New initiative offers the opportunity to discover Sweden's educational history
To raise awareness and knowledge of Sweden's rich educational history, Lärarstiftelsen now offers a unique opportunity to ask questions directly to eminent historians from Uppsala and Stockholm Universities.
Eminent historians answer questions from the public about schools in the past. From left to right: Johanna Ringarp (Photo Clément Morin), Sara Backman Prytz and Esbjörn Larsson
A new History of Education section on the website of Lärarstiftelsen offers visitors articles and stories that provide insight into the history of Swedish schools and their impact on today's education system. Historians Johanna Ringarp, Sara Backman Prytz and Esbjörn Larsson share their knowledge of significant events and reforms that have shaped today's schools.
- Our image of what school was like in the past can often be characterised by prejudice or idyllicisation - with this blog, I hope that we can nuance the picture and share both current research and exciting archival findings, says Sara Backman Prytz, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Child and Youth Studies at Uppsala University.
As part of the initiative, the Teachers' Foundation is launching the "History Box", a new interactive forum where the public can ask questions directly to the researchers. Questions such as "What year were women allowed to start training as teachers?", "Why was compulsory education introduced in Sweden and when?" or "How many students graduated in 1950 compared to today?" are answered within three working days by the historians on duty.
Lärarstiftelsen hopes to make history come alive and relevant to the learning of today and tomorrow, while promoting greater engagement with how the events of the past have shaped our present.
- Since school is something that most people have a relationship with, while many also have their own image of what school is or should be, it feels important to be able to contribute knowledge about why school looks the way it does and how today's school has evolved, says Esbjörn Larsson, Dean of Faculty of Educational Sciences and Professor of History of Education at Uppsala University.