ABSTRACT
The shift towards neoliberalism in education in Sweden connects up with wider agendas promoted by influential transnational actors such as the OECD and the EU. Sweden has been quite involved in OECD activities and is part of the major assessment programme, and even though the EU does not have any mandate in terms of educational policies, its agenda on lifelong learning has been picked up and mobilised in a Swedish context. Such a lifelong learning agenda is shaped within a wider neoliberal notion of governing. Here education is seen as an investment whose rewards can be evaluated in terms of increased growth and international competitiveness. As such, the focus of education has been directed towards employability. Competitiveness thus emerges as the more or less overall objective of education to strive for. The meaning and role of education thereby changes, from being seen as a fundamental social right to being seen as a commodity, a product on the market offered to individuals in their search for skills and competences considered necessary. Such changing views of education also change the way the role of public institutions is seen – from one of planning, organising and delivering services, to one that follows up and evaluates the services provided. How did Sweden end up here? What made such developments possible? This chapter begins to answer those questions, which are then further elaborated on in the following chapters in the book.
