Above: Lund University Library
By Dr Karan Vickers-Hulse, Dr Jane Carter and Dr Sarah Whitehouse
The relationship between education, democracy, and social justice is never static. During our recent ECRG delegation visit to Malmö and Lund Universities, conversations with postgraduate teacher‑education students and staff revealed a system grappling with profound political, demographic, and ideological shifts. These insights offer a powerful lens for thinking about how educators can navigate contested spaces, particularly when issues of critical literacy, anti-racism, and children’s rights are under pressure.
The changing context of Swedish schooling
Sweden’s education system is often internationally associated with equity, inclusion, and child‑centred practice. Yet the picture emerging from conversations with colleagues at Malmö and Lund Universities suggests a sector in transition with demographic shifts reshaping the workforce. Immigration has been halted and birth rates are falling so teacher training numbers are shrinking and yet at the same time, the need for 80% more SEN(D) teachers is rising due to increasingly complex learner profiles. Teacher training students we spoke to describe a system where children “know their rights but are not necessarily independent,” raising questions about how reasonable adjustments are conceptualised. For example, a child whose adjustment is “not speaking” may be protected but not supported towards independence or participation. These tensions echo debates in the UK, where parental advocacy, funding structures, and the route to a diagnosis can unintentionally shape classroom dynamics and teacher workload.
Teacher identity, retention and the weight of policy
Much like in England, Swedish teachers are expressing a desire to leave the profession. Trainee teachers at Malmö spoke about the profound influence of their mentors-how a single supportive person has the power to shape their sense of belonging in teaching. Policy changes are also reshaping professional identity. Currently, there is a compulsory course on social relations and core values within teacher education in Malmo, but the 2028 curriculum reforms propose removing human rights, children’s rights, and even critical literacy. One student summarised the government’s stance starkly: “We (Swedish) don’t care about critical thinking.” This shift has implications far beyond the classroom as the influence of social media rises, the removal of critical literacy from the curriculum risks leaving young people without the tools to navigate misinformation or interrogate power. Students we spoke to at Lund shared similar views but also reflected on the open discrimination of the indigenous Sami people in Sweden (one of the students was Sami) as well as the fact that being openly racist on teacher education courses was not always challenged. One student reflected that there was a student on their course who was open about the fact that he supported Nazi views and when students raised the issue, the common response was that everyone is “entitled to their opinions”.
Critical conversations: racism, silence, and the Swedish context
Perhaps the most striking theme was the difficulty of naming and addressing racism within Swedish institutions. Colleagues described a university culture where racism is “not discussed,” and there is a national reluctance to use the word racism at all with one colleague stating that “it would be impossible to identify as a structurally racist institution” after we shared that our Vice-Chancellor identified UWE Bristol as institutionally racist. Colleagues highlighted a fear that equality data could be misused, resulting in a system where ethnicity cannot legally be recorded. Instead, categories such as “Swedish,” “Non-Swedish”, “immigrant,” or “born outside Europe” act as proxies. Despite this, young people themselves appear to be shifting the narrative. Many now identify as Swedish and Iranian, Bosnian, or Arab suggesting a more self‑defined sense of belonging than previous generations.
Curriculum, values, and the politics of knowledge
Sweden’s highly standardised system requires students to study social sciences and humanities until age 18, with schooling continuing until 19. Social science teachers described teaching students to evaluate sources but also acknowledged the need to explore perspectives and voices; a task that becomes harder when political discourse narrows. In both UK and Sweden, the challenge is not simply what we teach, but how we create conditions for students to question, interpret, and imagine differently.
Navigating hope and responsibility
Despite the challenges, trainee teachers at Malmö University and Lund University expressed a desire to focus on how to hold critical conversations, how to support independence and how to navigate tensions between policy and practice. Their reflections suggest that even in restrictive climates, educators can cultivate spaces of inquiry, empathy, and resistance. These conversations with colleagues in Sweden remind us that anti‑racist practice requires language, courage, and institutional support and that critical literacy is not optional but foundational to democracy. One educator noted that schools’ practice, grappling with the realities of migration, identity and inequality, was developing at a more rapid pace than in the university, saying “the university is often behind the schools.”
The conversations at both universities highlight the need for continued dialogue across borders. Whether in Sweden or the UK, educators face shared challenges: rising polarisation, shrinking civic spaces, and the erosion of critical thinking in public life. Yet there is also shared possibility. Young people are redefining identity and teachers in schools are seeking deeper pedagogical understanding. And universities, when they choose to, can become spaces where difficult truths are spoken and new futures imagined. At ECRG, we’ll continue to do this work.
