Förändra praktiken genom imperativ policy? Lärares förutsättningar för arbetet med kartläggning i förskoleklass.

Abstract

Change the practice through imperative policy? Teachers’ conditions for doing assessments in preschool class. This study examines the conditions given to teachers in preschool class in order to execute the guarantee for early interventions and mandatory assessments of six-year-olds. The reform contributes an imperative policy that is to be interpreted literally to ensure equality. The study involves the analysis of survey responses from 792 teachers in 191 Swedish municipalities. The results reveal three gaps: 1) there is variety in the local preconditions and time spent on the assessments despite the standardization in this imperative policy, 2) the guarantee seems to be integrated into the local institutional culture rather than to be driving change, and 3) the reform seems to have become the teachers’ responsibility to implement within existing resources and timeframes. The conclusion is that the reform and its policy lead to large variation when implemented in local practice. Thus, national equality in education is difficult to achieve, even if the policy is imperative.