Response to interpellation 2023/24:366 on labor market knowledge in upper secondary school
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L claims that students still receive knowledge about the labor market through labor law in the areas of legal principles, the rule of law, and working life 1. L argues that the changes in the curricula do not involve any deterioration but are based on knowledge from primary school 2. L emphasizes that the new curricula are well-considered and that the parties in the labor market had no comments in the consultation 3 4. S argues that the government is deprioritizing labor market knowledge as the concept of working life disappears from the subject's purpose 5. S believes that young people risk becoming less prepared for working life 6 and that working life knowledge should be given more space to protect the Swedish model 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Mr. Speaker! Niklas Sigvardsson has asked me if I have taken the initiative for an analysis of how the removal of labor market knowledge from the curricula affects students' knowledge regarding the Swedish model, the risk of exploitation in the labor market, and the risk of future work-related injuries due to a poor working environment. Niklas Sigvardsson has further asked me if I can, in that case, report on the results of the analysis and how I intend to act so that tomorrow's youth can learn about how the Swedish labor market, the working environment legislation, and labor law function.
In December 2023, decisions were made regarding new subject plans for upper secondary school. The background is that on 15 July 2022, amendments to the Education Act entered into force, which mean that upper secondary education shall no longer be course-designed but subject-designed, and that subject grades shall replace course grades in upper secondary school. Each subject shall consist of one or more levels, and grades shall be set after each level, but a passing grade at a higher level shall replace a grade at a lower level. The amendments shall be applied to education that begins after 30 June 2025.
The Swedish National Agency for Education presented proposals for new curricula in the common upper secondary subjects, which were referred in the usual order. The parties in the labor market were given the opportunity to comment on the proposals but did not submit any statement.
After that, the government decided on the new curricula for the common upper secondary subjects. In addition to the curricula being adapted due to the subject grade reform, the subject content has been reviewed. One of the starting points for the review has been that the curricula shall contribute to deepened learning and that the subject content shall have a clear progression from primary school to upper secondary school.
Regarding the content of the subject Social Studies, which all students in national programs in upper secondary school study, certain adjustments have been made in relation to what previously applied. The subject shall build upon the knowledge that students bring with them from primary school. From the central content for Social Studies in primary school years 7-9, it appears that all students shall have knowledge of the changes and conditions in the labor market and working life regarding, for example, wage formation, work environment, and labor law. In the subject's new central content in upper secondary school, there are, among other things, the areas of legal principles and the rule of law, as well as questions regarding welfare, working life, sustainability, equality, and gender equality. Skolverket has assessed that labor law is included as a part of these areas, and the government makes the same assessment. Furthermore, the area of working life is included in many of the vocational subjects that students in vocational programs in upper secondary school study and in the graduation goals for vocational programs.
The curriculum for upper secondary school also emphasizes this area, as it states that students shall learn about social and working life and be given the conditions to participate in democratic decision-making processes in social and working life.
Based on this, I feel confident that all students will also in the future receive the knowledge they need regarding the labor market for active participation in society and to be able to enter the working life, either directly after upper secondary school or after further studies.
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! During December, in the midst of Lucia preparations and Christmas bustle, the government slipped out a decision regarding subject plans for the upper secondary school's common subjects, i.e., the subjects that everyone who studies a national program in upper secondary school studies. The decision is to enter into force before the autumn term of 2025.
In normal cases, changes in subject plans usually only lead to discussions in subject groups or workgroups among teachers around our country. But this time, the government chose to remove something as central as labor market knowledge from the core content of the subject social studies. It may sound like a small thing, but it actually implies a risk that Swedish students, at no point between the ages of 16 and 19, will receive instruction and knowledge about the Swedish model, what rights and obligations one has in the Swedish labor market, and how to achieve a good working environment. Let that sink in! There is, therefore, a risk that Swedish students will not at any point during their high school years receive instruction that addresses the subject of the labor market.
Mr. Speaker! The Minister claims in his response that work life certainly remains in the subject plans and curricula. Let me then compare the writings that exist in the currently applicable subject plans and the new ones.
Today, teachers shall plan and conduct teaching that addresses the following: the labor market, labor law and the work environment, the labor market's parties and their different roles and significance for societal development, and the impact of digitalization on the labor market.
What I must interpret as the minister and the government consider to be equivalent writings in the new curricula are the following: resource use, growth, economic cycles and economic policy, for example questions regarding welfare, basic price formation, supply, entrepreneurship, working life, sustainability, equality and gender equality.
For me, it is inconceivable that these writings can be seen as equivalent. It is clear that one prioritizes downworking market skills in the upper secondary school's subject plans. It is not possible to see it any other way. This applies primarily to the Swedish model, which is unique for the Scandinavian countries in a global context.
That the Minister still cannot really provide answers as to whether the government has conducted an analysis and what it shows, if so, I find striking. It actually makes me wonder whether any impact assessment has been made at all regarding what risks this entails for the Swedish labor market.
Education Minister Lotta Edholm is welcome to use her upcoming contribution to try to answer my first question regarding the analysis. Has any risk analysis been conducted? Has any consequence analysis been conducted? Has one analyzed which risks young people face regarding exploitation in the labor market and future work-related injuries due to a lack of knowledge about the work environment and a lack of knowledge about the Swedish labor market, and what has that analysis shown in that case?
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Young people have a vulnerable position on the labor market.
Many have insecure employment and short contracts. They work part-time more often, and many are, because of that, not organized in a trade union.
Young people run a greater risk than others of suffering accidents at work and are overrepresented in the statistics on reported work-related injuries. They are also overrepresented in terms of fatal accidents - 14 percent of those who died at work during 2023 were under 25 years old, while only 7 percent of the workforce is in that age group.
The youth labor market is insecure, and they often do not have sufficient knowledge of their rights and obligations at work or the ability to assess the risks at a new workplace themselves. Together with a lack of induction, this makes them more vulnerable than older and more experienced colleagues.
The need to educate young people about their rights and obligations in the labor market is demonstrably great. They need to understand what a collective agreement is, which laws apply, and that they have the right to demand a safe and healthy working environment. They need this before they enter the working life. There is a particularly great need to understand how the Swedish model works and to know where to turn if one is exploited or placed to work in a deficient working environment. Without basic knowledge, young people risk being completely defenseless.
Ensuring that all young people gain knowledge about the labor market from upper secondary school is very smart. Nowhere are so many young people gathered on their way into working life as in upper secondary school. But this smart solution does not seem to be the government's.
As Niklas Sigvardsson has just successfully pointed out, there is an imminent risk that many students in upper secondary school will not learn about their rights and obligations at work when the new curricula come into effect. In comparison with today's curricula, it is completely obvious that the space for work life knowledge is shrinking and that the subject risks being completely deprioritized.
I therefore wonder in what way the Minister for Education intends for young people to gain knowledge about their rights and obligations in the labor market before they start working, if they are not to receive it in upper secondary school.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Mr. Speaker! The transition from course-based to subject-based upper secondary schools has been preceded by an enormous amount of work, which has been ongoing for several years. It is not the case that the government has smuggled out the changes that it entails to move from course-based to subject-based upper secondary schools; rather, this has been preceded by long referral periods and many discussions. The National Agency for Education has put in a lot of work to ensure that the subject plans become as good as possible. But it is clear that it is a major change when one moves from a course-designed upper secondary school to a subject-based upper secondary school.
An important part of this work is precisely that the proposals are referred for consultation before they become a government bill and before the Riksdag makes its decisions. Often, many referral bodies respond to the different parts. We know from before, even from other subjects, that many have views on the content of the proposals that are put forward – this also applies to this, which concerns social studies.
The parties in the labor market have, of course, also had the opportunity to respond to the referral but have not had any views on this. That is due, I believe, to the fact that the new subject-based upper secondary school is to a greater extent be built on the knowledge that the students bring with them from primary school so that one does not repeat too much of what they have already learned there. Therefore, this has been compressed.
Skolverket writes in its analysis that this does not involve any changes. The students will take this with them, among other things through the subjects we are now discussing, which will be common for all students in upper secondary school. Students attending vocational programs will, in addition, receive even more comprehensive knowledge in these subjects. The intention behind this is absolutely not to in any way worsen the knowledge that the students receive in upper secondary school.
I think it feels a bit unfortunate that there is some kind of belief by the interpellor that we would have smuggled these changes through – so that is naturally not the case. This assignment was given by the previous Social Democratic government, and the work has been ongoing for several years to produce good subject plans that constitute a better and more well-functioning system than the system with curriculum-designed upper secondary schools that we have had and still have. All parties have also, as far as I can judge, been in agreement that this is the right way to go.
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! It is not the subject grades and the subject-specific upper secondary school that we are discussing here, but the content of the upper secondary common course in social studies.
When a very large amount of material must be covered in a short time, it is required that the curriculum documents are precise and clearly indicate what should be included when teachers plan and carry out their teaching. When it concerns, for example, the large course in social studies, level 1 b, it involves perhaps 50-60 hours of teaching time, and then the curriculum documents and the priorities need to be crystal clear for this to be achievable.
Teachers already balance an extremely large number of steering documents today. These include subject plans, graduation goals for programs, and the curriculum's overall goals. In the subject plans, there are three parts that are particularly important, namely the subject's purpose, the central content, and the grading criteria. Teachers often see this as the most immediate and as that which they most often look at when planning their teaching. It should then be clearly stated that knowledge of work life and the labor market shall be included, if that is what is intended.
Today, it is not only in the central content of the curricula that a change is proposed. Even the very purpose of the subject is actually changing. In the current curriculum for the subject social studies, it states that students shall be given the opportunity to develop an understanding of issues regarding working life, resources, and sustainable development. There, the concept of working life is included, and as the Minister says, it is also included in many parts of the new curricula. But it disappears from the purpose of the subject social studies. If working life disappears from the very purpose, this is a rather clear prioritization from the government's side. Then it is, Mr. Speaker, a mystery to me how one can claim that it is obvious that all students, regardless of which teacher they have, will be given access to knowledge about the labor market.
One can, as the Minister, say that the vocational programs have this in their vocational courses. But today, over 200,000 students are enrolled in upper secondary programs for higher education. Hundreds of thousands of young people in upper secondary programs for higher education will therefore not receive instruction in this, apart from perhaps a small word about work life. For us Social Democrats, it is very surprising that such a curriculum is being presented in a new academic high school. We know, in fact, that it is extremely important that Swedish students receive education in labor market knowledge.
Given that labor market knowledge is clearly prioritized away – it cannot be seen in any other way – from the purpose and central content of social studies, one should perhaps be a bit more transparent and honest from the government's side and say that one has made this prioritization; one does not think it should be ensured that all Swedish upper secondary school youths shall have the right to instruction in labor market knowledge and not just those students who have the luck of getting a teacher who actually interprets the old curriculum documents' writings into the new curriculum documents' writings.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! The Minister refers to the vocational programs' graduation goals, which Niklas Sigvardsson just mentioned. It is easy to conclude that she does so because she sees the same thing as we do, namely that work life knowledge now risks disappearing from social studies in upper secondary school. She seems to want to say: Look here – over here it remains, at least.
As has been said here in the debate, all young people need to be prepared for working life. Among those who graduated from a higher education preparatory program in 2021, 35 percent proceeded to higher studies within a year. But more than half of the students start working directly after upper secondary school and now risk, with the government's decision, to be even less prepared for working life.
Given the vulnerability of young people in the labor market, I mean that work life knowledge should be given more space in our upper secondary schools. Instead, the government has decided to prioritize down life-important knowledge. It is difficult to interpret the government's decision in any other way than that they do not think young people's understanding of the Swedish labor market is particularly important or in any case not something one should spend time on in upper secondary school.
I wonder if the Minister thinks it is important that all upper secondary school students receive knowledge on how the labor market works. And if she thinks so, in what way will she then follow up to ensure that the consequence of the government's decision is not that labor market knowledge disappears from the curriculum?
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Mr. Speaker! Yes, it is important that all students in upper secondary school receive these skills, just as students in the upper years of primary school receive them. It is the very foundation. First, one learns what is needed in the upper years of primary school, and then that knowledge should follow into upper secondary school, where the subject goals take over. It is important that this works.
I just want to emphasize that there is a great deal of work behind the curricula that we are now going to receive, in which very many people and different organizations have been involved.
A referral process is important precisely to gather knowledge and viewpoints, so that changes can then be made before the proposal is submitted to the Riksdag. I can only state that the parties in the labor market have received this as a referral and have not had any comments. I believe it is because they have read what Skolverket has written about the formulations and felt secure that it is not about diminished knowledge.
When this type of document is released in the school world, it is of course important that the school adapts to this. To, for example, ensure that there are real textbooks is a way to ensure that the students receive the knowledge they need. It is also about teachers receiving knowledge on how the new subject-based upper secondary school functions and so on.
These are important issues, and I feel confident that even future upper secondary school students will receive the knowledge needed to enter the workforce.
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! The Minister can contact any trade union that has contacted me in recent months. She can contact representatives from the labor market and business community or student organizations, who in conversations with me have also expressed concern over how such an important piece of knowledge as labor market knowledge risks completely disappearing in upper secondary school.
For us Social Democrats, it is clear that we need to stand guard over the Swedish model. We need to do it powerfully even from the state level, because we need knowledge among all students and all young people regarding the Swedish labor market model. We need early knowledge of how working life functions, of what rights and obligations one has when one works, and of how one creates a secure working environment together with one's colleagues and one's employers in the Swedish labor market. It is unfortunately a knowledge that risks disappearing. It is not possible to interpret these writings in any other way. As I previously explained, one only needs to go in and compare the current curricula with the new curricula to see it in black and white.
But fortunately, there is still an opportunity for the government to act. I therefore appeal to the Minister for Education and the government to make a new decision that can take effect from the autumn term of 2025 and which gives teachers clearer guidance and clearer prioritization regarding how labor market knowledge should be prioritized for Swedish students.
Use your common sense and do what is right! Give Swedish youth solid knowledge about the Swedish labor market!
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Mr. Speaker! As I have tried to say, the work that has been carried out before the government submits its proposal is very solid. There are amounts of officials who have tested different types of formulations. Then it has been referred, in this case among others to the parties in the labor market, who have not had any comments. This is done precisely so that the comments can be received before a process takes place where the new subject plans are to be adopted.
As Minister for Education, I assume that, for example, trade unions or, in this case, the parties to the labor market have gathered these views if they have them. Now, one has not had any such views. One has thought that they are good formulations, and that is due to the background material that Skolverket has presented.
I feel completely confident that Swedish students will also in the future acquire good knowledge in this important area. I also feel great confidence regarding students in primary school receiving sufficient knowledge to be able to enter the working life in a good way.
But it is important that one has some respect for the processes that take place before decisions are made. The trade unions that Niklas Sigvardsson says should have been allowed to submit their views actually have not had any views. Therefore, this is a well-considered proposal that will now become a reality.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.