During recent decades, the rise of the global economy launched a wide array of social, economic, and political changes in nations throughout the world. Heightened concern about the quality of schools launched what is arguably the most pervasive, intense, and protracted attempts at educational reform in recent history. Examinations of the…

This article analyses reforms addressing and affecting the curriculum and organisation of Swedish upper secondary education over 40 years, up to an initiative by the present non-socialist government. The aim is to analyse the current reform of upper secondary education and relate it to previous reforms during a 40-year period in terms of…

Sweden has undertaken major national reforms of its school sector, which, consequently, has been classified as one of the most decentralized ones in the OECD. This paper investigates whether local tax base, grants, and preferences affected local school resources differently as decentralization took place. We find that municipal tax base affects…

This article summarizes results of a 1989 comparative survey of undergraduate education in five European countries, in terms of structures, organization and content of courses, admissions policies, access to education, and trends and prospects in student numbers. The countries reviewed were the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom,…

The Swedish school system is a highly comprehensive one, with "grundskola" (compulsory school) for 7- to 16-year-olds and the non-compulsory "gymnasieskola" (three-year upper secondary school) as the main types of school. Since the decentralization reforms of the 1990s, municipalities (290 in total) have been given considerable…

A special Research on Higher Education Program in Sweden is described, and a bibliography of approximately 450 studies of higher education and research is presented. Studies sponsored by the program cover four main fields: higher education and society; the content and organization of higher education; the research function; and the educational…

This study compared Swedish and British child care policy, educational philosophy, and function and organization of preschools. The activities, language, and group patterns of 559 children in 73 full-time and 42 part-time preschools in Sweden were observed. Questionnaires assessed staff-child ratio, group size, staff working conditions, and…

This paper reports the results of research examining the long-term success of Sweden's educational reforms. The paper's first section describes the Swedish educational system's structure, noting the roles played by the national government, local governments, and the National Board of Education. The second section of the paper looks at Sweden's…

This paper presents the state of current Swedish educational reform policy by describing the current state of Swedish education in compulsory comprehensive school (grades 1-9) and in higher education. The volume begins with a chapter on the external social factors affecting education. This is followed by chapters offering a general description of…

In addition to giving pertinent historical background, this document describes the current educational system in Sweden. Specifically described are reform efforts since World War II; responsibilities of the federal, county and municipal governments; features held in common by schools in the municipalities; organization and curriculum of compulsory…