Session Information
99 ERC SES 07 D, Policy Studies and Politics of Education
Paper Session
Contribution
In Sweden compulsory education means that children must participate in education from the age of six, which includes one mandatory preschool year followed by nine years of compulsory school (The Education Act (2010:800) chapter 7 section 4). Children are also entitled, but not obligated, to take part in education, in for example preschool from ages 1-5 and upper secondary school.
Children who do not attend school is an increasing concern, both in Sweden and in other countries (Gren-Landell et al, 2015; Kreitz-Sandberg and Fredriksson, 2023; prop. 2017/18:182). There is a lot of focus on how to get children back to school but there is a lack of research about school´s legal responsibility in this area. In the general debate the school is highlighted as an important actor for children’s well-being. Research has shown that children with a history of problematic school attendance are at risk of early school leaving and run increased risks of weak connections to the labor market and poor health (Sundelin et al, 2023). To leave school with incomplete grades can also lead to social vulnerability and exclusion (prop. 2017/18:182). The project takes its starting point in these societal issues and investigates and analyses the legal responsibility for various actors regarding children´s fulfillment of compulsory schooling.
The right to education is a fundamental right which is protected by the Swedish constitution (The Swedish Instrument of Government), the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is a potential conflict when children with a right to education do not participate in school. In most cases it is not possible to opt out of the right to education when the child is also subject to compulsory schooling and therefore has an obligation to attend school. On the other hand, there is a risk that the right to education will not be upheld if the child does not participate in school.
The legal responsibility for children’s non-attendance at school is shared across several actors. For example, teachers, principals, the education providers, and municipalities. Except for the actors’ mentioned, student health also has a central role in the work with school absences. my goal is to elucidate the legal responsibilities of each party, examining both preventive and reactive measures. I will also investigate the legal regulations and analyse if the legal responsibility is clear as to when it starts and how extensive it is.
One part of the study is the focus in recent years on cooperation between schools and other authorities (prop. 2017/18:182; förordning (2023:179) om statsbidrag för personalkostnader för skolsociala team). When a child has problems with school absenteeism many authorities can be involved, not only internal cooperation with teachers, principals, municipalities, and students’ health. External cooperation with for example healthcare, social service and the police can also be relevant. There might also be a conflict between different actors concerning the purpose of preventive and reactive actions; Is the purpose for example, to focus on children’s long-term well-being or knowledge development? (Strandler and Harling, 2023). Depending on what role the actor has, it might affect the type of responsibility they have. The legal conditions for cooperation will therefore be investigated.
Method
To answer the aims of the project, a legal-dogmatic method is used. This method involves drawing conclusions about the content of law based on the hierarchy of legal sources. These sources include legislation, above all the Swedish Education Act, preparatory works, court decisions and legal literature (Pescenik, 1995). Here, this method is used to assess content and the extent of compulsory schooling as well as regarding the responsibilities of compulsory school attendance and school absenteeism, through mapping of different pieces of legislation and identification of gaps in relation to the societal problems. One part of the project is historical, where I will identify the government’s objectives of compulsory education from when it started in year 1882. To understand the legal meaning with compulsory schooling over time, legislation and preparatory works have primarily been analysed. The actors of focus of my project are principals, teachers, the education providers, municipalities, and student health. The analysis includes an examination of how wide mandates the legislators have given the actors in relation to problematic school attendance. This is analysed to find the roles and legal responsibilities of the actors in both preventive and reactive measures. Some challenges have been identified in the legal material. Since not many decisions from principals or other authorities can be appealed, there is a shortage of case-law. Instead, there is extensive guidance material and decisions from school authorities; the Swedish National Agency for Education and the Swedish Schools Inspectorate, which will investigated. This kind of material is not a traditional legal source. However, since fundamental principles, as equivalent education (Education Act chapter 1 section 9), governs the application of law this kind of material serves a purpose and will be used in the project (Pescenik, 1995.) The definitions of absenteeism or truancy are not consistent (Forsell, 2020; SOU 2016:94). Terms frequently used are for example absenteeism or problematic absenteeism or school attendance problems (Kreitz-Sandberg and Fredriksson, 2023). In my project I will focus on both attendance and absenteeism and at this stage in the project I am not only using one term to address the problem. Later on, it might be necessary to define and problematize terms relevant for a legal definition.
Expected Outcomes
One of my preliminary results concerns the scope of compulsory schooling in a legal context. The fact that the compulsory schooling requirement may met in different ways, means that students may fulfill this obligation through a variation of educational arrangements that may not always align with the legislator's original intended purposes behind the requirement. For example, there is a clearly stated objective of children to be educated, which in long term are expected to contribute to the higher and even more long-term goal of supporting future participation in the labor market and in social life in general. These goals are closely linked to the legal requirements for participation and an important factor is therefore how the requirements for attendance at school should be interpreted based on the legal rules. That compulsory schooling exists according to the Education Act is clear, after investigation and analysis of the legal rules in the Education Act it has become clear that compulsory schooling can be fulfilled in different ways, not only in school. After assessments in the individual case based on the individual children´s needs, for example, certain education can be obtained at home or in another location. The analysis of current legal regulations can therefore form the basis for discussing whether it is possible to talk about different types of compulsory schooling and problematize the attendance requirement. The next step in my project is to investigate the different actor’s role in relation to the fulfillment of the school obligation when the children is not in school. What the actors can, should and must do based on the legal material.
References
Forsell, Tobias ”Man är ju typ elev, fast på avstånd”: problematisk skolfrånvaro ur elevers, föräldrars och skolpersonals perspektiv. Umeå: Umeå Universitet, 2020 Gren-Landell Malin, Ekerfelt Allvin Cornelia, Bradley Maria, Andersson Maria and Andersson Gerhard Teachers’ views on risk factors for problematic school absenteeism in Swedish primary school students.. Educational Psychology In Practice, volume 31(4), 2015, p. 412-423. Kreitz-Sandberg Susanne and Fredriksson Ulf. Comparative Perspectives on School Attendance, Absenteeism, and Preventive Measures in Europe and Beyond. European education 2023, Vol. 55, Nos. 3–4, 137-147. Pescenik Aleksander, Vad är rätt? : om demokrati, rättssäkerhet, etik och juridisk argumentation, Stockholm: Fritze, 1995. Prop. 2017/18:182 Samling för skolan. SOU 2016:94 Saknad! Uppmärksamma elevers frånvaro och agera. Strandler Ola and Harling Martin. The Problem of “Problematic School Absenteeism” – On the Logics of Institutional Work with Absent Students’ Well-Being and Knowledge Development. European education 2023, Vol. 55, Nos. 3–4, 172–185. Sundelin Åsa, Lindgren Joakim and Lundahl Lisbeth: Young People’s Stories of School Failure and Remedial Trajectories – Clues to Prevention of School Absenteeism and Early School Leaving. European Education, Volume 55, 2023 - Issue 3-4
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