Presentation inom temaområde “National Internet-based School Support Initiatives” under INET’99 Educational Networking Workshop, San José, June 1999
The Swedish School System
The Swedish school system consists of
- approx. 1.2 million pupils
- approx. 120,000 teachers
- approx. 6000 schools
The Swedish school system is
- goal oriented
- decentralised
Goal orientation implies that
- goals are set by government – school law, national curriculum, syllabi
- how to achieve the goals is a question for the schools themselves
- the municipalities organise, provide the resources and employ the teachers
Decentralisation implies that
- responsibility for day-to-day work lies with the teachers and the school leaders
- schools decide about teaching material (including software), work methods, Internet access etc.
- municipalities may support with infrastructure, project money etc.
- the government does not provide hardware, recommend software, direct the use of IT in school etc.
However, the government
- disseminates information
- may provide project support
- encourages the use of Internet in school
National IT initiatives
National support for the schools IT development
- IT in School – a three year project run by the Ministry of Education focusing on teacher training
- The Foundation for Knowledge and Competence – a semi-government body that funds research and IT-projects
- The IT-commission – an advisory body to the government
- The National Agency for Education – a government body responsible for the K12-sector
The National Agency for Education
- acts on specific commission from the ministry
- acts on its own initiatives within the framework set up by the ministry
- works within areas: active follow-up, evaluation, supervision and development
The Swedish Schoolnet
The Swedish Schoolnet
- is a project managed by the National Agency for Education
- spreads knowledge and information about Internet and education to teachers, school leaders, decision makers, pupils and parents
- acts as a catalyst to create new content
- is an “information broker” for organisations, companies, museums, government bodies etc.
Philosophy behind the project
- show possibilities and give advice – not “commands”
- teacher empowerment is a basis for school development
- support local, active work of teachers and pupils
- support learning by doing
- provide forums, collaborative environments, services, tools etc. for this
- “ultimate vision”: school as “the center of the village”
Example of services and projects
- school adresses – support for finding other schools
- dictionaries – support for international contacts
- Classroom On-line – maga/webzine for inspiration and ideas
- the Multimedia Bureau – support for publication
- the Link Larder – a collection of high quality but not necessarily “safe” links,
Summary
Summary of the Swedish experiences
- “content pull” (rather than “technology push”) gives a solid IT development in K12-schools
- a focus on possibilities and advantages gives a widespread acceptance among teachers
- many different local initiatives combine into major changes
- new technology must be accompanied by changes in organisation and administration
About the author
Johan Groth has a Master of Science in Engineering Physics and a Ph.D. in Mechanics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He has, since 1994, been working with how Internet can be used as a development tool within the educational sector as a senior adviser at the Ministry for Education, the Swedish Parliament and, presently, the National Agency for Education. He has been involved in building the Swedish and European Schoolnets. Groth is a board member of The Swedish Chapter of Internet Society and of KTH Network Operation Centre. He has recently published the book “Internet comes to school”, a description of the first years of Internet use in Swedish schools.
References
- General information about the Swedish school system, The National Agency for Education, http://www.skolverket.se/b/faktablad/english/bbc1_b.html
- The 1994 Curriculum for the Non-compulsory School System, http://www.skolverket.se/pdf/lpfe.pdf
- Schools and Computers 1997 – a quantitative picture, The National Agency for Education, http://www.skolverket.se/c/it/skol_dator97/cbcc1.html
- Information technology in the schools, The National Agency for Education, http://www.skolverket.se/c/it/cbcb1.html
- IT in School, http://www.itis.gov.se/english/index.html
- The Foundation for Knowledge and Competence, http://www.kks.se
- The IT Commission, http://www.itkommissionen.se
- The National Agency for Education, http://www.skolverket.se
- The Swedish Schoolnet, http://www.skolverket.se/skolnet
- The Swedish Schoolnet, Dictionaries, http://www.nada.kth.se/skolverket/lexin-en.html
- The Swedish Schoolnet, The Mulitmedia Bureau, http://www.multimedia.skolverket.se/
- The Swedish Schoolnet, School Addresses, http://www.skolverket.se/skolnet/english/skoladresser/index.html
- The Swedish Schoolnet, The Link Larder, http://lankskafferiet.skolverket.se/
- IT in Education – The Role of Government, Johan Groth, 1998, http://www.pi.se/gogab/arkiv/rio-98.html
- Physical or virtual networks? – Connecting Swedish schools to Internet, Johan Groth, 1998, http://www.gogab.se/1998/physical-or-virtual-networks-connecting-swedish-schools-to-internet