| Abstract: | The opening of the article points to the importance of a broad contextualisation of the understanding of school failure, which needs to be understood both on the educational-political level, as well as on the economical, practical and organisational levels. Questions of justice in the Swedish educational system are explored and the validity of this broad focus is examined through a historical discussion of the rhetorical and traditional idea of a school for all. The point of this analysis is critically to point to a gap between this idea and the practical situation in schools. Connected to this analysis, two important reform themes within the Swedish school today are discussed: those of individuality and decentralisation and their implications for school failure. The latter part of the article contains a statistically based analysis of school failure in Sweden. The ambitious political goals of the compulsory school are described and analysed and the problems in attaining this goal are highlighted. The heart of the problem is connected to differences in value systems, determining what is important knowledge within different cultural backgrounds. |
