Drawing on a case study of media technology, this article addresses theory-practice conflict in an educational work setting. This conflict is expressed in employment contracts and career opportunities and in how professional identity is made. We demonstrate how ideas about practical and theoretical knowledge are negotiated in the academic career…

This article explores how the well-being of the Swedish population has become a joint responsibility in the mission to shape desirable and proper citizens. This is done by studying an organisation called Generation Pep (GEN-PEP), which was established as a measure to foster a well-functioning population both now and in the future. The article…

Due to their common history, Finland and Sweden share many similarities. However, important differences have also developed in constitutional law, political culture and governance models. These differences have affected the implementation of international trends in the governance of higher education in the two countries. Both the Finnish and…

This article presents the results from a survey investigating 708 Swedish and 1583 Finnish teachers' perceived autonomy with a focus on the teachers' perceptions of who makes the most important decisions in school. Teacher autonomy is seen as exercised at different levels; by teachers individually in the classroom or by teachers as a collective in…

The aim of this study is to understand the mechanisms supporting equality and social health in physical activity (PA) practices by analysing didactic choices. Social health is understood as equal distribution of power. Thereby, a healthy PA practice needs to be inclusive. 3 PA activities are analysed as cases. Issues of inclusion and exclusion are…

In this paper, we theorize on local school governance through a multi-method case study of a large-sized Swedish municipality by drawing on neo-institutional theory. In light of a changing governing landscape in Sweden in terms of a 're-centralization', new conditions between the state, the local education authorities (LEA) and the schools have…

This book represents a set of critical analyses of educational reforms where issues of transnational governance are of vital concern. It focuses on different aspects of, and practices in educational reform-making, and in particular on governing techniques and the working of new agencies such as supranational and multinational organizations. In…

The focus of this article is to analyze the systematic quality management of educational settings the way it is present in Swedish leisure-time centers. The study explores how the production of both systematic reporting and documentation works through self technologies in this discursive practice. The analysis will illustrate and discuss how the…

Educational organizations, this paper asserts, are best described using a neorationalist model, which analyzes organizations as social instruments, acknowledges structural conflict, and views individuals as active participants. The paper examines traditional and modern rationalist organization theories and contrasts these with systems theory; it…

Basic elements of the higher education system are considered, along with variations across nations (the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Italy, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, and Thailand). Three basic elements of the organization of higher education system are identified:…

Power in the university is seen as the academic division of labor that creates a number of self-sufficient units responsible for the production of academic work. Two kinds of reforms in higher education, efficiency and participation by disenfranchised groups, have affected the power structure of higher education institutions. (Author/MLW)

The dynamic of articulation between higher education and secondary education in England and Wales, the Netherlands, France, West Germany, and Sweden is examined from historical and administrative perspectives. (MSE)

Evolution of the relationship between academic and administrative functions in Swedish universities is traced over 30 years. Attention is given to a shift toward administrative power during a period of university democratization, and partial restoration of academic leadership in the 1990s. Two distinct patterns of administrative structure are…

The history of the Swedish universities and their roots in various traditions are traced. Attention is directed to the historico-sociological theory concerning the development and transformation of the Swedish universities from a traditional cultural institution to a rational educational institution. Six themes are covered: a general historical…

Women of many nations, particularly the industrialized countries, are achieving greater opportunity and equality in the working world. The rate at which women are joining the work force has confounded all predictions and created unexpected difficulties in securing equal pay and access to jobs and training. The most direct discrimination, separate…