The changing nature of autonomy: Transformations of the late Swedish teaching profession |
| |
| Authors: | Wieland Wermke Eva Forsberg |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Education, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;2. Department of Education, Academy for Education and Economics, University of G?vle, G?vle, Swedenwieland.wermke@edu.uu.se |
| |
| Abstract: | This article discusses teacher autonomy in the case of the Swedish teaching profession since the 1980s. It is argued that deregulation, decentralization, and marketization reforms of the 1990s have indeed increased teacher autonomy, but in some respects also led to a increase of complexity in the Swedish school system. In order to handle this complexity, the state intensified a standardization of schooling, which restricts teacher autonomy today. Relevant the paper's understanding is that teacher autonomy is always about control, exerted internally by the profession itself and facilitated externally by state standards. The article argues that the restriction of teacher autonomy in recent times is also related to a simplified understanding of the phenomenon in the reforms of the 1990s. |
| |
| Keywords: | Teacher autonomy teaching profession teacher professionalism educational reform school governance Sweden |
|
|
