ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the educational systems in Sweden and Norway nations. It also describes national policies for heritage language (HL) education in each country; how HL education was first introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; how it was organized and incorporated into the school-system, and how it has evolved since then. The chapter examines the interplay of several factors, which it has contributed to national reforms in the education of immigrant children and the institutionalization of HL educational programs. In so doing, the chapter focuses on the important roles played by minority organizations, teacher unions, parental organizations, and communities of researchers in creating political pressure for a more pluralistic and inclusive HL educational policy. It concerns the public debates and political processes that have influenced, and continue to influence, the development of instruction in HLs. The chapter explores some of the challenges still existing in the development of infrastructures to support HL instruction in Sweden and Norway.
