The Shame of Swedish Education: J’Accuse! (Part 1 + 2) | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Shame of Swedish Education: J’Accuse! (Part 1) | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Shame of Swedish Education: J’Accuse! (Part 1)

The following article was written by Swedish high school teacher Filippa Mannherheim and translated by retired Swedish educator Sara Hjelm. It appeared in the Swedish publication Expressen. Sweden adopted a free-market system of schooling in the early 1990s, and the results have increased segregation without improving the quality of education or access to good schools. The free-market model, she writes, began with extravagant promises but has turned into a bonanza for entrepreneurs and profiteers.

Swedish education is a shame – you politicians have failed

Published 17 Nov 2020 at 06.15, updated 18 Nov at 10.05

Teacher and school debater Filippa Mannerheim.Photo: Press

Teacher and school debater Filippa Mannerheim today publishes an open letter on Expressen’s culture page to Sweden’s Riksdag politicians. “It is time to merge across party lines and stop the expansion of limited companies,” she writes.

This is a cultural article, where writers can express personal opinions and make assessments of works of art.

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Parliamentary politicians!

I am a Swedish citizen. I am a teacher. I’m a parent. And I am deeply concerned about the future of Swedish schools. 

The Swedish school has been subjected to a world-unique experiment. In the rest of the world, it is unreasonable for limited companies to make unregulated profits on tax money. Despite this, we in Sweden donate hundreds of millions of kronor to shareholders in company groups year after year – money that was intended for our children’s education.

With the deregulation of the 1990s, the ambition was to create thriving, independent schools, foundations, parent cooperatives and small limited company schools with CONTINUE READING: The Shame of Swedish Education: J’Accuse! (Part 1) | Diane Ravitch's blog

Sweden: Politicians Let Schools Sink into a Swamp of Corruption (Part 2) | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-tu0 via @dianeravitch

Vouchers and Market-Driven Schools in Sweden (Sara Hjelm) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Vouchers and Market-Driven Schools in Sweden (Sara Hjelm) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Vouchers and Market-Driven Schools in Sweden (Sara Hjelm)

Sara Hjelm is a reader of this blog. She wrote to me about the state of Swedish schools a few weeks ago and her deeply-felt concerns about the reforms now occurring in her country. As a retired teacher she sees the blending of school choice and vouchers as a reform strategy that, in her opinion, harms the nation’s schools.

Usually, I do not publish descriptions and critiques of schools in other countries but I was taken by Hjelm’s voice as a teacher, her critique of choice and vouchers, and an advocate for better schools.

As a preface for readers unfamiliar with the state system of schooling in Sweden, I begin with a description of earlier Parliamentary reforms aimed at improving the nation’s schools. Then I offer portions of what Sara Hjelm has written about these reforms. Hjelm gave me permission to use portions of her email.

Background of Swedish System

Sweden adopted a nationwide universal voucher program in 1992 as part of a series of reforms designed to give more control over education to towns and schools. Families can choose any school, public or private. Taxpayer money follows the student. This voucher system has led to a burgeoning industry of mostly for-profit, private schools, also called “free schools.” Two of the companies that run schools in Sweden are listed on the country’s stock exchange.*

In contrast to American private schools, “free schools” don’t charge tuition — they draw on government funds to operate — and are required to follow CONTINUE READING: Vouchers and Market-Driven Schools in Sweden (Sara Hjelm) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice