The Rise of Supplementary Education in Sweden - Arguments, Thought Styles, and Policy Enactment

Oct 15, 2026

This article examines how supplementary education in Sweden evolved from 2006 to 2018 under the label “homework support.” It focuses on the private market’s role in shaping national policy and uses a theoretical model of policy enactment to connect national decisions with local practice. By analyzing state-regulated decision-making documents, it shows how the entry of private tutoring firms altered political educational discourse while also making conditions difficult for such companies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

Introduction

The Rise of Supplementary Education in Sweden: Arguments, Thought Styles, and Policy Enactment Stina Halls´en Uppsala Universitet ECNU Review of Education 2021, Vol. 4(3) 476–493 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120952096](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120952096)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120952096)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This article focuses on the development of supplementary education, evolving under the label “homework support,” in Sweden between 2006 and 2018. Particular attention is paid to the significance of the private market for national policy. Design/Approach/Methods: Through a theoretical model on policy enactment, the interaction between national policy and local practice is highlighted. By analyzing how the local practice appears in documents related to state-regulated decision-making, the study gains further insights in the development of homework support in Sweden. Findings: This article argues that when private companies, offering supplementary tutoring, were established on the outskirts of the educational landscape in Sweden, the political educational discourse changed. Even though homework support became a given part of the political discussion about the school, the situation became difficult for private companies. Originality/Value: The article adds to the international field of shadow education. It describes the establishment of the private tutoring market’s entry into the Swedish educational landscape, which in the long term has provided a basis for a further Scandinavian development. Furthermore, the article contributes to theory development by a model that focuses on the interaction between policy formulation and local enactment. Corresponding author: Stina Halls´en, Uppsala Universitet, Box 2136, Uppsala, SE 750 02, Sweden. Email: stina.hallsen@edu.uu.se Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Keywords Policy enactment, private tutoring, supplementary education, Sweden Date received: 11 December 2019; accepted: 21 July 2020 Introduction Sweden has had an international reputation for having one of the most equitable school systems in the world. In the 1940s, when the political decision on comprehensive primary education was made, an objective was formulated emphasizing school as the main actor in realizing national social goals such as equality of opportunity. This objective has largely constituted the point of departure of school policy in Sweden ever since (Telhaug et al., 2006) . In line with this,“A school for all” has been the motto characterizing the Swedish school system and related political discussions since the middle of the 20th century when merged compulsory schooling was launched. Oneof the main aims of public schooling in the modern Swedish welfare state remains ensuring an equal distribution of life opportunities, and the Swedish Education Act accordingly states that all children and young people are to have equal access to education, regardless of gender, where they live, and other social and economic factors (SFS 2010:800) . However, massive changes in the Swedish education system, in which marketing and free school choice have played significant roles, have in recent decades changed the image of the homogeneous Swedish school system. Afar-reaching deregulation of the welfare sector in Sweden began in the 1990s and op

FAQs

What time period and focus does the article cover for homework support in Sweden?

It analyzes supplementary education labeled “homework support” in Sweden from 2006 to 2018, emphasizing how it developed over that period.

How does the study connect national policy with local practice?

It uses a theoretical model of policy enactment and examines how local practices appear within documents tied to state-regulated decision-making.

What impact does private tutoring market entry have on political educational discourse?

When private companies offering supplementary tutoring were established at the margins of the education landscape, the political discourse changed; however, conditions became difficult for these private companies even as homework support remained part of political discussions.

Oct 15, 2026

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