Status of education in Sweden The education system in Sweden is much like many systems in Europe.

Sweden, like many European countries is socialist and therefore its education system is as well. In Sweden school is free except for Nursing and higher education which is only partially governmentfunded. Education, since it is funded greatly by the government is the single largest item in the municipal budget. Sweden requires its students to attend school from age 7 to age 16, but children are allowed to start preschool as early as age one. The Swedish Education Act allows for all students despite gender or economic standing to have the same access to the same quality education. On an international scale, the Swedish education system has been doing very well, except in recent years. Swedish students were competing at an international level and were ranked amongst some of the best. However in the most recent study the rankings of Sweden fell drastically, for example in math the average of countries was 494 points and Sweden scored a 478, which is way down from their previous score of 500. On the same assessment but in reading Sweden scored a 483 which was not far from the average, but it was far from their 516 in the year 2000. Due to this recent fall, the Swedish education

system has taken on a new look with some much needed reform. The new Swedish Education Act: promotes greater knowledge, freedom of choice, and student safety and security, according to their own website. Along with this new act a new curriculum has been put in place along with a different grading system. A great milestone which should improve the system has be the adding of teacher certification which, beginning 1 December 2013, professional certification will be required for school and primary/nursery school teachers on permanent contracts. The decision aims to raise the status of the teaching profession, supporting professional development and thus increasing quality in education , (Sweden.se). This should definitely improve the system in the way that it assures students are receiving a proper education from trained professionals. Schools in Sweden overall are safe schools to attend. In a recent international TIMSS study Sweden had the highest percentage of students who felt safe at school. With this, Ninety-five per cent of upper secondary students and older students in compulsory school say they
always or usually feel safe at school, (Sweden.se). This is great for the Swedish education system because in order to learn students must feel safe.

In the Swedish education system they are also keeping up with the times. Sweden prides itself on creating opportunities for students to learn using technology. They say that the technology is helpful in learning, communication, and creativity. The schools in Sweden are very technologically advanced; in primary school there are six students to every computer and in secondary there is an average of 2.5 students for every computer. Technology is an important tool in education today for Sweden and the world.

Overall the education system in Sweden is good, but there are some areas that need to be worked on. With that being said Sweden is moving in a forward direction with their education system in order to compete on an international level.

Cites:
Education in sweden. (2013, November 06). Retrieved from http://sweden.se/society/education-insweden/ Oecd. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/asian-countries-top-oecd-s-latest-pisasurvey-on-state-of-global-education.htm Sweden tumbles in global schools ranking. (2013, December 03). Retrieved from http://www.thelocal.se/20131203/sweden-slides-in-global-education-rank-pisa-students-schools