REG ER1NGSKANSLIET 30 November Education for All: the Year 2000 Assessment. Early Child Education (ECE)

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1 Memorandum REG ER1NGSKANSLIET 30 November 1999 Ministry of Education and Science Stockholm, Sweden Division for School Senior administrative Officer Ulla-Stma Rykmg Telephone Fax ulla-stma. ryking@education. ministry, se Education for All: the Year 2000 Assessment Early Child Education (ECE) In 1968 the National Commission on Child Care, was commissioned by the Government to submit proposals on how child care integrating pedagogical, social and supervisory elements could be developed in Sweden. Demands for the expansion of child care had become more vehement, there was a great need for labour and the claims of the women's movement at that time for equality and democracy through participation in working and societal life on the same conditions as men were becoming more widely accepted. The Commission concluded in its report to the Government that the old views of care as poverty relief and pedagogical activity as stimulation for children of better-off parents could be brought together into a single form to provide education and care for all children. This would be called "pre-school", irrespective of whether it was provided full-time or parttime. The 1975 National Pre-school Act that followed imposed upon the local authorities the task of systematically expanding public child care and to provide an official report of their plans. In addition, municipalities were required to provide all 6 year olds with at least 525 hours of free preschooling. Children needing special support should have priority in preschool activities from an early age. The public pre-school, even though voluntary, has in practice served all 6 year olds from its introduction. The national strategy for ECE, which was politically defined and specified in the early 70s has since then, with some gradual modifications, been followed and implemented during the past three decades. Stable parliamentary support, during most of this period, for

2 government proposals in the child care and family support areas, have made possible the fulfilment of the goals implied in this national strategy. In January 1995 new legislation came into force, which in a complete departure with earlier approaches, specified the obligations of the municipalities to supply pre-school activities and child care. In the earlier legislation, the municipalities were obliged in their expansion plans to satisfy the need for child care. Now, however, the municipalities were obliged to provide child care, without unreasonable delay for children aged 1-12 years, whose parents were working or studying or if the child had a special need for child care. The pre-school, the school and the child care for school-aged children have gradually been closer associated to each other. The responsibility for pre-school education was in 1996 transferred from the Ministry for Social Affairs to the Ministry of Education and Science and in 1998 the National Agency for Education became the national authority responsible for pre-school activities. In a follow-up study, conducted by the National Agency for Education in 1998, more than 95 percent of all municipalities (275) stated that they were now able to offer a place in child care "without unreasonable delay", defined as "within 3-4 months" after application. To summarise the present situation, the vast majority of Swedish children, 1-12 years old, now have a place in publicly funded child care of some sort, be it pre-schools, family day care homes or leisure-time centres. Public child care is now a part of the educational system, and the first curriculum for pre-schools (Lpfö 98) came into effect in August, In addition, the National Agency for Education is preparing supplementary guides for family day care and open pre-schools. This does not mean, however, that the links to the Swedish family support system have been cut off. The structure and function of the ECEC will continue to be important for the welfare of Swedish families with young children.

3 Table 1. Children enrolled in pre-schools (day care centres) Percent of all children in each age group Age of child Formal Education below University level One fundamental principle of the Swedish education system is that everybody must have access to equivalent education, regardless of ethnic and social background and of place of residence. Compulsory school and upper secondary school are both comprehensive, designed to accommodate all members of the young generation; and all schools are co-educational. The curricula for compulsory and upper secondary school are valid nation-wide. Adult upper secondary schooling and upper secondary schooling for young persons have the same syllabi and, as from 1994, the same curriculum. State regulations for the education system are set out in the Education Act. Adult education in Sweden has a long history and options for further and continuing education are available in many different forms throughout the country. Education for adults equivalent to the education conferred by the compulsory and upper secondary school is part of the public school system. This gives everybody the possibility to make up compulsory and upper secondary school and to rejoin the formal system of credentials. Swedish education is thus a structurally uniform education system from elementary level via upper secondary schooling to adult education. In addition to this, various financial schemes permit students in upper secondary, adult and higher education to finance their studies.

4 Education for All is thus covered by the Swedish education system. Sweden is included in the studies made by The International Association for The Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The studies shows that Sweden has achieved a high position. Among people of 9-years of age as well as among those of 14-years of age in 27 countries Sweden took the second position. Share of people with education on university level among years old was 27 % which gave the third position in the study. The total expenditure for education in 1995 was 6% of GNP. Primary Education Compulsory education in Sweden takes the form of a 9 year comprehensive school (grundskola) for children aged However, if their parents so desire, children have a right to start compulsory school at the age of six years. In 1998 about 7% of the pupils starting school that year were six years old or younger. It is also possible to postpone the start of compulsory education until the child is eight years of age, if there are special reasons for this. Compulsory elementary schooling was formally introduced in Sweden in Elementary school was long a poor-man's school with no connection with higher education. It was chiefly in the towns that state grammar schools grew up, with tuition that led to matriculation, along with municipal 'intermediate' schools and lower secondary schools with tuition leading to the lower school leaving certificate. The elementary school was co-educational from the outset. The grammar schools and lower secondary schools were not open to girls who were instead referred to separate girls' schools. However, co-educational lower secondary schools were introduced from the beginning of the 20th century, even though there were still a large number of girls' schools. A process of reform, destined to take many years, began in the 1940s with the aim of expanding compulsory schooling. The 9 year compulsory comprehensive school was decided on by Parliament in 1962, and fully implemented in the school year This meant amalgamating the seven-year elementary school and the four-year lower secondary school. Separate girls' schools were then abandoned. At the same time schools were given their first modern curriculum. As starting school is compulsory from the age of 7 years this meant that the school leaving age as from 1992 is 16 year. Today, it is regulated by the Education Act of 1985, with amendments. The compulsory school system comprises compulsory school (grundskolm), Sami school (sameskolan) for Sami-speaking children in

5 5 the north of the country, special schools (specialskolan) for children with certain handicaps (children with impaired hearing, vision or speech disabilities) and compulsory school Table 2. Number of pupils and teachers and total costs Year Number of Number of Teachers Total costs pupils teachers per 100 (SEK, milliards) pupils , , , , ,229 73,524 73,380 72,669 71,894 73,006 8,3 8,1 7,8 7,6 7,5 44,2 46,6 49,0 49,4 51,6 IT In 1999 there were on average 10 pupils per computer in municipal compulsory schools. Nearly half of the computers are located in the classrooms, without local network, afifthin classrooms with local network and afifthin special computer classrooms with local network. The number of computers per pupil is increasing in compulsory education. 85 percent of the municipal compulsory schools are connected to Internet, which is an increase since 1995 when only afifthof the schools were connected to Internet. As regards computer used only by teachers, there were in 1999 on average six teachers per computer in municipal compulsory schools the number was twelve teachers per computer. Upper Secondary Education Upper secondary education in Sweden has passed through a period of reforms and developments in the last 25 years. In 1970 the then existing different types of schools for theoretical and vocational education at upper secondary level were amalgamated into one school, the gymnasieskola, designed to accommodate all

6 young adults. The final leaving examination of the former gymnasium for university preparatory studies had been abolished two years earlier. During the 1970s and 1980s, a number of measures were taken to improve upper secondary schooling so as to match the needs of the labour market and those of higher education with the wishes and requirements of young people. At the end of the 1980s, a reform of the structure of the upper secondary school was initiated, which in 1991 led to major alterations to the 1985 Education Act. A new system of upper secondary education was introduced in the school year and was fully implemented by the school year The most important objective of the reform was to raise the general educational level and prepare every-one for life-long learning. A second objective was to increase the scope of individual choice for each pupil. The background was the rapid development in working life where new occupations are developed with more complex content and where future changes are unpredictable. By making the upper secondary school more flexible young people should be equipped to meet these challenges. In order to prepare all young people for the demands of a changing working life as well as for further studies, the reform extended all the upper secondary programmes to three years and introduced the same core subjects in all the 16 national programmes. Municipalities are since 1992 obliged by law to provide upper secondary schooling for all pupils leaving compulsory school. Municipalities must offer a comprehensive selection of national programmes and admissions capacity for the various programmes must be adapted to pupils' preferences. In principle, students have the right to have their primary option fulfilled. If a municipality is unable to provide all programmes, it can enter into agreement to co-operate with other municipalities. Two or several municipalities which together provide education in a national programme constitute a co-operation region for that programme. Certain programmes are organised for pupils from all over the country. Upper secondary education can also be

7 provided by county councils, mainly in agriculture, forestry, horticulture and certain caring occupations. Upper secondary education is voluntary and free of charge. (The right to start upper secondary education applies up to and including the calendar year in which the pupil is 20. Thereafter there is an opportunity to take part in adult upper secondary education.) Almost all, 98 percent, of compulsory school leavers continue studying in upper secondary school. The individual programme aims to assist pupils who have difficulties pursuing a normal upper secondary education or to enable people to combine a job providing vocational training with the study of particular subjects at an upper secondary school. If the reason for pursuing the individual programme is the former, i.e. that the pupil is unmotivated or unsure of his choice of studies, the programme contains a number of possibilities such as induction courses for young immigrants and followup. In such cases, the individual programme should aim to provide the pupil with a basis for subsequently pursuing a course of studies within a national programme or a specially designed programme. The pupil is then credited with the courses completed on the individual programme. For pupils in need of remedial measures, the aim should be primarily to bring the pupil up to compulsory school proficiency in the subject (s) in which it is lacking. Subsequently, they should be encouraged to undertake further studies.

8 Statistic Table 3. Number of students in Upper Secondary Education and costs Year Students Costs SEK, millions Almost 50 % of the students that finishes upper secondary school enters into higher education within four year. Adult Education Alongside the educational opportunities for adults offered by the normal schools for young people, the 1950s and 1960s in particular saw the rise of separate schools for adults. State night schools where adults could take the lower and higher school leaving certificates were founded as early as Through intensive night schools which grew up during the 1950s, adults were offered far greater scope to improve their education at lower and upper secondary levels. Initially, the night schools were run by certain educational associations. In 1963, they were awarded state grants. Subsequently, they underwent a period of rapid expansion and nearly all came under the control of the municipalities. Adult education was also organised by the vocational schools in the form of part-time courses. Courses in technical subjects held full time during the day were also to be found as part-time courses in the evening in the form of technical night schools. The municipalities are obliged to provide basic Swedish language tuition for immigrants, for an average of 525 hours. The Swedish tuition aims to providing adult immigrants with basic knowledge and proficiency in the Swedish language as well as knowledge about the Swedish society. The Parliament decided in 1967, to radically reform the adult education. Adult education was organised as state adult education, recruiting

9 nationally, and municipal adult education, recruiting locally. As a result of the reform, the upper secondary night schools and the state supplementary schools ceased to operate. On 1 July 1968 they were replaced by the municipal adult education system ["komvux"]. Ten years later in 1977 the ordinance governing basic education for adults ["grundvux"] was introduced, a course of study which was integrated into municipal adult education on 1 July The public sector school system for adults includes municipal adult education {komvux), adult education for intellectually handicapped (särvux), Swedish language teaching for immigrants (svenska for invandrare) and National Schools for Adults (Statens skola for vuxna). The Adult Education Initiative [kunskapslyftet) is a five year programme, launched in 1997 in order to boost adult education and training in Sweden. A pilot project involving qualified vocational education (kvalificerad yrkesutbildning) is also currently carried out. As regards upper secondary adult education and supplementary education, municipalities must endeavour to offer courses that meet demand and needs. If the number of places is fewer than the number of eligible applicants for a course, priority must be given to those whose need is greatest. Criteria to be taken into account in selecting applicants include whether they have a short previous education, need the course for a planned or current occupation or are about to choose an occupation or need the course to become properly qualified. Since 1 July 1986 the municipalities are responsible for providing Swedish tuition for immigrants ["sfi"]. Sfi aims to provide adult immigrants with basic knowledge and proficiency in the Swedish language as well as knowledge about Swedish society. The municipalities are obliged to provide basic Swedish language tuition for immigrants, for an average of 525 hours. Every municipality must as soon as possible, and at the latest within three months, ensure that tuition is offered to everyone aged over 16 who is resident in the municipality and lacks a basic command of the Swedish language. Also Finnish nationals who are regularly employed in the municipality but resident in Finland near the Swedish border have the right to Swedish tuition. Tuition is totally free of charge for the students. Sfi education shall follow the basic values which are given in the national curriculum for non-compulsory schools (Lpf 94). The syllabus for sfi is

10 1 determined by the Government. In the syllabus the level of knowledge which each student shall have achieved at a certain point during the course, as well as after having fulfilled the course, is given. Table 4. Number of students in adult education in the academic years 1994/ /98 and (% women 1997/98) Year Number of students in Basic (%) Upper Supplementary Sfi secondary(%) education (%) 1994/ / / / (64) (65) (52) The total cost 1997 for municipal adult education was approximately five thousand million SEK and for sfi 610 million SEK. Higher Education Higher education, postgraduate studies and research take place at 13 state universities and 23 state university colleges. In addition to this, there are eight university colleges of health sciences as well as private higher education institutions, such as the foundation of Chalmers Institute of Technology and the foundation Jönköping University College. There are 10 more private higher education institutions who have the right to award undergraduate degrees. Higher education in Sweden is divided into undergraduate studies and postgraduate studies. Undergraduate studies also cover continuing and further education. All higher education is undertaken at universities and university colleges. There is no specific non-university higher education. Higher education is in principle based on different courses which can also be combined into different programs. All courses given may be part of a general degree. Higher education is always free of charge. The number of students in higher education has increased with 60 % since 1990 and there are now approximately students in undergraduate studies. The total costs for higher education 1996, 1997 and 1998 was 29 million, 30.4 million respectively 31.9 million SEK.