4. Quality education

Sweden has long had a well-developed education system with high accessibility for all. The main challenges are a lack of equality, differences in knowledge between girls and boys and problems with the supply of skills (Glokala Sverige n.d.).

The goal in a local context

The City of Malmö is responsible for large parts of the education system within the municipality and thus has a great opportunity to contribute to the fulfilment of the objective.

What it looks like in Malmö

Children and young people's access to equal education

Children's socio-economic background, their participation in early childhood education and their performance in primary school have a major impact on their educational attainment in adulthood. Preschool is often the first form of schooling that children encounter, and in Sweden, participation in preschool is generally high. In Malmö, 95 per cent of children aged 3-5 years were enrolled in preschool in 2023, which is about the national average. The proportion has increased by a few percentage points over a ten-year period.

The proportion of pupils (registered in Malmö) leaving compulsory school with qualifications for vocational programmes at upper secondary school has gradually increased since the 2000s. In 2023, the proportion was around 84 per cent, slightly lower than the country as a whole. Girls have a higher upper secondary school qualification than boys.

Nationally, the differences in school results between schools have increased since the 2000s, partly due to increased school segregation (Skolverket 2018). In Malmö, too, there are significant differences in school results between schools and areas. However, in the 2022/2023 academic year, the difference in merit value between low-achieving and high-achieving pupils in municipal primary schools was the smallest since the 2015/2016 academic year.

This development is driven by the fact that students with the weakest results have raised their merit values. Possible explanations for this are improved socio-economic conditions for students and long-term investments in specific school subjects such as Swedish as a second language and maths.

Malmö's upper secondary schools have a lower throughput rate (students graduating within four years) than the country and the other two major cities, but the rate has increased since 2015. Significantly more girls than boys graduate within four years (74% compared to 62% in 2023).

Skills supply in municipal education and training organisations

A common challenge for education services, both nationally and locally, is the lack of pedagogically trained staff. The proportion of employees with full-time positions who have a preschool teacher's degree in Malmö's municipal preschools has remained relatively constant at around 30 per cent over the past five years, which is lower than the national average.

In municipal comprehensive schools, the proportion with teacher qualifications has gradually increased since 2019 and was around 70 per cent in 2023. In municipal upper secondary schools, the proportion with teacher qualifications has remained more constant over time and was around 91 per cent in 2023. Over time, municipal comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools have had a higher proportion of qualified teachers than those run by private operators. The proportion of qualified teachers in primary schools, in total for both private and municipal schools, is lower in Malmö than in the country as a whole, while the proportion in upper secondary schools is higher.

School as a safe environment free from bullying and harassment

All children and students have the right to learn and develop in a safe environment and to be treated with respect when they are at school. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate's pupil survey shows that the proportion of pupils in year 8 who feel completely or partially safe at school was 77 per cent in 2023. The survey has been revised, so comparison with the results of previous surveys is not possible. With regard to bullying, around 6 per cent of pupils in year 9 in Region Skåne's public health survey in 2024 stated that they had been subjected to bullying. There are clear differences in the experience of bullying between the different areas of the city.

Residents' level of education

Malmö is among the ten per cent of the country's municipalities with the highest proportion of people with post-secondary education. The level of education has gradually increased for both women and men, but more women than men have a post-secondary education (59 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men in 2023). The share with tertiary education is higher than the national average, but slightly lower than in Stockholm and Gothenburg. At the same time, the share of the population in Malmö with only lower secondary education has decreased slightly since 2010. There are large differences in education levels between different geographical areas of the city. Malmö's northern and western areas have a high proportion of residents with post-secondary education, while the proportion is lower in the southern and eastern parts of the city.

Education for sustainable development and global citizenship

Learning for sustainable development is not an explicit concept in Swedish school policy documents. The curricula support general interdisciplinary collaboration and a holistic perspective and that different subject areas are coordinated so that pupils have the opportunity to perceive larger areas of knowledge as a whole. The headteacher is also responsible for ensuring that school staff are aware of the international agreements that Sweden has undertaken to take into account in education. Education must also convey and anchor respect for human rights and the fundamental democratic values on which Swedish society is based.

The City of Malmö has been working for many years to support Malmö schools to work actively with learning for sustainable development. Among other things, the ‘Malmö Schools for Sustainable Development’ project is underway, with three schools participating. The project aims to increase knowledge about what support schools need in their sustainability work and ultimately inspire more Malmö schools to work strategically with sustainable development. The City of Malmö, in collaboration with other organisations, has also tested methods and platforms to improve the city's ability to include children and young people in climate and environmental work.

Indicators

4.1 Children aged 1–5 enrolled in preschool, percentage (%)

4.2 Children aged 3–5 enrolled in preschool, percentage (%)

4.3 Ninth-grade students eligible for upper secondary school, percentage (%)

4.4 Upper secondary school students graduating within 4 years, percentage (%)

4.5 Adult education completed with passing grades, percentage (%)

4.6 Teaching certification for adapted elementary school, municipal, percentage (%)

4.7 Teaching certification for adapted high school, percentage (%)

4.8 Teaching certification for preschool, percentage (%)

4.9 Teaching certification for elementary school, percentage (%)

4.10 Teaching certification for upper secondary school, percentage (%)

4.11 Teaching certification for adult education, percentage (%)

4.12 Teaching certification for SFI, percentage (%)

4.13 Bullying, 9th grade, percentage (%)

4.14 National tests, 3rd grade, percentage (%)

4.15 Safety at school, 8th grade, percentage (%)

4.16 Youth under the municipality’s responsibility for activities, percentage (%)

4.17 Youth established in the labor market or enrolled in education, percentage (%)

4.18 Post-secondary education level, percentage (%)

4.19 Pre-secondary education level, percentage (%)

4.20 Secondary education level, percentage (%)

4.21 Education level, combined, percentage (%)

References

Glokala Sverige (u.å.). Arbetsbok – Agenda 2030. Tillgänglig: https://fn.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Arbetsbok_Glokala_Sverige_2021.pdf

Skolverket (2018). Analyser av familjebakgrundens betydelse för skolresultaten och skillnader mellan skolor. En kvantitativ studie av utvecklingen över tid i slutet av grundskolan. Rapport 467. Tillgänglig: https://www.skolverket.se/getFile?file=3927