Föräldrainflytande i grundskolan - Barnverket

School Ordinance and the Compulsory School Curriculum), has been
transferred to the board. Since parents are in the majority they now occupy
a position of power on their respective boards which means that they can
decide over matters concerning the local plan of work, distribution of
hours, budget resources etc.
This shift in power resulting from the creation of local boards can give rise
to problems for the political bodies whose task it is to exercise control over
the running of schools, as required by the authorities. Schools cannot
be seen as being purely of interest to the pupils and parents who are
affected by their activities, but are primarily the concern of all citizens.
There is a societal interest here that may conflict with the interests of
the local school board.
School is a meeting-place for the interests of various parties - among others
politicians, civil servants, school principals, parents and pupils all wish
to influence the way schools work. Where there is a local board with a
parent majority, one of these parties will be predominant, which may
cause problems. Whose concerns will be dealt with? Can agreement be
reached on a common policy?
The pilot scheme has been in operation for five years and has now been extended
by a further two years, but interest in participating is not overwhelming.
After 5 years’ activity, there are 220 local school boards in Sweden, which
may indicate that parents are not yet prepared to accept the responsibility
involved. Another explanation might be that the pilot scheme was established
on the Government’s initiative, and not that of the parents. A further
point is that many schools already have other functioning forms of
parent power and may thus not be interested in setting up boards with
parent majorities.
The establishment of local school boards with parent majorities has meant a
formal change in the management of the schools concerned. The municipal
executive committee bears the main responsibility for ensuring that in all its
spheres of activity a school complies with the terms of the Education Act, the
compulsory curriculum, and the Compulsory School Ordinance in general,
and it is certain elements of this area of responsibility that the committee
hands over to the local board. There is a risk that there may be negative
effects of this transfer of power - state education regulations may not be fully
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