Tio år efter förskolereformen: Nationell utvärdering av förskolan.

The purpose of this study is to follow up on the results of the first national evaluation of kindergartens (Förskola in brytningstid, 2004) and examine the implementation and implications of the daycare reform less than ten years after the introduction of teaching framework. The study has a descriptive scope, but also aims to identify correlations and impacts.  The study asks the questions: What are the implications of teaching framework for activities in kindergartens? How are kindergartens organised and managed in the municipalities? How do municipalities and kindergartens work with evaluations and quality development? How do municipalities and kindergartens work with children who need special support? Are there any differences in the responses from the various municipalities and kindergartens?

The study shows that the teaching framework has had a major impact and have contributed to both development and more in-depth work with the different areas of the teaching framework. The teaching framework has been very significant as a driving force behind the development of the pedagogical work in kindergartens, and many of the changes that have been made over the past decade can be traced back to the reform and the introduction of teaching framework. The results of the study show that kindergartens and schools have been closely linked at municipal level; that teaching framework has had the biggest impact in relation to norms and values; that 'development and learning’ in teaching framework indicate a break with earlier traditions through increased individualisation; and that the introduction of teaching framework has led to an enhanced evaluation culture. The study concludes that the pedagogical documentation has contributed to increased profiling of both kindergarten activities and child development. Conversely, the study shows that, with the reform, early childhood education and care serves increasingly to prepare children for school and the pedagogical task has become more specialised with a greater focus on language development. Generally, children's development, performance and skills are increasingly being evaluated. This development was not really the purpose of the reform, as the national directives indicate that the individual child should not be evaluated and assessed. The development is in contrast with the tradition for teaching framework that is referred to as the 'Nordic model’ in an OECD context. The study thus shows a complex and contradictory picture with an 'educare' model that is being developed while the Swedish kindergarten, in some areas, is moving towards a different perception of teaching framework.

The study is a cross-sectional study, a document review, a views study as well as a case study. The data for this study are collected by means of questionnaires, one-to-one interviews and from existing documents from institutions and municipalities. The questionnaire survey is based on data from 360 municipalities and municipal areas. In addition, 51 individual interviews were conducted. Fifteen kindergartens were selected for the case study where two child carers were interviewed in each kindergarten.

Skolverket (2008). Tio år efter förskolereformen: Nationell utvärdering av förskolan. Stockholm: Skolverket.