysis of the support services offered by fifty-five university and Swedish Folk High School institutional websites to individuals and groups designated as…

The concept of a Nordic model of education is sometimes used to refer to the considerable similarities of education reforms and systems of the five Nordic countries (i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) during the second half of the 20th century--reforms that aimed at social justice, equality and cohesion not least by providing…

Academies (and free schools) in England and independent grant-aided schools, "fristående skolor" (or "friskolor"), in Sweden have been the subject of much academic debate, but there is a paucity of comparative research relating to policy development or outcomes. This paper adopts a comparative perspective, outlining the…

Access to public education that provides equal opportunities for all is a democratic right for every person living in Sweden. In addition, every child should as far as possible be included in the mainstream school. An official story that is taken for granted in Sweden is that an extremely low proportion of children are in need of special support,…

In the almost two decades that have passed since the Swedish parliament declared that Sweden is a multicultural society, debates about immigrants, about multiculturalism and about different ways of being a citizen have raged. So far there has been no stepping away from the declaration. In the rhetorical arena multiculturalism is still a word with…

Over the last few decades, less importance has been attached to the concept of class in educational policy and educational research. Due to the continued relevance of class in many educational contexts, this article argues that this trend is unfortunate, untimely and unwarranted, and that important questions are overlooked as a result. As a case…

This paper maps out the challenges and responses to inclusive education in Sweden from a cultural/historical point of view. Core concepts that have bearing on inclusive education practices are discussed. The analysis incorporates varied materials. As the current Swedish political and educational discourses reflect contradictions and dilemmas among…

The intent and results of the establishment of universities in the northern regions of Sweden and Ontario are examined, along with academic, financial, and geographic problems faced by each. (MSE)

This book encompasses a systematic, comparative study of change in educational stratification in 13 industrialized countries, exploring which societal conditions help reduce existing inequalities in educational opportunity. The contributors show that in most industrialized countries inequalities in educational opportunity among students from…

Trends within the educational system of Sweden which increase the existence and/or potential of democratization are examined in this monograph. The process of democratization is interpreted as referring to educational objectives such as equal opportunity, as well as to structural changes within the system which increase the likelihood that stated…