Early childhood education and care in Sweden

In Sweden, all children are considered to be entitled to a child care place. For over three decades, child care has been an integral part of the Swedish welfare state and of most families' everyday lives. In 1998 the government moved responsibility for child care from the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs to the Ministry of Education and Research as part of an effort to reform and expand early childhood education and care. The Curriculum for Preschool was released in August of that year and preschool became "the first step in the education system for children". In 2003, four- and five-year-olds became entitled to 525 free hours of child care a year. In short, Sweden continues its commitment to an ECEC system that is designed to meet the twin aims of supporting children's development, education and well-being and helping parents to balance parenthood and employment or study.

This ISSUE File highlights useful online resources detailing and discussing Sweden's highly developed ECEC system. Material is divided into four sections. Entries are organized from the most recent to the least recent.

Tue, 05/24/2011

Tags:

quality [1]

public management [2]

curricula and pedagogy [3]

Documents from the Swedish government

Overviews and fact sheets

An overview of the Swedish education system [4]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2009
Interactive diagram (Flash required)

From preschool pedagogy to nanotechnology: Education and research in Sweden [5]
Source: Government Offices of Sweden, 2009
Document in pdf (28 pp.)

The politics of pre-school: Intentions and decisions underlying the emergence and growth of the Swedish pre-school [5]
by Barbara Martin Korpi
Source: Government of Sweden. Ministry of Education and Research, 2007
Report in pdf (88 pp.)

Preschool is for your child: A brochure about the preschool curriculum [6]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2007
Document in pdf (12 pp.)

Strategy to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Sweden [5]
Source: Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, 2004
Fact sheet in pdf (4 pp.)

Curriculum documents

General guidelines and comments for quality in leisure-time centres [7]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2007
Document in pdf (44 pp.)

Curriculum for pre-school (Lpfö 98) [8]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 1998 (revised 2006)
Document in pdf (17 pp.)

Curriculum for the Preschool Lpfö 98 Revised 2010 [9]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011 (revised 2010)
Document in pdf (20 pp.)

Curriculum for the compulsory school system, the pre-school class and the leisure-time centre (Lpo 94) [10]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 1994 (revised 2006)
Document in pdf (21 pp.)

Statistical and evaluative reports

Ten years after the preschool reform: A national evaluation of the Swedish pre-school [11]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2008
Report in pdf (36 pp.)

Five years with the maximum fee [12]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2007
Report in pdf (32pp.)

Descriptive data on pre-school activities, school-age childcare, schools and adult education in Sweden 2006 [13]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2006
Report in pdf (162 pp.)

Pre-school in transition: A national evaluation of the Swedish pre-school [14]
Source: Skolverket: Swedish National Agency for Education, 2004
Full report in pdf (46 pp.)

Mon, 11/23/2009

Tags:

public management [2]

curricula and pedagogy [3]

Reports from the OECD Thematic Review of ECEC

Early childhood education and care country profiles - Sweden [15]
Source: OECD, 2006
Profile from Starting Strong II in pdf (7 pp.)

Curricula and pedagogies in early childhood education and care [16]
Source: OECD, 2004
Full report in pdf (34pp.)

Early childhood education and care in Sweden [17]
by Barbara Martin Korpi
Source: OECD, 2000
Conference paper in pdf (9pp.)

OECD country note: Early childhood education and care policy in Sweden [18]
SOURCE: OECD, 1999
Full report in pdf (48 pp.)

OECD background report: Early childhood education and care policy in Sweden [19]
by Lars Gunnarsson, Barbara Martin Korpi & Ulla Nordenstam.
Source: Government of Sweden & OECD, 1999
Full report in pdf (84 pp.)

Tags:

quality [1]

public management [2]

curricula and pedagogy [3]

Taxonomy upgrade extras:

Europe [20]

Other selected research, overviews and media

International and comparative research

Issues in education for children three to eight in six countries [21]
by Richard M. Clifford & Gisele M.Crawford
Source: FPG Child Development Institute, 2009
Report in pdf (8 pp.)

Promoting children's welfare in the Nordic countries [22]
by Hiilamo, Heikki
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Government of Finland
Report in pdf (88pp.)

Sustainable social policies in an era of globalization: Lessons from the Swedish case [23]
by Joakim Palme
Source: Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, Issue 32, 2007
Article in pdf (16 pp.)

What is good daycare? A Swedish perspective [24]
by Bengt-Erik Andersson
Source: Presentations from Plan-It Quality Conference, Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development, 2005
Presentation slides in pdf (10pp.)

Skolverket: Continuous pedagogical monitoring in child care and school (Link is no longer available)
by Lars Ullén
Source: Child Care in a Changing World European conference, 2004
Speaking notes in pdf (2 pp.)

Consolidating early childhood education and care under the Ministry of Education and Science: A Swedish case study (UNESCO early childhood and family policy series no.6) [25]
by H. L. Taguchi & I. Munkammer
Source: United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization, 2003
Report in pdf (35 pp.)

A comparison of the national preschool curricula in Norway and Sweden [26]
by Marit Alvestad & Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson
Source: Early Childhood Research & Practice, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1999
Article in html

Comparative family policy: Eight countries' stories [27]
by Kathy O'Hara
Source: Canadian Policy Research Networks, 1999
Report compares family policy in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Report in pdf (70 pp.)

Overviews from an international perspective

Public child care profile: Sweden [28]
Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees, 2009
Profile in pdf (4 pp.)

Lessons from Sweden. CCPA Review: Economic & Social Trends [29]
by Gregg, Olsen
Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2008
Document in pdf (4 pp.)

Play: The Swedish way [30]
by Jenny Sundelin
Source: The Guardian, 2008
Article in html

How Swede it is: Learning from Sweden's perspective on children [31]
by John Hoffman
Source: Today's Parent, 2005
Article in html

Media

Early years: How they do it in Sweden [32]
Source: Teachers' TV, 2006
Video (30 min.)

Tags:

quality [1]

public management [2]

curricula and pedagogy [3]

Useful websites

Skolverket. Swedish National Agency for Education [33]
Skolverket is the central administrative authority for the Swedish public school system including the preschool and school-age child care systems. Skolverket ensures that national targets for child care and the school system are achieved through development, research and evaluation. Skolverket's extensive English language website provides a wealth of information on the Swedish ECEC system.

Sweden. Ministry of Education and Research [34]
The Ministry of Education and Research is responsible for matters regarding education, including pre-school education and child care for school children, pre-school classes and compulsory education.

Sweden [35]
This website is part of Columbia University's Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies (last updated May 2008).

Tags:

quality [1]

public management [2]

curricula and pedagogy [3]

Taxonomy upgrade extras:

Europe [20]