Swedish school inspection finds deficiencies in religious schools
Grade 9 students perform for a kindergarten class in Sweden. Photo Facebook, Stockholm International School
Northern Europe
A new report from the Swedish School Inspectorate criticises several religious schools for not meeting set standards.
Religious schools have more trouble finding qualified teachers than public schools. In addition, it seems to be hard for them to operate independently from the parish they belong to. Thus, sometimes prayer and praise are included in the curriculum, the Swedish School Inspectorate concludes in a new report about 2022. That is reported by Dagen.
In total, there are 60 religious schools in Sweden. In total, 47 schools were examined by the Inspectorate, which found deficiencies in 24 of this selection.
In three Muslim schools, the shortcomings are so severe that the School Inspectorate revoked the license of the principals to run the educational institution.
Christian elements
However, the critique of the Inspectorate also targets Christian schools. In five schools, the Inspectorate ruled that the curriculum contained religious elements contrary to the law. In three cases, this criticism was specifically about Christian elements.
One of these three schools is the Johannesskolan in Norrköping. The Inspectorate criticised the school for not making it clear enough that students could opt out from activities like prayer, preaching and praise because they were voluntary.
The second school, Immanuel School in Borlänge, included prayer in its mandatory morning meetings. Because students could not opt out, the Inspectorate ruled that this religious element is not permitted in Sweden.
In the third case, a school in Pajala municipality let its students sing so-called Sion's songs to learn about the region's history. However, according to the Inspectorate, the songs included too many religious elements.
Credentials
A more general problem with confessional schools is that it is harder for them to find teachers with official credentials and qualifications. On average, 51 per cent of the teachers have official qualifications at confessional schools. At public elementary schools, this percentage is 71 per cent.
At the same time, students feel better at independent Christian schools than at public schools on average, the Inspectorate found out. "We have heard stories about students who especially appreciate that the school's orientation allows them to openly express and practice their beliefs without a fear of appearing different from the norm", the report reads.
Jan Rosman, the chairman of the Christian Free School Council, experiences that students are doing well. "This is confirmed by the school survey that is carried out annually. Answers from students at denominational free schools are "more positive than the answers from students at other schools."
Remedy
Rosman furthermore acknowledges that some schools have deficiencies. However, he does not worry about them too much. "Most schools with a confessional focus do well in the inspections", he points out. "In the cases where deficiencies were linked to denominational orientation, the problems are easy to remedy. We have succeeded well, even if we have a little way to go."
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