スウェーデンのインデペンデント・スクールにおける運営体制と学習空間構成の特徴

 Introduction: In Sweden there are ‘independent schools’, similar to charter schools in the US or academies in the UK, that are approved by the Schools Inspectorate and follow the same national curricula and syllabuses as municipal schools. The number of independent schools has been growing since the voucher system started in 1992 at compulsory schools, enabling parents and their children a free choice between public and private schools. The Swedish National Agency for Education said that around 17 per cent of compulsory schools were independent schools that attracted close to 14 per cent of the students in 2014. A small number of education providers run several schools and have been increasing the share while the vast majority of independent education providers of compulsory schools run just the one school. This study aims to find out what the advantages are of the operation of providers running several schools. The objectives of this study are to reveal the characteristics of operation by providers and the space composition of school facilities.<br><br> Methods: We made a list of large providers based on the report by Skolverket and homepages of providers and found out that there are 5 providers which run more than one compulsory school in Stockholm. We conducted a field investigation in 4 of these providers, Pysslingen, Kunskapsskolan, Vittra and Futuraskolan in 2015. We undertook interviews about the operation of the providers at the headquarters in Pysslingen, Kunskapsskolan and Vittra and with a principal in one of the schools in Futuraskolan. We visited 6 schools from the 4 providers and collected their case studies in order to analyse the space characteristics and also had interviews with their principals.<br><br> Operation by providers: We found out there were 2 types of providers through looking at their histories, educational policies, operation structures and visions for learning spaces. The first one was a provider which grew by acquiring existing schools, they don't dictate to their schools what to do so the characteristics of each school relied on themselves. The second one was providers which built their own schools from scratch, they have their own educational policies and methods such as personalized education, multiple teaching forms, global perspectives and creativity. The point that we want to emphasize is that they have ideas of the learning spaces linked to the education they offer. Pysslingen and Futuraskolan belong to the first type and Kunskapsskolan and Vittra to the second.<br><br> School case studies: The two schools we studied in Pysslingen and Futuraskolan have traditional school buildings. They try to create spaces for students by using small spaces within class rooms and table sets in corridors for individual or small group learning but they have not made big changes by way of removing walls or adding extra rooms etc. Pupils tend to study in the class rooms. In the schools we studied in Kunskapsskolan and Vittra, one is newly built school and the others were converted from a hospital and an office building. They have large work spaces with furniture which hold 4 or 5 classrooms which makes one unit. Students can choose their personal learning spaces depending on their individual desires or by assignment. The providers produce school facilities that are suitable for their students' education.<br><br> Conclusion: There are education providers which organise independent schools systematically. Some of them have visions of learning spaces linked to their desired education styles. This gives us some hints in order to follow and control the current situation in education like the high speed of technology, individualised learning and multiple teaching methods.