The Professionalization of the Field of Education in Sweden: A Historical Analysis

Abstract

This article analyses the professionalization of the education field in Sweden from a historical perspective by tracing efforts towards professionalization of teaching from a clerically consecrated to a scientifically grounded praxis. Some of these efforts seem to be fairly typical for welfare states like Sweden. However, others are more unique, such as the state ambition to create a unified teacher profession based on a scientific knowledge base across elementary and grammar school teacher categories. This ambition failed. Some reasons are speculatively discussed primarily from a Bourdieuan perspective in terms of different teacher habitus, education capital and professionalization strategies among teachers in different positions in the field of education. Primary and secondary data sources are used but National Policy Documents have formed the main data source.