ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Education & learning card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 121 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaKnowledge & technology
  • Centre of gravityThe municipality
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe municipal election
Knowledge & technology

Education & learning

From mandatory education to lifelong learning

School is the part of society almost everyone meets, as a pupil, a parent or a taxpayer. Your municipality (kommun) runs the schools, but the central government decides what has to be taught. So anyone who wants to shape schooling needs to vote in two elections and know which one governs what.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · runs schools, sets budget · approx 45 %
  • Region · some upper-secondary schools, folk high schools · approx 5 %
  • State · school law, curricula, oversight · approx 45 %
  • EU · exchanges and comparisons · approx 5 %

Power is split: the central government decides what school must do, the municipality decides how it is run and what it may cost. The municipal election matters most for the school near you.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe responsible authority · centre of gravity
The regionThe narrow remit
Central governmentThe framework
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the children and education committee (nämnd), plus the head teacher in each school.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige). Regions run certain upper-secondary schools, often agricultural ones, and many folk high schools.
The Riksdag (Sweden's parliament), the Government, the National Agency for Education (Skolverket) and the Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen). CSN handles student finance.
What do they decide?
Runs preschools, compulsory schools, upper-secondary schools and municipal adult education. Sets the budget and decides where schools open or close.
Agricultural upper-secondary schools, folk high schools and coordination of the skills supply across the county.
The Education Act, curricula, the grading system, teacher certification and oversight of all schools, including independent ones.
Where are decisions made?
In the committee's meetings and in the municipal council. Documents and minutes are public.
In the regional council and in the committees responsible for education matters.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. Curricula are decided by the Government.
Who pays?
Municipal tax is the school's largest source of funding. The school voucher (skolpeng) follows the pupil, including to independent schools.
Regional tax and central government grants to adult liberal education.
Central government grants to the responsible authorities and student finance through CSN.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Parent councils, a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) in many municipalities, an email to the committee's politicians.
Regional election Contact the region's responsible committee, get involved in a folk high school.
General election A referral response (remissvar) on school proposals, a report to the Schools Inspectorate when a school falls short.
EUThe EU has no formal power over Swedish schooling, but it funds exchanges such as Erasmus and compares results between countries. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A new curriculum reaches the classroom
  1. State

    The Government tasks Skolverket

    The curriculum needs updating, perhaps because research or working life has changed. The Government tasks the National Agency for Education (Skolverket) with drawing up a proposal.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides which government steers school policy and which assignments it hands out.

  2. State

    Skolverket writes and listens

    The agency develops the proposal together with teachers, researchers and responsible authorities. Before it is finished, it goes out for a referral (remiss).

    Point of influence

    The referral round is open: schools, parent associations and individuals can submit views.

  3. State

    The Government adopts it

    The new curriculum is decided by the Government and becomes binding on all schools, municipal and independent alike.

  4. Municipality

    The responsible authority gears up

    The municipality, or an independent school's board, makes sure teachers get training and time. The children and education committee sets the money aside in the budget.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election shapes the committee. Parent councils and open committee meetings are ways in between elections.

  5. Municipality

    Head teacher and teachers bring it to life

    The head teacher organises the work and the teachers translate the text into lessons, tests and assessments. This is where the curriculum actually takes shape.

  6. Your everyday life

    A new topic on the timetable

    Your child comes home and talks about source criticism in history class. The path there ran through the Government, an agency, a committee and a teaching team.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What makes a school good, and which of the municipality, the central government and the head teacher can shape exactly that?

  2. The school voucher follows the pupil. What does that do to schools in areas where many opt out of them?

  3. What should teachers decide for themselves, and what should be the same across the whole country?

  4. How can you tell in your municipality whether schools are a priority in the budget?

  5. If you could change one thing about the school near you, what would it be and who would you go to?

Glossary

Huvudman
The body responsible for a school: the municipality for most, an independent board for free schools.
Skolpeng
The money that follows each pupil to the school they attend, including independent ones.
Läroplan
The Government's binding governing document for what schools must teach.
Remiss
When a proposal is sent out so that those affected can comment before a decision.
Friskola
An independent school with its own responsible authority, funded by the school voucher and open to all.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.