sou · H4B338 · 2016-05-16 00:00:00 — De systematiska skillnader som finns mellan huvudmän och skolor i fråga om att tillhandahålla kompetensutveckling måste motverkas. En stärkt vetenskaplig bas, forskningsanknytning och praktiknära forskning En förstärkning behöver ske av skolans vetenskapliga bas och forskningsanknytning. Vidare behöver lärares kunskapsbas utvecklas. Ett system behöver skapas för stöd till utveckling av praktiknära forskning och forskningsförsörjning som svarar mot direkta kunskapsbehov emanerande ur lärares och skolledares praktiska yrkesutövning. Det är viktigt att olika vägar prövas för att resultat från forskning ska nå de yrkesverksamma. Användning av stödjande funktioner ska utvecklas Det är mycket angeläget att skolhuvudmännen ger lärare och rektorer ett fullgott administrativt stöd och tillräcklig tillgång till stödjande funktioner i övrigt. Det är betydelsefullt att lärares arbetstid används till undervisning och till aktiviteter som gynnar elevers kunskapsutveckling. I frågor som rör administrativa uppgifter, frågor om elevers hälsa och välbefinnande samt sociala frågor kopplade till skolmiljön bör även andra yrkesgrupper än lärare kunna engageras. Det är viktigt att verksamheten organiseras på så sätt att rektor kan prioritera det pedagogiska ledarskapet och vara ett stöd för lärarna. Långsiktig skolpolitik med tillit från medborgarna och professionerna Kommissionens långsiktiga plan för en skolpolitik med tillit från medborgarna och professionerna sammanfattas nedan. Att vända den negativa resultatutvecklingen i och att stärka skolsystemet som helhet kräver ett långsiktigt och uthålligt arbete. Statsmakterna har ansvaret för att den nationella skolpolitiken ger förutsättningar för detta. Det behövs en stark uppslutning i hela samhället bakom de åtgärder som blir resultaten av kommissionens arbete. informationsinsatser behöver genomföras. En förvaltningsmyndighet för skolväsendet bör ha förutsättningar att arbeta långsiktigt och metodiskt. Regeringens styrning bör inriktas mot resultat som ska uppnås och ge breda och tydliga mandat till myndigheten. Vård och utveckling av genomförda reformer Kommissionen anser det nödvändigt med fortsatt uppmärksamhet inom följande områden: Fortsatta kompetensutvecklingsinsatser inom området kunskapsbedömning är nödvändiga. De nationella provens syfte bör renodlas till att stödja en rättvis och likvärdig betygssättning. Justeringar av betygsskalan kan övervägas. Arbetsklimat, hälsa, trygghet och studiero Den ökning som skett av elevers självskattade psykiska ohälsa och skolstress är oroande och det behövs insatser till hjälp för skolornas hälsofrämjande arbete. Evidensbaserade program för att förebygga psykisk ohälsa behöver utvecklas och kommissionen överväger att föreslå att ett nationellt kunskapscenter för elevhälsan inrättas. Regeringen bör initiera en utvärdering av skollagens bestämmelser om disciplinära åtgärder. Skolans arbete med stöd och stimulans Genomförda nationella insatser för att stärka skolornas stöd till elever i tidiga skolår bör följas upp och det är särskilt viktigt att tidiga specialpedagogiska insatser för elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter förbättras och byggs ut. Det behövs även fortsatta insatser till stöd för skolornas arbete med högpresterande och särbegåvade elever. Utöver de kortsiktiga insatser som genomförs med anledning av den stora ökningen av nyanlända elever behövs en genomlysning av mer långsiktiga konsekvenser och vilka möjligheter och behov av åtgärder dessa skapar. Finansieringen av investeringar i till exempel skolbyggnader, där behoven är ojämnt förselade över landet, behöver lösas och tillgången på lärare i svenska som andraspråk, modersmål och svenska för invandrare förbättras. Riktat stöd till skolor med svaga kunskapsresultat Som ett komplement till kommissionens överväganden om generella åtgärder för att stärka förutsättningarna för god kvalitet i undervisningen, bör statens riktade stöd till skolor med svaga studieresultat fortsätta. was tasked with submitting proposals aimed at improving learning outcomes, quality of teaching and equity in schools. This interim report contains an analysis of the causes of declining learning outcomes, a description of the current problems in the Swedish school system, proposals for national targets and a long-term plan with areas for improvement. The interim report also contains plans for the Commission’s future work until the completion of the final report in January 2017. Learning outcomes have been declining in Swedish compulsory schools for several decades, according to international surveys. The national evaluation from 2003 by the for Education also revealed a decline. The Commission wants to stress that declining learning outcomes in Swedish schools are a serious problem. The increasing variations in outcomes between schools – due to the fact that pupils with similar family backgrounds tend to in the same schools to a greater extent than previously – are also very worrying. Moreover, the working environment for pupils and teachers must be improved, as well as safety and the study environment for pupils. There are worrying signs that pupils’ psychosocial health is deteriorating. The work of school health and welfare services is also very important and measures are needed to support health promotion work in schools. Schools also need respect, support and trust from parents and society at large, and pupils must contribute themselves by making an effort. It is also important to strengthen trust between teachers, school heads and school authorities. A key challenge for the Swedish school system is ensuring access to skilled and committed teachers and school heads, and creating better conditions for them to fulfil their duties. Following the comprehensive school reforms of the 1990s, various governments have taken a number of measures aimed at remedying the weaknesses in the school system that came about as a result of the reforms. The Commission is convinced that further measures are needed to improve the school system. At the same time, it is important that necessary improvements are carefully considered in relation to the advantages of continuity in the school system. The Commission wants to stress the importance of future changes occurring in an orderly and in close cooperation with teachers and school heads. This interim report includes a proposal for a limited number of monitorable national targets aimed at developing and improving Swedish schools. The proposed targets are for learning outcomes, teaching quality and equity. The targets cover a ten-year period, with various measurement points. The targets should be seen as an aid in assessing whether the long-term plan drawn up by the Commission and the measures that will be proposed in the final report, lead to improvements. The Commission considers that the weaknesses in Swedish schools are mainly found at system level and that this is where areas for improvement need to be identified and specified. The Commission has identified the following essential systemic weaknesses in the Swedish school system: •inadequate capacity and accountability among many school authorities; •unclear division of responsibilities; •shortcomings in resource allocation; •shortcomings in results information that hamper quality management; •inadequate skills supply and development; •inadequate conditions for professional development; and •national governance of schools that is fragmented and has been inconsistent over time, e.g. through numerous different government grants. The Commission’s long-term plan with areas for improvement is a cohesive reform strategy for dealing with the systemic weaknesses of the school system. The strategy aims to: •strengthen governance, support and presence on the part of central government at various levels in the school system for the purpose of strengthening school authorities; •involve and strengthen teachers and school heads; •strengthen trust in schools and an understanding among the wider public of the importance of education ; and •ensure a long-term approach, consistency and perseverance in education policy. The Commission’s areas for improvement lay proposals with varying levels of ambition that the Commission will present in its final report in January 2017. An important basis of the Commission’s work is to strengthen the conditions for high-quality teaching on the part of teachers and educational leadership on the part of school heads. Teachers and school heads are the most important resources for improving learning outcomes. Other important staff categories are needed to facilitate and make possible teachers’ educational work with pupils. Many school authorities have difficulties fulfilling their task of running schools. Central government and the school authorities, whether public or independent, need to be better at cooperating so that they can strengthen schools together. The capacity of school authorities must be strengthened in various ways, with the ultimate goal of improving pupils’ learning. The conditions for school heads and teachers to do their jobs must be improved. With stronger public school authorities for preschool class, compulsory school and upper secondary school, central government can use an extended regional presence to meet school authorities more easily for constructive and long-term cooperation. A vital factor in strengthening the capacity of the school system is that central government takes greater responsibility in future for the financing of schools and the allocation of resources. Parts of the school system may need extra funding, but the main issue is how to allocate and use the resources. needs to help strengthen the autonomy of teachers and school heads in various ways. A broad consensus is needed behind efforts to improve the Swedish school system. The direction of school policy proposed by the Commission needs to apply for an extended period of time and stability is necessary in school policy to enable capacity-building and to strengthen the general public’s trust in schools. The Commission has identified four areas for improvement: •division of responsibilities, governance and support; •skills supply and development; •long-term school policy that has the trust of teachers, school heads and citizens; and •commitment to and development of the implemented reforms. The Commission’s long-term plan in each of these areas is described briefly hereinafter. Division of responsibilities, governance and support The Commission’s long-term plan aimed at strengthening the conditions for teachers, school heads and school authorities to take responsibility is summarised below. A national resource allocation model for schools It is necessary to increase national responsibility for the financing of schools. The Commission is considering a resource allocation model with rules to determine – on the basis of differences in the make-up of the pupil population – a minimum level for resource allocation at municipal level, in combination with a government grant to municipalities in greater need of compensatory measures. The model is intended to cover preschool class, compulsory school and upper secondary school. The resource allocation model is to cover each municipality’s teaching costs and the costs of school health and welfare services, and it is to take into account structural differences in conditions and needs. Additionally, the model will contain a guideline value for allocation at school level. The model will therefore influence resource allocation to independent school authorities through the municipal grant. The socio-economic background of pupils will therefore become more significant for municipalities’ allocation of funds to independent schools. It is the Commission’s assessment that the proposal requires that central government provides additional funding to the school sector. The Commission is considering an alternative proposal that would mean central government financing all or part of the municipalities’ total costs for schools through a sector grant to all municipalities. A sector grant would also be calculated on the basis of socio-economic differences in the pupil population in each municipality. Like the abovementioned proposal, a new sector grant would also affect resource allocation to independent school authorities through the municipal grant. A new sector grant would require a tax shift between the municipalities and central government and thus amendments to the tax system. It should be possible to phase out some of the current purpose-specific school grants to include those resources in the funding that is allocated within the framework of a new grant on a socio-economic basis, or in a new sector grant. Central government financing can be designed in different ways and with varying levels of ambition with regard to the size of the sums provided by central government to the municipalities to achieve greater equity. Strengthening school authorities with support from central government The capacity of public and independent school authorities to fulfil their responsibilities needs to be strengthened. Greater cooperation is required concerning education, not just at national level but also at regional and local level. Together, central government and school authorities (public and independent) can strengthen Swedish schools and establish conditions that can help to improve learning outcomes for all pupils through improved working conditions and professional development for teachers and school heads. Central government should consider strengthening its regional presence and establishing regional offices within a school agency that can meet and support school authorities. The responsibility of public school authorities for preschool class, compulsory school and upper secondary school needs to be borne by larger bodies or bodies in integrated cooperation within a geographical area. This will help each public school authority to achieve stronger overall capacity to fulfil its task of running schools, while cooperation is facilitated at regional level between school authorities and central government, as well as higher education institutions. Central government should consider supporting or facilitating voluntary agreements aimed at establishing bodies or collaborations between school authorities that in cooperation with central government, become better equipped for the responsibility of running preschool class, compulsory school and upper secondary school. The Commission is considering which tasks central government should have to best support school authorities at regional level. The Commission considers that systematic quality work, regional skills supply and development, the implementation of national school development programmes and targeted support measures, experience-sharing and collegial learning, as well as inspections and a system of authorisation should be considered. Organised cooperation between central government and school authorities will strengthen the overview of the region’s school system as a whole and create better planning conditions. The remit of a regional office should contain support for planning of upper secondary school, including independent upper secondary schools. A regional planning perspective with state support should be able to provide improved conditions for access to a broad range of national programmes within upper secondary school, and for this range to correspond with the labour market’s skills supply needs in the region. Given the greater responsibility of central government to support school authorities and the existing uncertainties in the division of responsibility between the current central government school agencies, the Commission considers that an agency review is needed in the area of education. The reginal presence of central government agencies needs to be organised in a that does not divide central government’s responsibility further. The Commission is also considering proposing measures that open up for broader, more forceful and long-term central government intervention against municipalities that are not able to fulfil their obligations as school authorities. The reporting and monitoring of instruction time needs to be improved, both at school level and at authority level for compulsory school and upper secondary school. Clearer regulations should be considered for the school head and the school authority to monitor actual instruction time, as well as support measures for how this is to be implemented in practical terms. In the long term, an extension of the guaranteed instruction time should be considered. for Education, or the relevant agency in the future, should have the conditions to work continuously and with a long-term approach on the monitoring and adjustment of curricula and syllabuses. Greater autonomy for teachers and school heads As the teaching profession is strengthened through increasing numbers of well-educated teachers, central government should be able to consider changes to curricula and syllabuses towards more local autonomy. Central government should generally be guided by the necessity to strengthen teachers and school heads, and their autonomy. The school authorities should consider the administrative burden on teachers and school heads and be restrictive in burdening them with local objectives, instructions and reporting requirements, alongside those stated in the national policy documents. Measures against school segregation and for equitable school choice There is a worrying trend towards greater differences between schools considering pupil make-up with regard to socio-economic background. Breaking the trend requires policies to lessen residential segregation and allocate newly arrived immigrants evenly between municipalities, residential areas and schools. The Commission shares ’s assessment that the independent schools and school choice is here to stay. Like the , the Commission considers that there is a need to develop a model that enables school choice while at the same time countering segregation and reduced equity. Mandatory school choice, combined with relevant and comprehensive information to pupils and their parents/guardians, should be considered. The regulations for pupil placement at a school should also be reviewed. In addition, a provision should be considered stating that the school authority and the school head are to work to ensure that the school, and working groups have as broad a social make-up of pupils as possible. A coherent follow-up and evaluation system The Inquiry on National Tests (SOU 2016:25) recently presented a proposal for remedying considerable shortcomings in the information provided by the follow-up and evaluation system. It is important that implementation work begin as soon as possible once the proposals have been prepared. In future work, an inquiry should be conducted into which additional information should be included in the national assessment system. For example, there is a lack of data on the progress of pupils with special needs. This kind of information – which must not be based on personal data but can be collected for groups of pupils – could establish better conditions for analysing the needs of various groups of pupils and provide data for measures to be taken. The also points to shortcomings in information about teachers’ and school heads’ backgrounds, terms of employment and participation in activities for professional development. National school development programmes The basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic have long been in focus for various initiatives by central government and also by various school authorities. However, it is uncertain what the effects of the different initiatives have been. Programmes for literacy and numeracy in other countries appear to have had the desired effects. An analysis is needed of national and international programmes and experiences, including the ongoing ‘Boost for Reading’ and ‘Boost for Mathematics’ programmes, to assess how these initiatives can be strengthened. For example, the analysis could be conducted by international experts. Systematic pilot activities form the basis of national school development and reforms There should be an increase in systematic pilot activities in schools, aimed at testing new ideas on a small scale and evaluating the effects before they are rolled out nationally or made into the basis for national reforms. The issue of access to data needs to be considered in connection with the introduction of pilot activities. Skills supply and development The Commission’s long-term plan for skills supply and development is summarised below. Forceful measures to increase the number of qualified teachers and school heads Forceful measures are needed to tackle the acute shortage of qualified teachers. Certain urgent measures could be taken, such as improving the financial incentives, or the terms of issuing qualified teacher status and education to supplement qualifications. In addition, incentives could be created that encourage qualified teachers who have previously worked in schools to return to the profession. In the long term it is crucial that the teaching profession is strengthened and becomes more attractive. Teacher education programmes need to be strengthened in terms of resources, quality and recruitment of students The allocation of economic resources to teacher education programmes needs to be reviewed, as does the skills supply and development for teacher education programmes and these programmes’ links to research and a scientific basis. Greater economic resources would make it possible for the teaching time offered to trainee teachers to also match the needs for methods lessons, application exercises of various kinds, practical training and opportunities for reflection about experiences from the placement studies parts of the programmes. Moreover, it is essential that measures are taken to strengthen recruitment of students in terms of numbers applying to the programmes and initiatives aimed at improving students’ prior knowledge. Profession programme for teachers and school heads A national profession programme for teachers and school heads should be introduced to ensure skills supply and development. Within the framework of the programme, a number of qualification levels should be established that represent clear development stages and career opportunities for teachers. The profession programme could also create a clear structure for the supply of school heads and provide newly appointed school heads with better conditions for doing their job. Systematising skills development for teachers and school heads Central government should put in place the conditions to continuously develop and offer skills development measures like the ‘Boost for Mathematics’ and the ‘Boost for Reading’ for more subjects and areas of knowledge. It is important that teachers and school leaders are given the opportunity to develop in the exercise of their profession during their working life. It must be ensured that all school heads and teachers are given the opportunity to undertake skills development of an organised structure. The systematic differences that currently exist between school authorities in terms of providing skills development must be countered. A stronger scientific basis, link to research and practically based research The scientific basis of schools and their link to research needs to be strengthened. Further, teachers’ knowledge base needs to be developed. A system needs to be established for supporting the development of practically based research and research supply that directly responds to the knowledge needs that arise in the practice of teachers’ and school leaders’ professions.