Malmö högskola
Lärarutbildningen
SOL
Examensarbete
15 högskolepoäng
The school in Sweden and Ireland
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A comparative study of the school system in
Sweden and Ireland
Skolan i Sverige och Irland
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En studie som jämför skolsystemet i Sverige och
Irland
Felicia
Holmstedt
Lärarexamen Gs Handledare: Ange handledare
Lärarutbildning 270 hp 2010-03-23
Examinator: Anna Henningsson-Yousif
Abstract (English):
This essay consists of four main parts. The first part aims to present some of the Swedish and Irish school systems giving explanations for different schools, levels, years and current school curricula and syllabuses.
The second part shows the result of a research of the governing organs within the education system in each country. Responsibilities of departments, associations and councils are presented together with school policies and attempts for reform.
The third part gives a presentation and a discussion on the relevant literature relating to the main school policies in Sweden and Ireland. The key words for this part are school
development, school improvement and teacher leadership.
In the fourth part of this essay I present the result of a conducted study with school teachers in Sweden and Ireland. Ten teachers, five from each country, working in primary and secondary schools, have answered questions concerning their job and their country‟s school policy. Their answers have been compared and contrasted in relation to part two and three in the essay, and also in relation to their nationalities.
Finally a fifth part will summarise, conclude and reflect the essay as a whole.
Abstract (svenska):
Denna uppsats innehåller fyra huvuddelar. Den första delen ämnar att presentera delar av det svenska och irländska skolsystemet med förklaringar av nivåer, ålder och nuvarande läroplan och kursplaner.
Den andra delen visar resultat av en undersökning gjord av de styrande organen inom utbildningsområdet in varje land. Ansvarsområden för departement, organisationer och verk presenteras tillsammans med motioner och reforminitiativ.
Den tredje delen ger en presentation och en diskussion av relevant litteratur som relaterar till skolpolitiken i Sverige och på Irland. Nyckelorden i denna del är: skolutveckling,
skolförbättring och lärarledarskap.
I den fjärde delen av uppsatsen presenterar jag resultatet av en studie med lärare i Sverige och Irland. Tio lärare, fem från vart land, som jobbar på grundskola och gymnasium, har svarat på frågor angående deras jobb och deras lands skolpolitik. Deras svar har sedan jämförts med andra och tredje delen av uppsatsen samt med varandras nationaliteter.
Slutligen ger en femte del en summering, sammanfattning och reflektion av arbetet i sin helhet.
Content
Abstract 3
Content 5
1. The education system in Sweden and Ireland 7
1.1 Purpose 7
1.2 Background – Historical and social context 7
1.3 Introduction – Two different systems? 9
1.4 The Swedish school system – The school curriculum of ‟94 9
1.5 The Irish school system – The school curriculum of ‟98 11
2. Organisation and the work for development – A presentation of the governing structure 13 2.1 Introduction – Who runs the school? 13
2.2 The Swedish governing structure – Institutions of influence 13
2.3 The Irish governing structure 15
2.4 Current projects for reform 17
3. School improvement and teacher leadership – A theoretical study 19
3.1 Introduction – The importance of knowledge and research 19
3.2 School development 19
4. The teachers‟ views – Interviews with teachers in Sweden and Ireland 21
4.1 Introduction – Reaching out in search of answers 21
4.2 Method 21
4.3 Result – Getting to know the people in the spot light 22
5. Final conclusion 24
5.1 The system, the structure, the developments and effects 25
5.2 Theory and reality, the readings and the interviews 26
5.3 Reflection – A student, an empty page 27
6. Bibliography 28
1. The education system in Sweden and Ireland
1.1 Purpose
This thesis aims to compare and contrast official perceptions of some parts of the school system in Sweden and Ireland today in order to see how the countries are dealing with school development and if they are following a common pattern.
1.2 Background – historical and social context
In The education system in England and Wales written by Paul Sharp and John Dunford a historical chapter begins the book with the argument that the roots of the present education system are firmly embedded in the past (1990, 1). I will there fore do the same in this thesis and give two brief presentations of the history of the education system in Sweden and Ireland.
In 1842 the Swedish riksdag decided that a national school system was to be implemented in the country. After the Second World War society and its‟ view of the school changed which led to school reform in 1962. Education was now recognized as a crucial driving force for economic and social progress in the modern society, progress that affected the individual and the society as a whole (Husén.1987:9). The reform brought forth a new nine year compulsory school system, the first Act of Education and school curricula with accompanying subject syllabuses. The documents were very detailed and stated the responsibilities of the schools, the purpose of education, the right for all children to an education and how the work in the schools should be carried out.
Since 1962 the governing documents have been revised and altered and this has led to further school development and reform. Two decades ago, in the early 1990‟s, the state decided to change the school quite radically. Until the late 1980‟s it was virtually taken for granted in Sweden that state financed services such as health, education and care should be publicly run. In the years that followed, this view changed. Expectations of the positive consequences of competition and a market-orientated approach were behind the changes in regulation which made it possible for external players and agencies to operate public cervices (Schools like any other? 2006:6). The main trends within school development during this time are apparent in the school curricula of 1994 (Lpo94 and Lpf94). One of them is the de-centralisation of the school and the initiation of private schools. The other trend is the idea of a goal orientated
school system. These two factors implies that the state no longer control the school by telling it how to carry out its‟ activities, as it had done before. Instead the municipalities and the individual schools are to decide how the work is to be done in order to reach the targets set by state. The municipalities have to reach the national targets after their own abilities in terms of time, economy and teacher availability (Säljö.2008:32). As new revised school curricula are set to be introduced in 2011, the curricula of 1994 are soon part of the historical context of school development in Sweden. Though the new curricula sets out give more freedom of control to the municipalities, the individual schools and the private schools, a governing document such as the Act of Education is still a constitution of law and there fore the school is still, as writer Gunnar Richardson describes it, working in a world of paragraphs
(Richardson.2008:79).
Ireland
The national school system was established in Ireland in 1831 and opened the schools for the whole population. The national schools were originally meant to be mixed religion, or as they are called today multi-denominational. In practice this did not happen and virtually all schools in Ireland today are working under one church, the Catholic Church. There was no legislation governing how the schools were to be run. Instead they were receiving circulars and rules from relevant departments in the government (schooldays, 2010).
In the years 1965 to 1975 Ireland experienced a period of major social, economic and cultural change as a vibrant national economy provided resources and motivations for significant reforms. New school buildings were built, libraries were improved, the student numbers increased and the educational research were flowering. These reforms were as Professor John Coolahan describes them; timely and necessary (Coolahan J. 2007:5). During this time the first primary school curriculum `Curaclam na Bunscoile (1971)’ was introduced, a document that would not be revised until the early 90‟s. During the period of 1980 to 1990 the interest for school reform and development declined and teaching collages and departments in the area of education are forced to close down.
However, in the 1990‟s Ireland experienced an economic boom commonly known as the Celtic Tiger. During this period the school system saw development once again with new agencies in the fields of education, new school curriculum and a revised Act of Education. As
the country is currently experiencing an economic recession, which became apparent in 2007/2008, the Irish school system is one again struggling to produce constructive actions for improvement in the education system.
1.3 Introduction – Two different systems
During my final year in upper secondary school (gymnasiet) in Sweden I got the opportunity to visit a European country of choice and make myself familiar with the country‟s cultural- and physical geography and identify the effects experienced by the country of the EU. By choice I picked Ireland and by coincidence I ended up in a small town situated in the south of the island. For two weeks I spent my days in a local school experiencing both differences and similarities in organisation and teaching methods. There are instant differences noticeable to the eye as a Swedish student enters an Irish school. Examples of these are the compulsory usage of school uniforms and, in my case coming from a Swedish upper secondary school, the range of ages of the pupils in the one school. It was clear that the divide that is so eminent in the Swedish school system, the step between the ninth year in the obligatory school to the first year in optional upper secondary school, was not as visual in the Irish schools. There are of course similarities and differences that are not as immediately evident in the landscape and some of these can be found in the governing documents such as the school curriculum and subject syllabuses. I will there fore give a presentation of the rules, years and levels of the school systems in both countries and introduce the current school curricula. I find it important to give a presentation of how the school system is structured in both countries in order to contrive sufficient knowledge to make a final comparison of the two countries‟ education system.
1.4 The Swedish school system
Grundskolan (primary and junior cycle) is compulsory and consists of nine levels which are divided in to three stages; låg- och mellanstadiet (primary school) and högstadiet (junior
cycle/level), each stage comprises of three years. The children usually start at level one when
they are six or seven years old and finish in level nine when they are sixteen. Grundskolan, which is regulated by the school curriculum Lpo94, aims to give access to further education in gymnasieskolan (senior level). Grades and similar ratings may not occur before level 8
with distinction) and MVG (pass with excellent distinction). The final grade achieved in level nine is used for application to gymnasieskolan where a pass is required in the subjects of Swedish, mathematics and English to enter.
Gymnasieskolan encompasses theoretical and practical training and is voluntary. Pupils choose between a large range of national- and local programs. Senior level schools are governed by the Act of Education and by the school curriculum Lpf 94 of the voluntary school forms. Higher education, such as collages and universities are voluntary and free of charge. Students at the colleges must however be a member of the Student Union and pay the so called compulsory student union membership fee.
The Swedish school system:
The school curriculum Lpo 94
The current school curriculum for the primary school (grundskolan) in Sweden is called Lpo 94 and was the start off point for a new school reform in Sweden. The document brought two new elements to the forth; the increase of municipality responsibility by the de-centralisation of the schools and a goal orientated school system.
The de-centralisation of the school system means that the state no longer tells the schools how to attain the national goals. This is now up to each municipality and individual school.
The goal orientated system consists of two sets of goals; goals to strive for and the goals to attain. The goals to strive towards specify the orientation of the work in the school and the goals to attain express the minimum levels pupils should have attained when leaving school. These two areas of change have had a great impact on the individual schools and on the teachers. The teachers and school management have to work to set up school plans on how the national goals and targets are to be reached and also continuously revise if the pupils are achieving these goals.
The current curriculum has also set its framework after the new societal changes such as globalisation. This can be seen in the new focus on fostering skills and democratic values.
1.5 The Irish school system
Attendance at full-time education is compulsory for all children between six and sixteen years of age in Ireland. The school system is divided between schools giving first level and second level education. Each level have its‟ own school curriculum, setting targets, methods and values for the specific educational area. At the age of six the children start their first year in primary school. Primary school consists of six levels where the pupils are usually in the age of 11 or 12 when they leave for junior cycle which lies within the second level education. Junior cycle is part of the compulsory period of education and is usually taken by students between the ages of 12 and 15. Most students who begin junior cycle have spent eight years in primary school and the curriculum at junior cycle builds on the learning of the primary
curriculum. An important aim of the junior cycle curriculum is to provide students with a broad and balanced programme of study across a wide range of curriculum areas in order to prepare them for transition to senior cycle education. At the end of junior cycle pupils have to pass a national exam to get the junior certificate that enables them to continue into senior cycle education.
Senior cycle education in Ireland is voluntary and may be of two or of three year's duration. The difference is accounted for by students choosing to take an optional year called
Transition Year, in the first phase of the senior cycle, before they follow the two-year „Leaving Certificate programme‟. At the end of senior cycle pupils have to pass national exams in order to get their Leaving cert certificate.
The Irish school system:
The curricula of second lever education in Ireland are under current review and
re-organisation. I will there fore concentrate on presenting the school curriculum for the primary school which was introduced in 1998. The primary school curriculum is a large document
consisting of 89 pages which are explaining and presenting aims, principles and features, key issues in primary education, specific aims and general objectives, curriculum areas,
curriculum implementation in the schools and a chapter on children and learning. Considering that the last curriculum was introduced in 1971 it is understandable that this document is of such large size. The current curriculum is to incorporate the current educational thinking and the most effective pedagogic practices and is said to be designed to cater for the needs of children in the modern world (1999:6). The minister for education and science Micheál Martin means that the introduction of the new primary school curriculum is an exciting opportunity for change and renewal in the primary schools and describes it as a major departure in the history of primary education in Ireland (1999:6). The three general aims of primary education are to enable the child to live a full life as a child and to realise his or her potential as a unique individual, to enable the child to develop as a social being through living and cooperating with others and so contribute to the good of society and to prepare the child for future education and lifelong learning (1999:16).
New elements to the curriculum is that the pupil should be an active agent in his or her own learning, that skills should facilitate the transfer of learning and that collaborating learning should feature in the learning process. Issues that the new curriculum had to take into account were the European- and global dimensions of modern living, respect for diversity and the importance of tolerance, the role of information and communication technologies in enhancing learning and catering for children with special needs (1999:17).
Up till this point the Irish primary school curriculum has had many similarities with the Swedish curriculum of ‟94. However the Irish document continues by articulating not only the content to be learned or the outcomes to be achieved, but the wide range of approaches on how these may be achieved. In the teacher guidelines detailed advice on curriculum, organisational and classroom planning is offered for each subject area. It also gives a time framework which suggests minimum time for each of the curriculum areas. It is up to the individual teacher to plan for the implementation of the curriculum in the classroom.
2. Organisation and work for development – A presentation of the governing school structure
2.1 Introduction – Who runs the school?
This essay was to focus on pedagogic leadership, discussing leadership matters affecting the role of the teacher. However I find that the issues that are affecting the pedagogic leadership and the role of the teacher, such as time, resources and access to further educational
development, can be traced back to governmental actions. It has been argued that today‟s schools have a new guideline system, but still works within old patterns of hierarchy where the governing comes from the top and controls the bottom (Berg G, Scherp H-Å.2003:257). In an aim to get an insight on how the schools in Sweden and Ireland are run I will present the answer to two questions:
- How is the school system structured?
- What action have the different agencies taken to reform the school system? In order to answer these I have gained most of my information from the different bodies‟ websites. This is where they describe themselves, their duties and origin, but also presents important documents and acts.
2.2 The Swedish governing structure – Institutions of influence
The responsibility for the educational system in Sweden is shared and divided between the Government, the Riksdag, the municipalities, the agencies within the field of education and the individual schools. However, it is the Government and the Riksdag that are the main decision makers and the Department of Education and Research are the main initiators of new school policies (Riksdagen, 2010). It is there fore important to keep in mind that the school policies and reforms are likely to be affected by the political colour in power at the time as well as by societal changes.
The Act of Education and the curricula clearly states that the municipalities are entities
responsible for pre-school classes, primary- and secondary schools. The Act also promotes the introduction of private schools. The independent schools are now a prominent feature in the Swedish school landscape. During the last two decades the school system in Sweden has become of a de-centralised character. This means that, though the state continues to set the targets and regulations for education, it is up to the municipalities and the individual schools
to make sure that these goals are reached and put into practice. This has led to a greater freedom to act and work for the municipalities, but it can be argued that it has also led to disadvantages concerning the equality of education. The quality becomes dependent on the municipality‟s resources and economic condition. In part four of the essay the teachers from Sweden support this view of the effect of a de-centralised school system and argue that it out to be centralised again in order to achieve an equal education system.
With the occurrence of the de-centralisation in the 1990‟s the agencies within the field of education have also gained more power and influence over the schools in Sweden. The purpose of the National School Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) is to verify that the
municipalities and the individual schools follow the laws and regulations that govern them. The organisations‟ main goal is that each school provides good education in a safe
environment (Skolinspektionen, 2010).
The National Agency of Education (Skolverket) is a central administrative authority for the public school system. The agency conducts research and study to produce school curriculum and subject syllabus. The agency‟s role in the educational system is to set national goals and produce policy documents, to set the framework and guidelines on how education should be conducted and to continually revise the curriculum and grading criteria (Skolverket, 2010). It can thus be argued that the work of the national agency of education affects the work and role of the pedagogues very much. Some writers within the area of teacher leadership and school improvement goes as far as suggesting that teachers should take over the role of the agency and produce school curricula and subject syllabus them selves. They mean that teachers should be the creators of change and not merely the recipients
(Goodson&Hargreaves.2005:7,135).
The teachers have new duties that required new skills and more time of the teachers and principals. They now hold the responsibility of making sure the students reach the set targets in a school that should be characterised by values of equality and humanity. The individual schools have to produce their own school plan containing the school values, goals and targets and are under constant supervision from agencies, parents and media to follow and attain these (Riksdagen, 2010).
2.3 The Irish governing structure
The republic of Ireland is a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The legislative power is vested in the house of Oireachtas. Like in the Swedish Riksdag and government this is where the bills can be passed and law constituted. In 1998 the Act of Education was passed witch presented the function of the educational system, the agencies and the staff involved in the public schools in Ireland. The Act was also made to enhance the accountability of the education system, and to enhance transparency in the decision making of the education system, both locally and nationally (Education act 1998, section 6). As presented in part one the act of ´98 opened the doors for development and reform of the Irish school system. The Department of Education and Science is responsible for providing high-quality education which will enable individuals to achieve their full potential and participate fully as members of society and contribute to Ireland‟s social, cultural and economic development (Dep. Of Education, 2010)).
The role and function of the Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) has developed in line with the many structural changes in the education system. However, its core tasks which are the inspection and evaluation of the quality of schooling, advising on educational policy and supporting teacher and school management, have remained constant to the present day. The role of this organisation is there fore very similar to the Inspectorate in Sweden.
The role of the National Council of Curriculum and Assessment –NCCA (Skolverket) is to advise the Minister of education on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education and for primary and post-primary schools. This advice is generated through engagement with schools and educational settings, with committees and working groups and is informed by research, evaluation and foresight. As the last two decades have seen an upswing for
educational reform in Ireland the NCCA have been kept busy. The NCCA declares that they will lead and support change in schools and other educational settings. The organisation is responsible for the current primary school curricula presented in part one of this assay and is currently revising the curriculum as teachers are complaining of curriculum-overload (ncca, 2010).
The Teaching Council was established on a statutory basis in March 2006 to promote teaching as a profession, to promote the professional development of teachers and to regulate standards
in the profession. The introduction of this council reflects the needs for reform of the teaching profession in order to keep up with the school reforms. The Teaching Council Act 2001 initiates significant powers to the Council with regard to ensuring the quality of teacher education and continuing professional development (the teaching council, 2010). At the moment the teacher education in Ireland is in need of development. This can be seen in the research documents which present areas in need of change. These are for example the need of teacher mentors for students, the need for further focus on research and the importance of collaboration among schools to promote teacher training.
The role of the State Examination Commission (SEC) is the assessment and certification of the second level exams of the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate. The organisation is committed to working in partnership with school authorities in order to deliver a high quality examination and assessment system (SEC, 2010)). Thus this reflects one of the main
differences of the schools systems as the obligatory Swedish school system does not include certificates gained by passed exams, but is dependent on grades in separate subjects
representing points which will determine further prospects for the pupil.
Unlike Sweden the schools in Ireland have different individual owners, but are funded almost entirely by the State. The department of Education is entitled to state conditions to be met if the school desire to qualify for funding. Thus it can be argued that the grade of influence of the government in Irish schools is set in relation to the schools‟ economy. This can be seen in the private schools that are run in the country which do not have to follow public school documents. The owner of a school is called a Patron and is often a man of the church such as the local bishop. These days the Patron usually nominates a board of managers to manage the school in his place. This development has opened up the ability for parents and teachers to influence the managing of the school. The board of management is responsible for the direct government of their school and the appointment of teachers. The Chairperson of the board of management has specific functions in relation to the task of school management. He is expected to visit the school to make sure that the education act is being followed. He is also required to act as correspondent between the board and the Department of Education.
The Principal and the teachers in a recognised school have responsibility, in accordance with the education Act, to contribute to the education and personal development of students. The principal and teachers shall encourage and foster learning in students, regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students and their parents.
A board in the school shall make arrangements for a school plan. The school plan shall state the objectives of the school and the ways to achieve them. The school plan shall be prepared in accordance with consultation with the parents, the patron, staff and students of the school (Dep. of Education, 2010)).
2.4 Current projects for reform
School reforms taken with the purpose to improve the quality of education can be seen in two bills presented by the Swedish government. The first refers to the current school curricula. In a summary of the Government Bill: Clearer goals and knowledge requirements – new school curricula (2008/09:87) it is stated that the current curriculum for the compulsory school system (Lpo 94) and associated syllabuses do not provide schools with the clear policy documents needed. It is argued that more precise definitions of goals and requirements in the policy documents will enable more equivalence in assessing pupils, knowledge development and level of goal fulfilment. Far more pupils are expected to be able to achieve the school knowledge goals if the goal structure is made clearer both to teachers and pupils. A new syllabus structure is proposed along with special regulations on knowledge requirements for acceptable knowledge in year 3, 6 and 9 and knowledge requirements for the three pass grade levels A, C and E in year nine of compulsory school. These new reforms are to be introduced in the 2011/2012 school year and the government recognises that the implementation will take a long time for management and teachers to get used to.
It has been proven that the educational skills of teachers are among the most important factors in ensuring a successful school system. Skills of teachers also play a crucial role for the learning outcomes of pupils. In its‟ Bill „Top of the class – new teacher education
programmes‟ the government proposes that today‟s degree of Bachelor/Master of education be replaced by four new professional degrees: a degree in pre-school education, a degree in primary school education, a degree in subject education and a degree in vocational education. The four new professional degrees should include knowledge objectives in the subjects to be thought. The new three degrees will lead to greater clarity concerning the three components of teacher education: studies in the subjects to be taught, a school placement comprising 30 higher education credits and an educational science core of 60 higher education credits. The government‟s school and education policy aims at strengthening the quality of the Swedish education system. At present there are many teacher lacking education in the field of teaching
they are mainly engaged in. The government has there fore initiated a further educational programme for unqualified teachers (fact sheet, ministry of education and research, U10.009-March 2010).
Some challenges facing the education system in Ireland are addressing the achievement gaps in relation to core areas such as math and reading, addressing proven difficulties students have using knowledge for problem solving, addressing short comings of the system identified in various evaluations of syllabus/curriculum implementation and promoting integration of new learning technologies in classroom learning and teaching (2009:14) The national curriculum and assessment council is currently revising the primary school curriculum and the curriculum of junior and senior cycle. The reason for the revision is curriculum over-load and
restructuring of the junior and senior cycles of education.
Learning to teach and its implications for the continuum of teacher education is a report
commissioned by the teaching council in 2009. The report argues that Ireland is a knowledge society with a changing school system in need of teachers that can coop with it. The teacher‟s role in Ireland moves toward collegial professionalism (2009:12) The rapport writes that unlike in some other countries there have not been wide spread calls for major reform of teacher education in Ireland, although for the last decade teacher education has been the focus of some major reviews. All reports identified the need to bring greater coherence and
integration to the continuum of teacher education as key feature of developing higher quality primary and post-primary education in Ireland. There is now a need to develop
comprehensive policies for the continuum of teacher education to meet the challenges of globalisation, sustainable development and the knowledge society (2009:12). The rapport concludes that learning to teach is best done when undertaken as a social, interactive and assisted accomplishment rather than a solo „sink or swim‟ endeavour. It also states that the following principles underpin a quality programme and should be considered when taking action to reform the teaching education programmes; a shared vision, knowledge of learners linked to curriculum, methods and teaching practice (2009:18).
3. School improvement and teacher leadership – A theoretical study
3.1 Introduction – The influence of knowledge and research
By conducting this essay I hope to gain further knowledge in the fields of Swedish and Irish school development. I‟m also keen to hear how teachers from these countries conceive their jobs and responsibilities. The interest to write on these issues was introduced by lectures and readings on school development and teacher leadership. In this part of the essay I will present conducted research, theories and ideas in these areas by various writers. Finally I will discuss if there is a presence of these theoretical ideas in the countries‟ current school policies thus illustration the effect of education research on policy making.
3.2 School development
Since the 1980‟s „school development‟ is a recognised trend that has affected the school reforms. As presented in part one schools work differently today, an example of this is school curricula being influenced more by research-based learning and value based guidelines rather than national policies. It has been argued that there is great variety of school development between countries and also between schools within countries (Berg G, Scherp H-Å.2003:236). In Sweden school development depends on the resources of the municipality and in Ireland the level development is related to the attitudes of the school Patron and board of managers. What is common for both countries‟ school development policies is that they emphasize the importance of creating equal abilities for all students and that the schools become able to adopt to a changeable society. In a step to achieve this, the schools in Ireland and Sweden have improved and increased their relations to the local areas they work in and have become better at creating school based projects and putting these in to practice. However, this does not necessarily mean that traditional patterns for how schools work, how the power is distributed and how decision making is taken place, have changed. I would argue that this is an image that represents Sweden and Ireland quite well. Though more responsibility has been transferred to the localities and the individual schools the main power still lies with the government and their associated agencies. Writers active within this area argue that this adaption to societal changes must be made by making stands based on conscious reflections (Berg, Scherp.2003:236).
In the book Skolutvecklingens många ansikten author Uwe Hameyer writes that if one looks at school improvement in Europe during the last two decades a few basic teachings are apparent. More attention is given to the quality of the process through which the schools are shaping and intensifying their work of development towards professional and organised learning (Berg, Scherp.2003:236). Mr Hameyer presents trends eminent in European countries‟ school development strategies. A few of these are to create a learner friendly environment that encourages students and teachers to explore new ways of learning, focus on students‟ needs and how these can be met, school staff development, the importance of leadership for
sustained development and a discussion on the way school development is controlled and led (2003:241). This leads me on to the next theoretical focus which is on teacher leadership.
In the book Improving schools through teacher leadership edited by Ivor Goodson and Andy Hargreaves it is explained that a key element in the model of teacher leadership is the nature and purpose of leadership. The nature of leadership is here the ability of those within a school to work together, constructing meaning and knowledge collectively and collaboratively (2005:17). The book argues that in former teacher leadership roles teachers had served as representatives of change rather than leaders who enact or initiate change. The book continues to state that research on school development has led to strong and compelling pleas for
dramatically different roles for teachers including increased leadership. This emphasises the need for teachers to extend their sphere of influence beyond the classroom and into the world-wide leadership activities. As teachers are closest to the classroom they can implement changes that make difference to learning and learners (Goodson & Hargreaves. 2005:16). To understand the theory of teacher leadership it is important to let go of the old perceptions of the word leadership. The functions of teacher leaders are to organize and lead reviews of school practise, provide curriculum development knowledge, participate in in-school decision making, to give in-service teaching to colleagues and to take part in the performance of evaluation of teachers (2005:23). Tendencies of these factors can be found in Ireland. When working on the new revised curricula for the junior and senior cycles the national council for curriculum and assessment in Ireland has reached out to the teachers to participate in its development (Curriculum overload in primary schools, From the learning site: Teachers‟ voices, Feb 2010:7).
Teacher leadership is much about collaboration and cooperation. Goodson and Hargreaves explain that a learning community involves multiple forms of membership and participation.
Consequently, to view leadership as a collective activity offers greater opportunity for organizational development, change and improvement (2005:18).
To implement teacher leadership strategies in schools it is described that a structural change is required, and this structural change should lead to a formal two-way relationship between middle and senior management. Goodson and Hargreaves do admit that collaboration with senior management in decision making is considered better than teachers completely replacing them (2005:25).
4. The teachers‟ views – Interviews with teachers in Sweden and Ireland
4.1 Introduction – Reaching out in search for answers
I decided to conduct a study to see how the educational system in Sweden and Ireland affected the teachers working within it. I decided to send the questions to ten teachers, five within each country. Because my thesis is of a broad character the teachers could be of any age, sex and school as they would still work within the system and under the acts and
curricula currently in place. My aim was to get personal answers which reflected the teachers‟ views on their professional situation. The purpose was then to compare the answers to find differences and similarities between the two countries.
4.2 Method.
I chose to base my research on questionnaires because I wanted to her what the teachers‟ thoughts were about the educational system. Out of convenience I decided to ask friends, family and acquaintances who work as teachers to answer my questions. These teachers also gave me a wide range of ages and subjects taught in school. Because of geographical factors I decided to base my research on a questionnaire which I sent out via email. The pros of this way to investigate were that I didn‟t have to leave my desk in order to get the questions out to the teachers. The cons were that I couldn‟t regulate when to get the answers back neither could I ask follow up questions as I read the answers. All-in-all the method worked, but would probably have given better results if it had been conducted face-to-face. The questions I chose for my interview were divided into three parts. The first was concerned on getting to know the teacher, his or her educational background, how long he or she had been working as a teacher and what kind of school and levels he or she was working in today. The second part
was of more general questions concerning what he or she thought was prominent for a successful school, and the teachers‟ perception of the schools system in their country. In the third part I wanted the teacher to describe his or her school. I wanted to know if the school reforms were noticeable in the actual schools and not only in theory. I also wanted to know if the theories I had been studying concerning teacher leadership were eminent. The final section of the interview was aimed at the teachers work. I asked the teachers to describe their pedagogic methods, where they got their inspiration, why they became teachers and if they found anything in their jobs that prevented them from doing their job. I conducted ten
interviews over email, five in Ireland and five in Sweden, all with teachers working in public schools. The teachers ages range from 26 to 64 and their areas of teaching are spread out over all levels within primary and secondary schools.
4.3 Result – Getting to know the people in the spot light
I have decided to focus on three main questions taken from the interview and discuss the teachers‟ answers to these. I will present the answers in a flowing and descriptive text where the answers of same character are intertwined in order to make the reading easier and
understandable.
The first question was asking what the teacher though was eminent for a successful school. I wanted to hear what the teachers though on this point as governing bodies and professors of research all had their different views. The answers were quite unanimous and I will present a conclusion of them for each country.
In Ireland the main features for a successful school were: A safe place where children are
valued for their individual talents. A school which was working out good procedures in the area of discipline, had good management, staff professionalism and staff morale, good team work, clear guidelines about the aims and methods for achieving the aims.
In Sweden a successful school should make sure the pupils reach the set targets. A flourishing
school has the pupils in its focus and works to provide high quality education and has a staff which has a shared view of pedagogy and education. A successful school is a school that has a high number of pupil attendance and where the students feel a part of the school together with the teachers.
Thus the realisation for teacher quality, unity and a focus on the pupils are in both countries unanimous for a successful school.
The second question raised the issue of school policy in the countries. I asked if the school system in the countries was creating a system where all children, despite ability or cultural, religious or social background could achieve the goals of the school curricula. On this question the answers from the teachers differed depending on their nationality. The teachers in Sweden were openly critical to the current school system and argued that it was creating inequality between the schools because of the decentralisation.
In Ireland the teachers were all happy with the school system, but did complain about curricula over load and cut backs of personnel and teaching tools.
The third question brought the issue of team work and collaboration to the forth. In the literature concerning teacher leadership the issue of collaboration among teachers is
prominently featured. When I asked if the teachers enjoyed working with their colleges the unanimous answer was yes, the teachers also stated that they though this collaboration was essential for a school to work successfully and would like to see more collaboration in the future.
I was also interested to know if I could find a common favourite form of teaching among the teachers. On the question “Do you have a favourite form of teaching?” I found that most teachers champion a mix of different teaching methods such as group work and individual work but that the main importance was that the subject matter was engaging and interesting.
In order to assess what the current obstacles in the schools were I asked the teachers what hindered them to perform their work. Also her were the answers coherent. The main issues were too large classes and little time to develop lectures. The cut backs on personnel working with the special needs students were also prominent among the answers as well as discipline problems among the pupils. Most teachers are interested in children and young people and not school development or educational research. They want their jobs to be about teaching and not so much about administration and paperwork.
5. Final conclusion
As a student and yet not a teacher I see myself like a blank sheet of paper. Everything I read I take in without any experience of my own to evaluate the new information against. New ideas, concepts and theories all seam plausible and without knowing it the readings become pictures of reality, the truth about the education system. As I did the interviews this all changed. Theory became theory and the teacher‟s words became reality, not the other way around. I set out to gain a clear picture of the way the school system was structured, how it was organised and how new ideas affected the school reforms. Though the interviews only present the views of ten teachers it still gave me a vital piece of the puzzle in gaining this picture.
The ideas and programmes of teacher leadership present a two sided coin I would argue. The teachers are indeed the people working in the area that is most often affected and intended for change which would make them key experts on what it is that needs to be improved and how this development should take form. Government reforms have also led to more freedom for the teachers to get involved in the school development area. However, the profession, though it is changing, is about teaching and not so much about developing the school system. School policy reforms and new theories on how to improve education are presenting many new ideas which are often implemented in schools. Though many of these reforms have been leading the schools into the new society and have focused on producing valid documents to increase the quality and equality of education the answers I received in the interviews present a quite clear picture. If the governments want to improve the schools and achieve successful development they have to back the system up economically. There is an open criticism among teachers toward the governments‟ reforms that has led to decentralisation of the school system in Sweden. In Ireland the criticism is not so much of the system, but in the economical cut backs which has been an effect of the economic recession in the country. Most teachers in the interviews found teacher leadership important, but the tasks that would follow with it would take from the actual teaching and this was not seen as a good thing.
5.1 The system, the structure, the developments and effects
Though the two school systems appear quite different at first sight the main elements are the same. They both have a compulsory school system of nine years which aims to include all children from the ages of six to sixteen, with different levels in which different pedagogic methods are advised and subject focus is offered. By comparing the governing documents I find that the main characteristics are the mission of the education system to affect the pupils‟ development into individuals that can correspond to the new challenges in society. The second striking similarity is the equal focus on maintaining skills as well as knowledge within the subject areas. These developments have been structured in the light of the new society which is characterised by changes in the cultural-, economic and technological areas. However the Irish curricula and subject syllabus are much more detailed in method, assessment and content. This gives the pedagogic leaders less freedom in their work which also results in restricted freedom for the pupils to have an effect on their education. In Sweden the responsibility of selecting method and content is put on the teacher which enquires the need for more professionalism in the job and time. I will argue that though the Irish curricula are overwhelming in size and information, it does bring the Irish school system up to date. It encapsulates the importance of development, equality, democratic values and the
responsibilities of the schools and teachers to provide high-quality education to the pupils. The Swedish school systems give much freedom to its teachers and pupils, but still contain them in a world of paragraphs and as a subject to municipality abilities or private school financing.
The Swedish school system has been experiencing a continuous change since the first school curriculum and act of education in the early 1960‟s. Implementation of reforms initiated by the government has led to a new young school system characterised by de-centralization and goal-orientation. A focus on offering high quality education for the countries youth has also led to reforms and focus on the teacher education system.
The Irish school system has, in comparison to the Swedish system, experienced a period of little change since the last period of reform in the 1970‟s. How ever, in order to keep up with internal and external forces of globalization and a new knowledge society the Irish
government has started to take action in order to reform the system. The aims and values are much the same in the two countries while the ways of reaching them are some what different.
This can be seen as a result of the different school ownership and responsibilities of the schools and of the political policies of the parties working in the government.
I will argue that the Swedish society has a long experience of reform and change. I would go so far as to say that it is in the Swedish mentality that things are never „good enough‟ and can always be improved. I feel that there is and has been for many years a public focus on how to better the school system in Sweden. This has led to a focus of the teacher and the teacher‟s responsibilities and abilities. As the government has taken action to reform the schools many argue that these reforms, such as the decentralisation, have not achieved the wished result. But as the focus and responsibility more and more comes to lay with the individual school and the teachers the school reforms seam to slip away from peoples perceptions of the school system as a whole.
In Ireland the era of school reform is in its early start. Research and reports are being produced and the country‟s government realises the need for increased skills in the work market. As the state and agencies in the field of education is becoming increasingly more influence in the education sector, the church has to step back. However, the church is still the owner of most primary schools in Ireland. The country is currently struggling with the
economic recession and the school is experiencing cut backs holding the system back in achieving some development and improvement.
5.2 Theory and reality – The readings and interviews
As a student it is important to take part of conducted and current research in the field of education. However it is hard to implement the theories in reality as the own experience of the field is quite limited. I believe that school development is an important aspect to gain a good quality education system, however I do believe that it is a process that must be allowed to take time and money in order to show success. Teacher leadership as presented in this essay
involves a quite new role for the teachers and the main point is that not all teachers are interested in this new role. From my research the main focus is on the students and the teaching.
5.3 Reflection
As I started to write on this essay my own curiosity directed me to the areas I have presented. As I did my research my aim was to widen my perception about the school system, not only in Sweden but in Ireland too, where I have lived for six years. As I look back I find that it is important to have some historical and cultural knowledge of the county in which the school system works, I will argue that it is also important to know of the political policies of the government in charge. I have looked to the produced school reform documents and discussed their affect for the school system as a whole. I have also tried to get an understanding of the theoretical concepts which influence the politicians and school managements in their
educational policies. It is I will argue the interviews that have given me the most insight to the school system. The teachers‟ honesty and hard working attitudes have been an inspiration to me as a student and are without a doubt together with the pupils the main driving force for a good education in both countries.
Bibliography
Bell, J. (2005). Doing your research project 4th edition. UK: Open university press
Berg, G & Scherp, H-Å.(ed.).(2003) Skolutvecklingens många ansikten. Kalmar: Leanders grafiska AB
Education Act, 1998
Gewirtz, S. Mahony, P. Hextall, I & Crib, A. (Ed.) (2009). Changing teacher professionalism. New York: Routledge
Goodson, I & Hargreaves, A. (ed.) (2005). Improving schools through teacher leadership. New York: Open University press
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers changing times. New York: Teachers college press Läroplan för det obligatoriska skolväsendet, förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet LPO 94 National Council of Curriculum and Assessment (2010)Curriculum Overload in Primary
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7. Appendix – Interview questions
School development from the teacher’s perspective
My main objectives with this interview is to find out how the teachers experience their work, what their aspirations and goals are and if there is anything that hinders them from reaching these goals or that makes their work harder to perform. I also aim to identify if the teachers want or can do anything to improve their work place and make the school a place were pupils can learn and develop.
You;
Name: Age:
When did you do your teaching course? In what area and whom do you teach? How long have you been a teacher?
Describe the school in which you are working at; size, number of teachers and pupils and social areas where the children come from and cultural diversity.
Why did you want to become a teacher?
In general;
- What, according to you, is prominent for a successful school? - What do you think is typical of “bad” school?
- Is teamwork among teachers important in order to have a successful school? Why/Why not?
- Is the school system in Ireland creating a school where all children, despite ability or cultural, religious or social background, can achieve the goals of the schools‟
curricula?
- If not, what areas do you think need to be improved?
In your school;
- Do you experience that there is a common goal or a sense of mission among the teachers in your school?
- If so, what would you say it is?
- Does collaboration among teachers occur in your school? If so, if what way? Give examples.
- Do you which there were more or less collaboration among you and your colleges? Explain why.
- What areas in your school do you think needs to be improved?
- Do you feel you have the ability to affect your school to be a better place for the teachers and the students? Why/Why not?
- Do you believe that there needs to be a stronger teacher leadership in the schools in order to make schools more successful?
- What does teacher leadership mean to you?
In your job;
- During your course to become a teacher, was there much focus on school development and teacher leadership?1
- What are your main objectives when you teach?
- Do you have a favourite form of teaching for example group work, teacher led classes, pupils working separately? Give examples.
- Where do you get your inspiration and ideas for your classes?
- What hinders you to perform your work to full capacity and reach your goals? For example not enough time, too large classes or the need to further your knowledge through further educational development.
- How do you think these hindrances can be overcome? Thank you for your time!
Felicia
1
During my course there has been a strong focus on these two factors which according to researchers are characteristics for the school today.
