FRISKOLOR OCH DESS ÄGANDE Hur påverkar huvudmannens storlek lärares uppfattningar om kvalitet i friskolor?

Abstract

Sweden’s private schools are a topic that has been widely discussed in Swedish media as well as in academic research. Discussions about these schools tend to focus on comparisons between public and private schools as well as how private schools affect students’ academic results. This paper aims to broaden the discussion about Sweden’s private schools by studying how different factors affect different types of private schools, and how these factors affect the experience of teachers in those schools. Previous research suggests that the role of teachers working in private schools differ from the role of teachers in public schools as private schools demand more market-oriented teachers. Beyond this, private schools have lower teacher density and lower degrees of certified teachers than their public counterparts. These effects are more noticeable in schools that are owned by large groups, a type of ownership that is becoming increasingly common in Sweden. Because of these factors, this paper aims to study how the size of school ownership is related to teacher experience in two different areas: factors who directly affect pedagogic quality, and factors who indirectly affect pedagogic quality. This is done through statistical analysis. The paper finds that there is a significant connection between large ownership and worsened teacher experience regarding the factors who indirectly affect pedagogic quality, however the relationship is not too strong, and more research is needed to conclude the cause of this connection.