Rätten till en god utbildning: En studie om Gy 2011, jämlikhet och policydesign

This thesis explores the relationship between public policy and democratic values by analysing the 2011 Swedish upper secondary school reform from an equality perspective. It asks what ideas are present in the policy proposal and in what way these ideas have an impact on individuals and society. The questions are answered through integrating two analytical tools: the ”What’s the problem represented to be”-approach and two ideal types of equality. The analysis shows that the policy proposal uses reasoning consistent with the ideal type of equality stemming from theory of distributive justice, as opposed to the ideal type grounded in relational justice. It aims at providing the students with a more accessible degree by increasing specialisation and cutting time for foundation subjects on vocational programmes. This is promoted as a way of increasing employment rates but can be criticised from a relational point of view for not giving students equal amount of training in the general competences that are often emphasised as positive for democratic participation. The analysis concludes that implicit political ideas have an impact on policy design and its implications and that uncovering such ideas help discover both the possibilities and restrictions of a certain policy formulation