Change or Paradigm Shift in the Swedish Preschool?

Since the mid-1990s several reforms have challenged the idea of educare, which is often held up as the main characteristic of the Swedish preschool (OECD 2001, 2006, Moss 2006). Educare in the Swedish context means good-quality care and education in a balanced mix. Unlike many European countries, there is not a split in the organisation between care of children below and above the age of three (Knijn, Jönsson and Klammer 2005, Letablier and Jönsson 2005). Contemporary reforms point to increased expectations of preschool as a preparation for school. Such ideas are included in the social investment strategy which is supported on the European Union level and by international organisations such as the OECD and the World Bank. According to White (2009), the social investment strategy implies a positive relationship between early childhood development and early childhood education programmes and children’s success later in life, which is related to a country’s economic success. The aim of the paper The aim of the paper is to discuss whether or to what extent the social investment strategy has an impact on the Swedish preschool and the reform work being done at the moment. Since its establishment in the 1970s, the emphasis has been on the child’s needs at the same time as it fulfils goals related to family, social, gender equality and labour market policies. Has the balance changed in favour of future-oriented goals? Is there a paradigm shift taking place in the Swedish preschool? The paper will explore whether this is the case by discussing the development of the Swedish preschool since the 1970s, proceeding from Hall’s (1993) requirements of a paradigm shift; these include a simultaneous change of objectives, policy instruments and settings