Sweden has commonly been regarded as a striking example of a social democratic welfare-state regime (Esping-Andersen 1996), characterized by strong state governance and active involvement in welfare matters. In the last two decades, however, the Swedish public sector and education system have been radically and extensively transformed in a…

The Swedish education system has undergone major restructuring since the early 1990s. The new policy, including e.g. decentralisation, accountability, school choice and a tax-funded voucher system, has led to an expanding "school market". This article explores how upper secondary school principals perceive the increased competition among…

As Sweden drew nearer to the 2006 national election, two themes emerged in the educational debate: a concern for order and discipline in schools, and the ambition to raise educational levels of achievement. The objective of this article is to locate these two themes within a broader framework of understanding by: 1) discussing examples of how the…