Regional Educational Development Research in Sweden of Forty Years

Abstract

In order to examine regional educational development in combination with school development in Sweden during the last 40 years, this paper presents the results of an integrative, systematic literature review. The study shows a sprawling result: a dozen regional projects mostly directed to higher education, little debate, mostly descriptive studies, weakly evaluated governmental educational initiatives, and hardly any research or debates ranging from preschool through the whole school system. However, the most important implication is the need for reanalysis of the values that permeate the entire school system and the community of life values in rural areas.