The Role of Technical and Vocational Education in the Swedish Education System.

Overview & Synopsis

In Sweden, technical and vocational education is totally integrated into the national school system and cannot be taken out and examined completely on its own. Internationalization, the revolution in information and communications systems, and rapid and sometimes stunning technological change have influenced all groups, levels, and aspects of Swedish society. These three major factors are very important in the reasoning behind the creation and implementation of a successful education system, of which technical and vocational education is a fundamental element. Today, Swedish education is in a state of transition. A major reform, the Upper Secondary School Reform 1992, has had an impact on all aspects of technical and vocational education. One of the essential ambitions of the reform is the implementation of the concept of "lifelong learning." Four groups are given particular support to improve their participation in national education: females, immigrants, mentally handicapped individuals, and physically handicapped. The Swedish education system is supported by government subsidies and municipal funding. Entrepreneurial orientation in technical and vocational education is much better emphasized under the Reform. Several private industries have taken their own initiative and set up different forms of cooperation with the upper secondary schools to ensure relevant technical and vocational education. (Appendixes contain 19 references, fact sheets on 16 national programs, and vehicle program specification.) (YLB)