{"id":5999,"date":"2026-03-19T13:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/edci336\/2026\/03\/19\/free-inquiry-6-swedish-schools\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:17:15","slug":"free-inquiry-6-swedish-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edtechuvic.ca\/edci336\/2026\/03\/19\/free-inquiry-6-swedish-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Inquiry #6: Swedish schools"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Screenshot from Welcome to Nacka brochure<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Swedish language learning update<\/strong>: I finally hit the big five-oh on Duolingo! I have been practicing Swedish for 50 days now.<\/p>\n

My international practicum fast approaches! In exactly 3 weeks (that\u2019s right, 3 weeks! That\u2019s 21 sleeps!), I\u2019ll be headed to Stockholm. Instead of doing something more immediately useful like packing, or lesson planning, I sat down this evening to research how the Swedish school system works. Education is a massive part of culture \u2013 schools as institutions reproduce and challenge cultural norms. Since my inquiry centres around Swedish language and culture, and since I\u2019m going to be working within the Swedish school system for over a month, in UNDER a month, I thought I should know a bit more about what I\u2019m getting into.<\/p>\n

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Eklidens skola<\/em>, the compulsory school in Nacka, Sweden, where I\u2019ll be doing my 6-week practicum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Image from https:\/\/www.nacka.se\/valfard-skola\/eklidensskola\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Swedish school system has three main stages: preschool, compulsory school, and upper secondary school. Preschool (f\u00f6rskola<\/strong>) is for younger kids and is heavily play-based, focused on social development more than academics. Then comes compulsory school (grundskola<\/strong>), which runs from about ages 6 to 15. Compulsory school is mandatory from Year 1 to Year 9. After that, students move into upper secondary school (gymnasium<\/strong>), which is optional. However, most students attend \u2013 the job outlook is quite competitive and gymnasium is an asset. In gymnasium, students specialize into vocational and academic streams. My mentor teacher\u2019s son is currently in gymnasium and he wants to pursue higher education soon.<\/p>\n

Speaking of my mentor teacher \u2013 I met Maria yesterday via Microsoft Teams. It was difficult to schedule a meeting because of the +8HRS time difference between here and Stockholm. But, I\u2019m glad we did, because Maria is lovely and I feel less nervous about embarking on the international practicum journey now that I know at least one person who\u2019s waiting in Sweden!<\/p>\n

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Screenshot from the World Clock app on my iPad, showing that when it is 7:46pm here in Victoria, it is the middle of the night\/early morning in Stockholm (3:46am).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ll be teaching at\u00a0Eklidens skola, which is a Year 7-9 school \u2013 the final years of compulsory education. The grade equivalent is a little different in Canada \u2013 the Swedish learners I\u2019ll be working with would be Grade 6-8 here. One thing that really stood out from my conversation with Maria is how advanced the students seem in terms of their academics. They learn primarily in Swedish, but English is introduced early and taken seriously. Maria is an English teacher, and their English classes are much more vigorous than Core French classes in Canada. For example, Maria\u2019s Year 9s just finished reading the Great Gatsby. WOAH! I didn\u2019t read that until Grade 11 or 12. On top of English, most students study a third language \u2013 Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, etcetera. Being multilingual is very normal in Sweden. <\/p>\n

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Leo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby film (image from Gold Derby)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This tells me a lot about the high expectations and support in Swedish classrooms \u2013 or, at least, at my school. The students are clearly being challenged, and rising to the challenge. Hearing that my future students are tackling the Great Gatsby in their non-native language puts things into perspective as I begin lesson planning \u2013 I can definitely aim higher than I initially thought.<\/p>\n

It makes sense that students are successful in Sweden \u2013 their schools are well-funded. In my research, I found that Sweden uses a publicly funded system where money follows the student \u2013 government funding is based on enrollment. This is equity-focused in theory, because every student should have access to the same quality of education regardless of where they go. And, get this \u2013 school lunches are completely free! Thank you, Nordic Model! Teachers, students, and school staff all eat the same free hot lunch, which will be AWESOME!<\/p>\n

A new focus of mine over these next few weeks is unit and lesson planning. I got some ideas from Maria\u2026<\/p>\n