Equal rights to tuition-free education from the age of six is one of the pillars of the Swedish welfare state. And from the very first day at school we are encouraged to think for ourselves and develop our critical thinking.
Swedish compulsory schooling is nine years. Photo: Pierre Friberg/Image Bank Sweden
When siblings Simon and Emma Johansson (see "Meet the Johanssons" in the right column) started preschool at the age of one and a half, state subsidies ensured that their parents, Anna and Lars, only had to pay a limited cost for it. In 2009’s figures, this means that preschool never costs parents more than 3 percent of their income (or at most SEK 1,260) per month, a rule that applies to public as well as private preschools. Thus affordable for all, the idea is that preschools stimulate children’s development and learning, while enabling parents to work or study.
At the age of six, most children start school, but only a non-compulsory preschool class. As seven-year-olds, Simon and Emma started their nine years of free compulsory schooling. Apart from regular primary and secondary schools, compulsory schooling also includes Sami school — with education in both Swedish and Sami for children with Sami parents; special school for children with disabilities; and programs for pupils with intellectual disabilities. There are also non-municipal — but still tax-financed — independent schools in many areas. They offer a similar basic education, but with a more specific focus, such as language, religion or a certain pedagogy.
From the age of six, Simon and Emma went straight from school to the after-school day care, a service offered to children up to twelve that takes a load off full-time-working parents’ shoulders. The fee for this type of day care is limited to a maximum of 2 percent of the parents’ income.
Until recently, students were only given grades from the eighth grade, but some schools have now begun to offer written evaluations at a younger age. Simon is in the ninth grade. He will use his final grades to apply for the Social Science Program at the non-compulsory but equally free-of-charge high school. Around 98 percent of students who finish compulsory school go on to high school. For those who attend high school, the child allowance is from the age of sixteen transformed into a monthly study allowance.
Simon is not yet clear about what he wants to do after high school. Perhaps he will take a gap year before doing like hundreds of thousands of his peers and give university studies a go. Why wouldn’t he? Even higher education is fully tax-financed for him. Moreover, if he decides to study at university he will also be eligible for financial student aid, which is part grant, part loan.
Swedish universities encourage independent thinking. Photo: Gösta Wendelius/Umeå University/Image Bank Sweden
Sweden has a proud history of academic excellence that dates back to the founding of the University of Uppsala in 1477. Today, Swedish universities are characterized by a laid-back atmosphere, where relations between students and teachers are open and informal. But don’t get the wrong idea — Sweden is renowned for its high education standards. Teachers simply encourage students to use their own initiative rather than tell them exactly what to do. Most likely, the prestigious Nobel Prize has played a part in convincing us that innovation is the way forward.
Level of education among people in Sweden aged 25–64 (2008)
|
Compulsory education
(age 7-16) |
High school |
Higher education: shorter than 3 years |
Higher education: 3 years or longer |
| Women |
13% |
45% |
15% |
26% |
| Men |
17% |
48% |
14% |
19% |
| All |
15% |
46% |
14% |
22% |
Rikard Lagerberg & Emma Randecker
Rikard Lagerberg is a writer and editor who has spent most of his adult life in the US and in Ireland. Returning to Sweden he discovered a new curiosity for his native country.
Editor and writer Emma Randecker has spent most of her life in Sweden, apart from a couple of longer excursions to France and the UK. It was, in particular, a longing for the changing Swedish seasons that made her go back home after a few years.
Both Rikard and Emma work at the Swedish Institute.
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