| 1. |
- Ackesjö, Helena, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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The schoolarization of the preschool class : policy discourses and educational restructuring in Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2002-0317. ; 5:2, s. 127-136
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our aim in this article is to examine policy discourses that promote positional changes for thepreschool class in the Swedish educational system. The preschool class is currently going througha watershed period, which is characterized by uncertainty regarding its position in the educationsystem. In this article, we explore changes in the Swedish education system by analysing policydocuments from 1997 to 2017 with a specific focus on the positional shift of the preschool class.The departure point for our study is that policy relates to the concepts of subjectification,qualification and socialization. In addition, we examine how these goals in education are to beachieved and the educational restructuring required to do this. The findings show that policydiscourses about the preschool class have shifted from pedagogical arguments about thebenefits of pedagogical integration, consensus and the move of preschool pedagogy into schooleducation, to more school- oriented, knowledge-economy arguments about increased goalachievement. Schoolarization describes a positional shift in the education system that containstwo collaborative processes: an approach towards school content, goals and forms for teachingand a distancing to the content and goals formulated for Early Education and Care.
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| 2. |
- Adolfsson, Carl-Henrik, Fil doktor, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Power dynamics and policy actions in the changing landscape of local school governance
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 2002-0317. ; 6:2, s. 128-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we theorize on local school governance through a multi-method case study of a large-sized Swedish municipality by drawing on neo-institutional theory. In light of a changing governing landscape in Sweden in terms of a ‘re-centralization’, new conditions between the state, the local education authorities (LEA) and the schools have emerged. The aim of this study is to examine what policy actions the LEA employ for governing the school and in what ways that principals respond and handle these policy actions. The results point to the fact that the LEA uses a bench-marking strategy through its quality assurance system and intervene if results are poor. Principals seek support from the LEA, but are anxious that their autonomy will be diminished and therefore function as ‘gate-. The system for quality assurance is appreciated by principals, but standards aimed at framing discursive communication on quality are criticized. Principals turn to managers below the superintendent, which creates a tension between managers. The study shows that different levels and actors must be taken into account in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the multi-layered field of local policy enactment.
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| 3. |
- Adolfsson, Carl-Henrik, 1976-
(författare)
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The local governance of Swedish schools in light of a new educational policy landscape empirical exploration and theoretical elaboration
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - 2002-0317.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the Nordic curriculum theory (CT) tradition, questions linked to educational change and school governance have long been a crucial research issue. However, despite several decades of decentralized school systems, local school governance has been a highly neglected field of research. Considering the changing landscape of school governance in terms of re-centralization, where the state’s aim is to take stronger control of school outcomes, the conditions for local school governance have changed. Based on results from two research projects in two Swedish municipalities, and from a neo-institutional theoretical perspective, the aim of this article is to contribute to the CT research field by exploring and theorizing on local school governance. Four management strategies that local educational authorities (LEAs) employed to manage the schools could be distinguished: local school management via i) data use, ii) the standardization and formalization of schools’ quality assurance processes and routines, iii) quality dialogues, iv) professional learning and best practices. These management strategies and activities were mostly organized, and conducted within the scope of the LEAs’ quality assurance systems and were primarily built on normative and cultural – cognitive elements. A way to conceptualize this form of governance is through the concept of ‘local quality management’.
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| 4. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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The Decollegialization of Higher Education Institutions in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Routledge. - 2002-0317. ; 9:2, s. 126-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article surveys current management ideals of higher education institutions, and our analytical focus is on the balance between line management and faculty self-governance. It presents an empirical study of evolving governance structures including all 31 public sector higher education institutions in Sweden. The point of departure is the Autonomy Reform of 2011, which resulted in a deregulation of the Higher Education Act, and a loss of constitutional support for collegial bodies. To assess the consequences of the reform, we have examined collegial bodies and academic leadership posts before the reform (2010) and after (2020). Our findings show escalating line management in the appointment of academic leaders, a diluted role for collegial expertise, and a loss of decision-making authority for collegial bodies. What we observe is the decollegialization of higher education institutions. Our study contributes to the existing literature with an unusually comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of the consequences of new managerial ideals at the local institutional level.
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| 5. |
- Ahlström, Björn, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Rolling the dice in a game of trust : Organizational effects on trust, efficacy and motivation when using economic incentives as a driving force for development in Swedish schools
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Routledge. - 2002-0317. ; 5:3, s. 139-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For a long time, the Swedish government has tried different reforms to counteract declining student results. One action was to implement a salary-lift for teachers perceived as especially skilled. However, changes within socially complex systems tend to create tensions and resistance among the staff. In this reform, a majority of teachers were excluded from the payroll raise, which led to a renegotiation of roles, rules and commitments within the faculty. In this study, the principals’ perception of the teachers’ initial reactions and responses to the implementation is the focus. The data for this study contain four narratives from principals who implemented the salary lift within their organizations. The analysis shows that the reform challenged the principals as heads of the organizations. They stated that the salary lift created conflicts and insecurities among the teachers related to their motivation, sense of trust and self-efficacy. These conflicts and insecurities seemed to fuel a spiral of mistrust within the schools in the wake of the reform.
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| 6. |
- Aldrovandi, Alessandra, et al.
(författare)
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Coping with discrepancies: implications of career guidance and counselling for migrants’ social inclusion in Finland and Sweden
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - 2002-0317. ; , s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Career guidance and counselling (CGC) plays an important role in the ‘egalitarian tradition’ of the Nordic countries’ perspective of education, since it aims to support all students in developing skills and knowledge to access further education and the labour market. Inspired by the critical institutionalism approach and focusing on education aimed at migrant students, this article explores the strategies that school actors implement to cope with the discrepancies between CGC policy and practice by analysing two cases: one in adult vocational education and training in Finland and the other in the Language Introduction Programme in Sweden. The ecological framework facilitates an understanding of the complex policy – practice dynamics within the local learning ecologies while also opening up a discussion on their implications for migrant students’ opportunities for social inclusion. The findings show how the shortcomings of the policy – practice relationship affect teachers’ and counsellors’ work, and how students consequently may end up relying on self and peer support.
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| 7. |
- Alvunger, Daniel
(författare)
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Towards new forms of educational leadership? : The local implementation of förstelärare in Swedish schools
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 2002-0317. ; 1:3, s. 55-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2013, the Swedish government launched a reform of career services for teachers that introduced förstelärare (‘first teacher’) as a new category. This article presents results from an ongoing research project about the implementation of the reform in a municipal local context in public schools with attention to leadership practices förstelärare engage in and the impact on the educational leadership of the principals. The theoretical framework for the analysis provides perspectives on the interdependencies between and within different levels and sub-systems in the school organisation through the concepts of nested learning systems and distributed leadership. The main results indicate that the introduction of förstelärare strengthens the idea of distributed leadership through the fact that förstelärare engage in leadership practices mandated by the principals. However, it also challenges existing collegial structures through an increased need for collaboration and interaction among both principals and förstelärare.
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| 8. |
- Amcoff, Jan, 1966-
(författare)
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Achieving lively, creative and successful university environments
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2002-0317. ; 6:3, s. 179-192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the advent of the knowledge era, academia has begun to play new roles in society. As a result, requirements for the design of universities may also change. Milieus of lively and flourishing urban life that foster encounters and unforeseen collaborations within academia – as well as between academia and society at large – have been called for. In this research, a GIS analysis of Swedish register data shows that such mixed environments are limited to the university facilities situated within city centres. However, both new and abandoned locations are more mixed than average. Based on a literature review, we argue that university planners need a clear priority ranking of their objectives, as different objectives may call for different kinds of design. Moreover, the review reveals that other environmental qualities have also been ascribed importance to success. In general, the existing literature provides limited guidance to designers, due to a lack of consensus and because the actual effects of specific measures are less researched than stated perceptions. Thus, so far, the contemporary direction in university design has limited expressions in Sweden, has unclear – and potentially conflicting – objectives and is based on insufficient empirical knowledge.
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| 9. |
- Andersson, Richard, 1990-
(författare)
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Approaching change through pragmatic routines : a case study of a municipal response to a teacher certification reform in the Swedish School-age Educare
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2002-0317. ; 8:2, s. 133-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the last decade, the Swedish School-age Educare has been the object of multiple government-enforced reform initiatives in order to clarify its purpose and increase educational quality and equivalence. In 2019, a teacher certification reform was imposed on the educational programme, concretizing responsibilities between categories of staff and regulating hiring procedures in order to raise the level of formally qualified personnel. At the same time, Sweden was (and still is) battling a severe teacher shortage, with teachers certified towards the School-age Educare being one of the scarcer categories to acquire. Through a single-case study, this article explores a local municipal response to this policy dilemma by focusing on the ways in which the reform demands are translated and made sense of in terms of organizational routines. The findings show that actors make sense of demands based on prior knowledge and beliefs connected to identity and qualitative endeavours of the educational programme, which in turn shape ‘scripts’ to routine performance. However, when these scripts collide with performative constraints connected to organizational capacities, pragmatic routines are designed in order to partly sustain apprehensions from the initial reform translation, which in turn shapes further routinized action.
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| 10. |
- Andrée, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Teachers’ negotiations of bias in relation to teaching resources offered to schools by industrial actors
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2002-0317. ; 8:1, s. 52-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article focuses on the participation of industrial and corporate actors in science and technology education in Sweden. Opening up schools for the participation of industrial actors may be seen as a means of making education more connected to society. However, it may also contribute to the emergence of tensions related to ensuring values of objectivity and neutrality. The aim is to investigate how teachers deal with commercial interest, bias and partiality in collegial evaluations of industry-produced teaching resources. The data consist of focus group interviews with teachers, which were analysed using an ecological perspective on teacher agency. The teachers’ evaluations of the teaching resources focussed: (1) The legitimacy of evaluating teaching resources in terms of bias. (2) The value of a resource in terms of correctness and versatility, (3) Acceptable ways in which commercial interests are communicated (undercurrent messages, logos and advertisement), (4) Bias in light of different educational aims, and (5) Upholding neutrality versus imparting specific values and behaviours. The results are discussed with regard to the teacher agency achieved in evaluations concerning commercial interests, bias and partiality.
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