Education in Sweden

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**Education in Sweden**
Post Doctorate	PD
Professional Doctorate	Q5
Doctorate	Q4
Doctorate	Q3
Licentiate	Q2
Licentiate	Q1
Professional Degree	T5/T6
Master's Degree	T4
Bachelor's Degree	T3
University Diploma	T2
University Diploma	T1
Secondary School (Preparatory) Ages 16-19	S3
	S2
	S1
Primary School (Upper) Ages 12-16	P9
	P8
	P7
	P6
Primary School (Lower) Ages 7-12	P5
	P4
	P3
	P2
	P1
Preschool or Early Primary School	P/P0
Kindergarten	K

Education in Sweden is mandatory for all children aged 7-16. The school year in Sweden runs from mid/late August to early/mid June the coming year. The Christmas holiday from mid December to early January divides the Swedish school year into two terms.

Swedish primary and secondary school has relatively limited room for student choice. For instance, it becomes possible to choose a more advanced mathematics course only during the spring term of the tenth grade (the year students will turn 17). Until then, all students follow the same course; a similar situation applies to most other subjects. This is the result of a concerted effort to streamline education, in the hope that this will favor students from families with lower levels of educational attainment. Critics claim it has lowered results significantly among talented students without raising them within other groups.

1 History of education in Sweden
- 1.1 Primary school
- 1.2 Secondary school
2 Current education in Sweden
3 Primary and Secondary School
4 University
- 4.1 Grading
5 Post Graduate
6 Post-secondary Education
7 Comparisons with the American educational system
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] History of education in Sweden

[edit] Primary school

In 1842, the Swedish parliament introduced a four-year primary school for children in Sweden, "Folkskola". In 1858 grade 1 and 2 became "Småskola" and the children started school at the age of seven. In 1882 two grades of the "folkskola" were added, grade 5 and 6. Some schools also had grade 7 and grade 8 of "folkskola", called "Fortsättningsskola". Schooling in Sweden became mandatory for 7 years in the 1930s and for 8 years in the 1950s. Since 1972, Swedish children have 9 mandatory years in school - from August the year the child turns 7 to June the year the child turns 16.

[edit] Secondary school

After three years in the "folkskola" children who enjoyed school and had good grades, could choose to switch schools to a secondary school called "Högre Allmänna Läroverket". Högre Allmänna Läroverket was not free education, so most students were from well-off families. However, some children with good grades got free education at "högre allmänna läroverket" because their parents could not afford to pay for it. In 1905, "Högre Allmänna Läroverket" was divided into a lower level called "realskola" and a higher level called "gymnasium". In 1971, Fackskola merged with Gymnasium and Yrkesskola to become "Gymnasieskola".

[edit] Current education in Sweden

[edit] Primary and Secondary School

The educational system in Sweden is based on a nine year primary school, or "Grundskola" with mandatory attendance. Following this comes an elective three year secondary school, or "Gymnasieskola" which is divided in two instances where you either prepare for higher education or receive vocational education. The preparatory instance allows for specialization in either natural sciences or social sciences.

[edit] Grundskola

In the autumn term of 1949, some Swedish schools introduced an experiment with a nine-year school called "Enhetsskola". The "Enhetsskola" had three stages. Grade 1-3 was "Lågstadium" (Lower Stage), grade 4-6 was "Mellanstadium" (Middle Stage) and Grade 7-9 was "Högstadium" (Upper Stage). In those school districts, Småskola became lågstadium, folkskola became mellanstadium and realskola became högstadium. On May 26th 1950, the Swedish parliament decided to introduce the "enhetsskola" in Sweden. In 1958 the "enhetsskola" became "försöksskola", which in 1962 changed name to "Grundskola". In 1972, the "grundskola" was introduced in all parts in Sweden, and the "folkskola" and "högre allmänna läroverket" were abolished. From the autumn term of 1994, the official division in three different stages was abolished. In the early 1990s, Sweden also introduced "Förskoleklass" for the children aged 6, a one year long grade which first was called "Årskurs 0" (Grade 0) or 6-årsgrupp (group for the 6 year olds). "Förskoleklass" is not mandatory.

[edit] Grading

Three grades are currently used in elementary school: Pass (godkänd (G)), Pass with distinction (Väl godkänd (VG)) and Pass with special distinction (Mycket väl godkänd (MVG)). The grades are usually referred to by their abbrevation. Note that failed does not exist as a formal grade, but should the student fail to pass a course this is reported as ***, referring to a footnote explaining that the pupil "lack foundation for a grade", however, many people do consider failed (Icke godkänd (IG)) to be an actual grade and often refer to *** as such. Pupils do not start receiving official grades until the 8th grade, although it's not uncommon that tests are marked with grades prior to that. Compared to course grades, failed tests are often actually marked with IG. This is however dependent on the preferences of the teacher and doesn't make any sort of difference.

The pupil's total score, which is used for application to gymnasium, the secondary schools, is calculated by taking the pupil's 16 best subjects and numerically adding them together, with G = 10, VG = 15 and MVG = 20, yielding a maximum of 320. It's normal for a pupil to have 17 or more grades, as most study a third language - traditionally German or French, but in recent years Spanish has grown more prevalent.

The 16 subjects used to calculate the total must include the three core subjects - English, Swedish and Mathematics. If the pupil fails any of the core subjects she or he lack qualification to attend secondary school. However, the student can still attend the secondary school individual programme (individuellt program (IV)), either to gain comptence in the core subjects and start a secondary school programme or to complete the individual programme and satisfy the requirements for a student degree (see below).

[edit] Gymnasieskola

Secondary school, called gymnasieskola, lasts for three years (however many students study for four or more years of various reasons) and is formally elective, although most attend it and there are very few prospects for those who do not attend. Secondary school is divided into so called different "programs", e.g. different types of choices which lead to different kinds of education. The two most common "programs" are "social knowledge" (samhällskunskap) and "science" (naturvetenskap). The "programs" are further divided into orientations. There are currently 17 different national programmes - centrally defined programme curriculums - with between two and four centrally defined orientations. In addition there are local programmes and orientations, but most schools use the national programmes.

The programmes are divided into two general categories, preparatory and vocational programmes. All programmes give basic qualification to attend university, but preparatory programmes typically satisfy more of the various special qualifications that are required to attend some university courses and programmes.

The courses that a student takes depending on programme and orientation can be divided into four levels: Core subjects, programme-specific subjects, orientation subjects and individually selected courses. Core courses are courses that everyone, regardless of programme, have to study to satisfy the requirements for a student degree. Programme-specific courses are the additional courses that a student is required to take to fulfill the programme requirements. If a student for some reason does not fulfill the requirements, for example by electing to replace a programme-specific course with another course, the student is considered to have attended a specially designed programme - this has no bearing except for what's printed on the school leaving certificate. Orientation subjects are the courses that a student elects to take by selecting an orientation. Normally these courses take place in the 2nd and 3rd year, although in a few cases the courses start earlier. Finally, individually selected courses are courses which the student freely selects for herself/himself in the 2nd and 3rd year. For this specific slots have been set aside in the curriculum and the schedule.

[edit] Admittance

To attend secondary school, the prospective student applies to attend a certain programme at a certain school, competing for entrance based upon her/his elementary school grades. In a few cases, such as the Arts Programme (Estetiska programmet (ES)) at certain schools, the student applies for both programme and orientation. Some programmes, generally the Arts Programme and certain local programmes/orientations, have some form of entrance exam in addition to the elementary school grades.

[edit] University

After the preparatory secondary school, the student applies to a university in order to receive a tertiary education. General academic degrees are offered by public universities students nationally, and university colleges that tend to attract students more on a regional basis. A University Diploma can be awarded after two years of study, and a Bachelor's degree, after three years at a university or university college. It is possible to specialize further by obtaining a Master's degree which requires an additional year at a university, however once at least a Bachelor's degree has been obtained the student is qualified for postgraduate education.

Besides the general academic degrees described the system of higher education in Sweden also provides a number of professional degrees awarded by establishments on the outside of, and on occasion by separate schools within, the public university system. There are professional degrees in fields like engineering, law and medicine, and even if these have a more extensive curriculum and require a longer time to complete than a Master's degree, it is generally not possible to receive any intermediate degree prior to completion. Having completed the preparatory secondary school with a specialization in natural sciences is typically a prerequisite before being able to apply to an establishment that awards one of the higher professional degrees in the natural science or technical fields.

University is free of charge, both for Swedes and for foreigners, although there is a discussion in parliament about charging foreign students (non EU-citizens) in the future. Swedish students also receive economic help from the state for studying. Every student is entitled to 12 semesters of allowances (at a level of about 250 euros per month) and loans (of an extra 450 euros per month). Although studies on this level is free, in reality many students have debts after studies that can lie in the range of 15000 - 40000 euros depending on where the studies have been conducted and what courses have been taken.

[edit] Grading

Three sets of grades exist. There is one set that consists of (3, 4, 5) where 5 is the highest. This grade set is normally given in courses within technical professional degrees (these educational institutions are often referred to as högskolor in Sweden, and their curriculum is on par with a typical international university). The other grade set consist of G (pass) and VG (pass with distinction), and this grade set is typically used at educational institutions that are referred to as universitet. In this set VG is the highest. Finally there are some courses, within two systems of grading, in which you can only get G (pass) or fail. For instance in a 20 point thesis (specialized level) in Computer Science for a Master's degree at högskolan one can only get the grade G (pass) or fail, but for an equivalent thesis at a swedish university one can also receive the grade VG.

[edit] Post Graduate

The stage of quaternary education offers two degrees, an intermediate postgraduate degree, called Licentiate, and the Doctorate degree.

**Post-secondary Education**
Qualified Vocational Education	KY2
Qualified Vocational Education	KY1
KomVux	PS
Secondary School (Vocational) Ages 16-19	S3
	S2
	S1

[edit] Post-secondary Education

Completing secondary school on a vocational program with full classes on a three year curriculum does provide a basic qualification for further studies. However many times post-secondary education is required before being admitted at university or university college. Post-secondary education is provided by Municipal "KomVux" schools (short for KOMmunal VUXenutbildning, lit. "Municipal Adult Education"), and independent boarding schools named Folkhögskolor (or Folk High Schools in English).

Instead of opting for higher education, a student from a vocational program in secondary school is able to apply for what is called Qualified Vocational Education or "Kvalificerad Yrkesutbildning". This form combines education and practical experience from business or industry in the chosen field. The level of education is essentially post-secondary but can also contain courses that meet the requirements of tertiary education.

For post-secondary education, the KomVux and the Qualified Vocational Education in some ways correspond to what is offered by community colleges in the United States.

**System Comparison**
Sweden		United States
Post Doctorate	PD	Post Doctorate	PD
Doktors-examen	Q4	Post Doctorate	PD
	Q4	Doctorate	Q4
	Q3
	Q3
Licentiat-examen	Q2		Q3
	Q2
	Q1
	Q1	Master's Degree	G2
Magister-examen	T4		G2
Magister-examen	T4		G1
Kandidat-examen	T3		G1
	T3	Bachelor's Degree	T4
	T2		T4
	T2		T3
	T1		T3
	T1		T2
Secondary School (Preparatory) Ages 16-19	S3		T1
	S2	High School Ages 14-18	H12
	S1		H11
Primary School (Upper) Ages 12-16	P9		H10
	P8		H9
	P7	Middle School Ages 11-14	M8
	P6		M7
Primary School (Lower) Ages 7-12	P5		M6
	P4	Elementary School Ages 6-11	E5
	P3		E4
	P2		E3
	P1		E2
Early Primary School	P0		E1
Kindergarten	K	Kindergarten	K

[edit] Comparisons with the American educational system

The Swedish educational system has its own distinctions and is as such not directly comparable to other educational systems such as the one of the United States. There is however a need to compare degrees and the educational or academic levels attained through a completed education.

One of the first things to notice as compared to the US system is that primary schooling, which is compulsory end at age 16 in Sweden. However, almost everyone attends the elective secondary school (Gymnasieskolan), choosing either a university-preparatory programme or a vocational programme. Also students choosing a vocational education path are eligible for university studies, although access to some courses is restricted. Comparatively, in terms of education, the latter half of the preparatory secondary school to some extent corresponds to the freshman year of college.

The higher education system in Sweden does not recognize any intermediate stages between under graduate and postgraduate education. Undergraduate education offers the general degrees of "Kandidat", literally Candidate and "Magister". These degrees are for all purposes seen as equivalent but not identical to the degrees of Bachelor's and Master's. Next to duration, the most significant difference is in the elective requirements. While an American degree might have over a full year's worth of mandatory electives unrelated to the course of study, Swedish degrees frequently contain less than a semester of such coursework. A Swedish Bachelor's degree is seen to hold a slightly higher academic distinction, and a Master's degree, while attaining at least the same level of specialization is not as extensive, as a graduate Master's degree.

The postgraduate level at Swedish universities offers an intermediate degree called Licentiate and it is closer in academic level to a Doctorate than a Master's degree. Due to this the requirements for a disputation for a Doctorate in Sweden is also seen to be slightly higher. Though at the Doctorate level the degree of specialization is reaching a point where the benefit of any kind generalized comparisons can be put in to question.