School Choice in Sweden
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BBC‘s Liz MacKean offers great report on school choice in Sweden where “There are now more than 1,100 such schools in Sweden, funded by the state, but operated independently.” And “About 10% of all students of compulsory school age now attend the new schools, and in the upper secondary level it is about 20%.”
Kunskapsskolan, founded by Peje Emilsson, is a particularly innovative chain of personalized schools–Big Picture meets Connections Academy.
It’s odd that there’s more choice and market participation in education in Sweden than in the US don’t you think?
Tom Vander Ark
Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Al Meyers
Great post. I have been talking about the need for real competition in our education system as a driver of innovation. There are many charter schools that receive the lion's share of their funding from the public school system. If they are to be true "agents of change," then the ties need to weaker, not parasite/host.
As I have a family member in Sweden and have also been studying the area for "best practices," I'm glad you communicated their school choice approach. In addition, to the best of my knowledge, Sweden also allows the private sector to compete for government funding.
Thanks for teeing this up.
Al