APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090021-3
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FIGURE 23. The classroom in a grammar school, the machine shop area, and the Assembly Hall at Voxjo senior high school are modern facilities. The swimming pool, built by the school board of Vasteras in cooperation with other city authorities, is used by school children in the morning and by the public in the afternoon. (U/OU) (photos)
In 1950, following a 10-year study of Swedish and foreign educational systems by a committee of experts, the Riksdag authorized the establishment of a new type of school, the comprehensive school (enhetsskola) with 9 years of compulsory attendance for children between the ages of 7 and 16. This school, which was designed to enable every child to advance as far as his capabilities would permit, regardless of his family's social and financial circumstances, was first introduced as a pilot program in 1950. If successful, it was to replace the traditional elementary and intermediate schools throughout the country. In 1962 the Riksdag passed legislation replacing all elementary and intermediate schools with the comprehensive school (henceforth called the grundskola), and by early 1966 the grundskolan were established throughout the area in which 90% of Sweden's population lives. By the academic year 1972/73, the period of nationwide obligatory transition to the new system is scheduled to be completed. The purpose of extending the period of compulsory school attendance from 7 to 9 years is to provide all children with the broader education required by present-day life.
The comprehensive school is divided into three 3-year levels: Junior (grades 1-3), Intermediate (grades 4-6), and Senior (grades 7-9). Pupils start school in the autumn of the year in which they are 7 years of age. One of the most important and distinguishing features of the Swedish comprehensive school is the undivided school, i.e., pupils remain together in the same class as they move upwards through the grades. During the first 6 years all pupils take the same subjects, regardless of ability or interest. Compulsory subjects in the lower level (grades 1-3) are Swedish, mathematics, music, handicrafts, gymnastics, religion, and provincial culture. In the middle stage (grades 4-6) drawing is added, and provincial culture is replaced by civics, history, geography, and nature lore. In the upper level (grades 7-9) domestic science becomes compulsory for girls, and nature lore is replaced by biology, chemistry, and physics. In the first two levels pupils are taught by class teachers, such as in U.S. elementary schools.
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090021-3
