ABSTRACT
In the early 1990s, the highly regulated and uniform Swedish school system was transformed into one of the most liberal ones in terms of decentralization, choice, competition and encouragement of private, fully tax-funded schools and a unique possibility of profit making. The aim was to create a ‘stimulating competition’ between public and private schools in order to improve the effectiveness and quality of the entire education system. In the 2000s, intense competition between schools over students and vouchers has developed, accompanied by sinking academic results and increasing differences and segregation between schools, rather than the reverse. Nevertheless, Swedish schools are to work in accordance with the long-standing vision and goals of inclusion, equality, and justice in and by a ‘school for all’. The chapter critically discusses the local impact of freedom of choice and school competition at upper secondary school level (post-16). Based on empirical data from our own research as well as other studies, we problematize the consequences of the rhetoric of free choice and the ‘stimulating competition’ for involved school actors such as students, teachers and principals.
