Global Education &
European Teaching Strategies
Upplands- Brogymnasiet (Kungsängen)
The Swedish education system is exploring new educational policies in order
to reverse the decline in student performance and make sustained
improvements in the quality and equity of its school system. The Swedish
edcation system is very liberal and
decentralised. There is a strong debate
among political parties and union teachers who advocate for centralization on
the basis of cost saving strategies and sharing of best practices. Our Catalan
education system is centralised and this structure can sometimes be an
obstacle for schools to adapt to changes in their internal environment and
become more responsive to the needs of pupils and the community. Another
potential disadvantage is bureaucracy: some staff members might feel they are
just part of the system rather than valued individuals. In order to cope with
these disadvantages, the decree of “autonomia de centre” was issued in 2010 with
the idea of bringing together the benefits of both conceptions.
The Swedish
government has the
overall responsibility
and sets the
framework for
education at all
levels. The Swedish
Schools inspectorate
oversees and
examines the quality
of schools across the
country through
regular inspections.
However, the administrative education authority falls on each municipality
which ultimately makes isolated decisions. In fact, Upplands-Bro has power
over many resources and can decide on education policies. Each
municipality credits the amount of 8000 € per student to the school he/she
chooses. Because of the strong degree of decentralisation, the school
receives the money and makes sure the student receives tuition and all
educational opportunities for free.
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