Sweden

Rachel Stagg, Jordan Stagg, Elizabeth Schock, Arielle Basel, Sheridon Duncan and David Schmidt
www.nottle-sabattacal.blogspot.com

www.allcountries.org

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Did you know..

Each high school graduate gets approximately $5,000 cash upon graduation from high school in Sweden?

www.randompixels.org

Sweden in brief
Located in northern Europe Member of EU since 1995 No war participation since 1814 Constitutional monarchy limited to ceremonial duties Democratic government
www.worldatlas.com

Preschool
Children in Swedish preschool learn about exploration, creativity, cooperation, responsibility and a love of nature Its not the child we should evaluate, its the processes in the school. Obviously, this is much different from the United States, where students learn about themselves as individuals, but also learn basic math, reading and sciences to foster intellectual growth

Preschool: When they start

Most children start preschool at age 1 After they enter at 1, they typically stay until the start of compulsory school at age 6 or 7 After preschool, most children go on to attend preschool class from age 6-7

http://www.vittra.se/english/AboutVittra/Theschoolsystem.aspx

A Typical Day in Swedish Preschool

Children attend preschool around their parents work schedule: some start at 6 AM, some later. Kids eat breakfast together and sing songs They spend the vast majority of their day outside, even in the harsh winter Once a week, they typically play games with letters, but with no pressure to learn and remember the alphabet

http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2011/06/no_him_or_her_in_swedish_presc.html

Staff Training
Educational teachers and Leisure-time teachers both require 34 year tertiary degree from a higher level university college Many teachers have child assistants In most preschools, there is a staff:child ratio of about 1:6; one of the best rates in Europe and other participating PISA countries Only about 2-3% of preschool staff are men

Preschool Funding
Childcare for preschool is financed locally by tax revenue, state grants and parental fees Parents of newborns receive a paid leave of a combined 16 months Parental fees for preschool are linked to the familys income Children aged 3-5 offered free schooling for 525 hours per year

Compulsory Schools
Parents choose what age children start school Typical age is 7 Can vary from 6-8 depending on individuals readiness

www.theguardian.com

Compulsory Schools
Typical school year begins end of August and continues through June Attend classes 5 days a week Two week winter break around December 20th. Sound familiar?

www.businessinsider.com

Compulsory Schools
Education is free and available to all Municipal run schools Independent Schools Must adhere to same curriculum Cannot charge admissions Can accept donations

Compulsory Schools
Mandatory attendance to the age of 16 Take an exam for upper secondary school Majority (80%) pass
www.stockholmresisience.org

Other Schools
Special School:
deaf language disturbance visual impairment

Other Schools
Sami School:
Occupies first 6 years of compulsory school Is Sami oriented but corresponds with learning requirements

Other Schools
Intellectual Disabilities:
Children with mild and profound mental disabilities

Life after Compulsory School

Upper Secondary School:

For those that pass Compulsory Exam Not mandatory Provides 3 additional years of training Free
Construction Electricity Energy Child Care and Recreation Arts Vehicle Repair Business Admin Handicraft Hotel and Restaurant Industry Food Media Natural Resource Use Natural Science Health Care Social Science Technology

Life after Compulsory School

Individuals with learning disabilities:
For those that did not score to enter Upper Secondary School Voluntary Prep for workforce

College
College is free! Living- Not so much 85% Swedish students graduate with debt/50% U.S. $19,000

Stats College

Grading
Pass/ Fail -old system 5-3- Old system A-F- New system E is passing!

Types of Colleges
14 public universities 20 public university colleges Independent Universities

What is PISA?
Programme for International Student Assessment

Its not about what you know, its about what you can do with what you know.

2 e h T

A S I P 2 01
eas

Min d n a r Majo ter t a M t bjec u S w e N on i t a t n e es Repr

s Ar u c o F or

Above Average Average Below Average

United States Sweden

-Above Average

-Average

-Below Average

Mathematics
Mean Score
OECD Average

Reading
Annual Point Change

Science
Annual Point Change

Mean Score

Mean Score

Annual Point Change

494
481 478

-0.3
0.3
-3.3

496
498 483

0.3
-0.3 -2.8

501
497 485

0.5
1.4
-3.1

United States

Sweden

Significantly Above Average

Average

Significantly Below Average

Percentage of Students Who Reported Being Happy at School

Sweden

Average

United States

Global Economic Standing

Money Spent on Education

Stats
Sweden Education Stats, NationMaster. Retrieved from http: //www.nationmaster.com/countryinfo/profiles/Sweden/Education

Parent Involvement
The parents lack knowledge of the school system and of educational practices in Sweden. The lack of such knowledge resulted in the parents having fears and uncertainties in approaching the school. 50 teachers and more than 400 parents were recruited/volunteered for this project Parents education course were designed to fit within the needs of the parents who lack knowledge about the school system in Sweden. The program was also to be used in other schools for other parents who lack such knowledge. The basic function of the home school mediators is to establish closer bonds between the schools and a particular group of parents The main purpose was to support and advise the parents on issues concerning the education of their children and to encourage teachers at the school and the parents to initiate a close working relationship at a secondary school level for children between the ages of 12 and 16. The parents were to be encouraged to become more actively involved in their childrens education and were to be provided educational opportunities as well as guidance in doing so. The result came out positive and a little more than half the parents became more involved in school activities.

The Education Act

General Provisions, Statutes 1-10) 1. The state provides education for children and young persons in the form of pre-school classes, compulsory comprehensive and upper secondary school and certain equivalent forms of school that is special schools principally for pupils with impaired hearing/vision and speech disabilities, schools for the mentally disabled and Sami schools. Pre-school class, compulsory basic, upper secondary school, special school principally for pupils with impaired hearing/vision and speech disabilities, schools for the mentally disabled and Sami school constitute the national school system for children and young persons. There are also special types of education for those who as a consequence of illness cannot take part in the school work within the national school system. The state also provides educational activities in the form of pre-school activities and welfare for schoolchildren. 2. All children and young persons shall irrespective of gender, geographic residence and social and financial circumstances have equal access to education in the national school system for children and young persons. The education shall be of equal standard within each type of school, wherever in the country it is provided.

Education Act Continue..

3. Apart from the types of schools provided by the state, there may be schools provided by private physical or legal persons (independent schools) 4. Municipalities are the entities responsible for pre-school class and compulsory comprehensive school. Municipalities and county councils are the entities responsible for upper secondary school. 5. Schools for the mentally disabled exist for children and young persons who cannot attend compulsory comprehensive and upper secondary school because of mental disability. The municipalities are the entities responsible for schools for the mentally disabled. 6. Special schools principally for pupils with impaired hearing/vision and speech disabilities exist for children who because of impaired hearing or deafness cannot attend compulsory comprehensive school or the equivalent section of School for mentally disabled. The state is the entity responsible for special schools principally for pupils with impaired hearing/vision and speech disabilities. 7. Sami school is an alternative to compulsory comprehensive school, and the state is the entity responsible for it. 8. the State provides education for adults in the form of adult education, adult education for the mentally disabled and Swedish for immigrants.

Education Act Continue..

9. the national adult education system shall give adults an opportunity, in accordance with their individual wishes, to supplement their education. Primarily those who have received the least education shall here be given an opportunity to strengthen their position in working life and in cultural and political life. The education shall be equivalent within each type of school wherever in the country it is provided. 10. Municipalities and county councils are the entities responsible for adult education. The municipalities are the entities responsible for adult education for the mentally disabled and Swedish for immigrants.

A personal experience
A family friend - grew up in Sweden and completed all education - some of children are attending school there now

Elementary/ Teaching
- children enter daycare at 18 mo. - begin elementary at age 6 - grade 1-3 only 4 hrs daily/ same teacher - grade 4-6 days get longer/ same teacher - Grade 7th Lockers and change of teacher for each subject

Languages
- 1st grade - begin to learn English - 7th grade - begin a third language - 10th grade - begin a fourth - she was taking English, French, German, and her native Swedish (even as a science major)

Electives/ or Specials Grade 39

- Woodcraft (benches and bookcases) - Sewing Class - both boys and girls made clothes/ knitting and crocheting

Structure
- School is only mandatory to 9th Grade - 10-12th vocational or college track, specialize - after high school/ straight to med school - others go to law school etc

Things I found interesting...

- Found that things her husband did in college she learned in high school - knew she always wanted to be a pediatrician and felt self motivated - now paying for children's education she is thankful for her FREE education - Grading does not start until 6th grade - to get into competitive high school you need good grades in 9th - University is based on 10th -12th

Pictures

References
Free education in Sweden from 6 to 19. (2014, March 25). Retrieved April 16, 2014, from preschool-to-university-in-sweden/article/free-education-from-age-6-to-19/ The Swedish education system. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://skolnet.skolverket.se/polopoly/utbsys-eng/ The Swedish school system. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://vittra.se/english/AboutVittra/Theschoolsystem.aspx "Educational Policies That Address Social Inequality Country Report: Sweden." Retrieved April 17, 2014, from <http://www. epasi.eu/CountryReportSE.pdf>. Various. (n.d.). Sweden. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden "Parental Involvement in an Urban School." Retrieved Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.epasi.eu/%24-project-study.cfm? PID=136>. http://sweden.se/collection/from-

References
[American flag]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://howmanyarethere.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/usa-flag-map1.jpg [Comparing companies' and economies' performance in mathematics page 7 PISA results document]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012results-overview.pdf [Cover image of PISA results document page 1]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf "Education: Sweden and United States compared", NationMaster. Retrieved from http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Sweden/United-States/Education [GDP per capita map]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FComparison_between_U.S. _states_and_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita&h=0&w=0&tbnid=ih1D1XGXG0KiHM&zoom=1&tbnh=153&tbnw=330&docid=JtcOfjMivnGkM&tbm=isch&ei=mUlQU66bHsrx2AWa9ICgCQ [PISA colored pencil image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search? hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=635&q=PISA&oq=PISA&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1290.1994.0.2267.4.4.0.0.0.0.153.525.0j4.4.0....0...1ac.1.41.img.. 0.4.523.t8dZ6NTSg3c#hl=en&q=PISA+test&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=w4VJVIi4iZqK8M%253A%3B0xcP7wEgEDLM6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F% 252Fneatoday.org%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F12%252FPISAchart-e1386034797861.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fneatoday.org%252F2013% 252F12%252F03%252Fwhat-do-the-2012-pisa-scores-tell-us-about-u-s-schools%252F%3B600%3B412 PISA 2012 Results in Focus. (n.d.). Retrieved from OECD website: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf [Snapshot of performance in mathematics, reading and science page 5 PISA results document]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-resultsoverview.pdf [Sweden and United States GDP comparison]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore? ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&hl=en&dl=en&idim=country:SWE:NOR:CHE#! ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:SWE: USA&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false [Sweden flag]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wallpas.com/sweden-flag-grunge-wallpaper.html

References
Cacciola, J., & Downs, M. (2013, December 11). International and US Styles of Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from https://my.vanderbilt.edu/ developmentalpsychologyblog/2013/12/international-and-us-styles-of-early-childhood-education/ European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. (2014). Financing - Sweden. Retrieved from http: //www.european-agency.org/country-information/ sweden/national-overview/financing OECD. (2006). Sweden: Early Childhood Education and Care. Retrieved from http://www.oecd. org/edu/school/37423778.pdf Pramling Samuelsson, I., & Pramling, N. (2013). Early Childhood Education in Sweden. Retrieved from http: //www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/ obo-9780199756810/obo-9780199756810-0081.xml Savage, M. (2013). Night nurseries: Sweden's round-the-clock childcare. Retrieved from http://www.bbc. com/news/magazine-21784716 Teaching Channel. (n.d.). How They Do it in Sweden: Preschool [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www. teachingchannel.org/videos/ examining-pre-school-curriculum

References
EDALO Education Promotion Services. (2014). The Swedish Grading System. Retrieved from Study in Sweden website: http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-sweden/grades Institute, S. (2013). Getting Smarter in Sweden. Retrieved from Higher education and Research in Sweden website: http://sweden.se/society/higher-education-and-research/ Institute, S. (2014). Higher Education in Sweden: The basics. Retrieved from Study in Sweden website: http://studyinsweden.se/study-information/basic-information/ Luzer, D. (2013). College Guide. Retrieved from Washington Monthly website: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/sweden_has_free_college_and_st.php Phillips, M. (2013). The High Price of a Free College Education in Sweden. Retrieved from The Atlantic website: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-high-price-of-a-free-college-education-insweden/276428/