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SwedenFrom Researching Virtual Initiatives in Educationby Mats Öström For university-related material see also Sweden from Re.ViCa For entities in Sweden see Category:Sweden
Experts situated in Sweden
Sweden in a nutshell(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia) ((imported from Sweden from Re.ViCa)) Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Area-wise, it is one of the largest countries in Europe. Its population is around 9 million or on average 20 inhabitants per square kilometer. The population is very unevenly distributed: some 84 % live in urban areas, and about one third in the 3 major cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy (parliamentary democracy). It has been a member of the European Union since 1995, but it has not joined the European Monetary Union. The capital and largest city is Stockholm, with a population of around 800,000 and metropolitan area of 2 million. The official language is Swedish. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the Öresund Bridge in the south. Education in SwedenSource: Skolverket The Swedish education system consists of pre-school, school and adult education. They are a part of a goal guided system where:
Skolverket monitors, evaluates and reviews the pre-school, school and adult education. Skolverket also produces curriculum, grading criteria and general guidelines and more. Costs 2009 (Source: Skolverket) Total cost billion SEK
Cost per student
Total school budget SEK 189,2 billions (2009) Total children/pupils 1 408 005 (2010-2011) Total number of schools 10 516 (2010-2011) Schools in SwedenThe Swedish School system in .pdf Source: The Swedish School system in .pdf Pre-School Pre-school is a pedagogical group activity for children aged from 1 year until they start school. Children start pre-school at different ages and attend for varying numbers of hours a week. The job of the pre-school is to provide a platform for lifelong learning. It is to support families in their responsibility for their children's upbringing, development and growth. It is also to be organised so that it enables parents to work or study. Pre-school combines child care with pedagogical work in an activity that takes day-long responsibility for the whole child. There is great scope for play and creativity as well as for the child's own exploration. Pre-school is to be a fun, secure, learning experience for all the children who attend. Pre-schools are open all year round. Daily opening hours are adapted to suit the work or studies of parents and the needs of the children. Pre-school class The pre-school class is non-compulsory education designed to stimulate each child's development and learning, and provide a platform for their future schooling. The pre-school class combines the pedagogical methods of the pre-school with those of compulsory school. An important objective is that the pre-school class, compulsory school and leisure-time centre are to be more closely linked. The activities are to be stimulated by the encounter between differing pedagogical traditions. Compulsory school Compulsory school is a nine-year compulsory type of school. It is composed of 9 school years and each school year consists of a fall and spring semester. There is a possibility to go to Basic Adult education if you missed compulsory school. Upper secondary school Upper secondary is free, non-compulsory schooling that young people can choose after completing compulsory school. Upper secondary consists of national programmes, specially designed programmes and individual programmes. There are a total of 17 national upper secondary programmes. Each programme lasts for 3 years and consists of core subjects, programme-specific subjects, optional courses and project work. Each national upper secondary programme comprises:
The various upper secondary programmes can be seen as preparation for further studies, vocationally-oriented, or a combination of the two. As an adult you can get a degree from the upper secondary school by attening at Adult education.
Further and Higher educationFolk high schools There are 148 folk high schools - independent adult education colleges - in Sweden. Each folk high school decides independently what courses it provides, and freely designs its teaching. This means that courses can be quite different from each other. There are several types of course: year-long courses, short courses, summer courses or distance courses. Long courses are of the following types:
Information on the range of courses is available at the folk high schools' joint website administered by the Folk High Schools Information Service at Folkhogskola.nu
Universities in SwedenSourceSweden ranks highly according to several of the indicators used in the OECD:
Total costs for higher level of education: 54498201000 SEK (Source: Högskoleverket) Source: Högskoleverket In Sweden there are 47 universities and colleges who may issue a Swedish degrees.35 of these are public. 26 educational institutions authorized to award degrees at first, second and third levels, the other has only authorized to award degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Moreover, there are five individual trainers who only has a degree in psychotherapy condition (not on map). Map of all universities and colleges Some universities are known as private education, that colleges run by non-state actors, such as the foundations or associations. The government has given them the right to grant degrees under the Swedish degree structure. Some examples are Chalmers University of Technology, Stockholm School of Economics and Jönköping University, all of which have a wide range of training courses and also has the right to award degrees at the doctoral level. Other private education can only give degrees in a particular area, such as Beckman's College of Design and Örebro Theological Seminary. List of all universities:
Polytechnics in SwedenColleges in SwedenSource: Högskoleverket In Sweden there are 47 universities and colleges who may issue a Swedish degrees.35 of these are public. 26 educational institutions authorized to award degrees at first, second and third levels, the other has only authorized to award degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Moreover, there are five individual trainers who only has a degree in psychotherapy condition (not on map). Map of all universities and colleges Some universities are known as private education, that colleges run by non-state actors, such as the foundations or associations. The government has given them the right to grant degrees under the Swedish degree structure. Some examples are Chalmers University of Technology, Stockholm School of Economics and Jönköping University, all of which have a wide range of training courses and also has the right to award degrees at the doctoral level. Other private education can only give degrees in a particular area, such as Beckman's College of Design and Örebro Theological Seminary.
Higher Vocational Education (HVE)Copied from Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan HVE is a post-secondary form of education combining theoretical studies with a strong practical approach embedded in the workplace. The supply of education offered matches the demand for competences in the labour market.
Occupational Entry Level Training Courses Copied from Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan Occupational entry level training courses are single subject courses primarily within the areas of fine arts, crafts and cultural studies. In total, there are about 300 of these courses offered. The majority of the providers charge tuition fees and some courses offer eligibility for financial aid. The occupational entry level courses are largely privately run, many of them by foundations. Courses are offered at upper secondary as well as post-secondary level. While they are not expressively designed to fulfil the formal entry requirements for further studies, many of the more specialised arts courses are university preparatory.
Education reformA big reform took place in 1992 when free schools i Sweden could be financed by the state and not by donations as earlier. This led to an increase of free schools in Sweden, espcially around the big citiy areas. They haveto follow the national curriculum. In a way to stand out in the competition schools focus on different subjects and/or methods. Some focus on more digital tools in the pedagogy, other give more hours to different subjects. Sweden just changed the school law effective from 1st July 2011. Theses are the main changes according to Skolverket
SchoolsPre-schools, compulsory schools and upper secondary schools are affected by the two reforms described above. Post-secondaryThe swedish niversities and colleges has started several virtual courses during the last ten years. Adults have often families and have a hard time move to other towns. The courses and anducation often have a few meetings at the university or college a couple of times during a school year. For example was Karlstads university the first in sweden to start a teacher education programme at distance. Administration and financeAll schools in Sweden are free except for non Swedish residential students at the universities. The compulsory schools are not allowed to charge the pupils for anything extra and the upper secondary can charge a small fee sometimes, but not on a regular basis. At the universities all material and literature are financed by the student, but there are no fees for studying. SchoolsThe schools are financed by the municipalities based on the number of pupils they have. Public and private schools get the same. The municipality gives the money to the schools and they can use them in the way they thinks is the best way to meet the standards from the national government. Post-secondaryThe universities and colleges are financed by the state and based on the number of students during a year. Quality assuranceQuality assurance is done by Skolinspektionn and The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education SchoolsSkolinspektionen controls that pre-schools, schools and adult education follows the laws and makes sure they maintain good quality. Both on regular basis and when necessary. Post-secondaryIt is the task of Högskoleverket (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education) to review the quality of higher education. This work includes:
’’’Purpose of quality assurance’’’
European perspective The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education's quality assurance policy has been developed in accordance with the European Network for Quality Assurance's (ENQA) Information societyICT in education initiativesVirtual initiatives in schoolsThere are at least 4 virtual schools in Sweden:
Virtual initiatives in post-secondary educationLessons learntGeneral lessonsNotable practicesReferences
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