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Swedish National Agency for Education
(Sourced from http://www.skolverket.se/2.3894/in_english)
The Swedish National Agency for Education is the central administrative authority for the Swedish public school system for children, young people and adults, as well as for preschool activities and child care for school children.
The Agency also has responsibility for coordinating national initiatives for pupils with disabilities, environmental issues and issues relating to pupils who have just arrived in Sweden.
The tasks and role of the Agency
Government and Parliament specify goals and guidelines for preschool and school through the Education Act, curricula etc. The task of the Agency is to work actively for the achievement of these goals. The Agency steers, supports, follows up and evaluates the work of municipalities and schools with the purpose of improving quality and the result of activities to ensure that all pupils have access to equal education.
The Agency´s contribution to improved quality
National goals and governing documents
- establish frameworks and guidelines for how the education is to be conducted and assessed using goal documents, syllabuses, tests, grading criteria and general guidelines.
- Be responsible for the national testing system. Together with universities and colleges The Agency develops national tests and diagnostic material in order to ensure equality in the assessment of pupils.
- With financial help the Agency is also responsible for distributing and evaluating government grants for the achievement of goal fulfilment and for guaranteeing quality in the different activities.
National school development
- Support preschools and schools in their development.The support provided shall be given national priority. The support may be provided for general development needs identified as shortcomings or problems in national or international surveys in areas such as mathematics, languages and reading and writing
- Skill development for school staff is an essential element. The Agency is responsible for the national school head training and for professional development for teachers.
- Disseminate information about research and experience that are of significance for school heads and teachers.
Evaluation
Participating in international evaluations in order to gain more indepth knowledge on comparable education systems and on how other countries have dealt with areas similar to those needing improvement in the Swedish education system. Focusing on, by way of national evaluations, areas where development is needed at the national level, as well as providing the underlying basis for this development, e.g., to help school principals and supervisors in their efforts to lead and rejuvenate activities at the local level.
Follow-up
Collecting, analysing and publishing relevant statistics in this sector.We follow up the prerequisites of the different activities, how the activities are conducted and how the results develop, by the continual collection of data from the municipalities. This allows comparison of different organisers and activities.
A director general heads the Agency and, in order to improve the Agency's quality and reinforce its establishment in society, a council is appointed by the government.