Towards comparative equality but persisting inequality in relation to the ambitions of swedish education

Abstract

Internationally and comparatively, Swedish education is strongly egalitarian; it has achieved more than most other countries regarding educational equality. On the other hand, in relation to Sweden's ambitious goals for education at all levels from preschool institutions to higher education, there are substantial gaps, a fact that has caused much debate in the country. During the first four decades after World War II, Sweden was renowned for its extensive welfare system and its education policies, which gave priority to equality. The basic principle of the Swedish educational system is that "everybody should have access to an equivalent education, regardless of their sex, ethnic or social background, or place of residence" (SMES, 1997: 7), in other words, all students should be provided with an education of similar quality, regardless of their background (Lpo, 1994: 6). Stratification and inequality exist in every society (Jencks et al., 1972; Farrell, 1999), and Sweden is no exception. Likewise, equality is a relative matter. In high-income countries practically every child has access to basic education and survives at this stage of the educational system, but gradually students acquire different levels of knowledge, which leads to unequal access to upper secondary and higher education. Available indicators (tests, grade point averages, etc.) make evident that a differentiation sets in already in comprehensive school and increases through the different levels of education. © 2006 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands.