INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FRAMEWORK BEING IMPLEMENTED IN SWEDEN: THE ESSUNGA MODEL

Mark Stuart McInnes

Abstract


This study critically examines Sweden's Essunga model as an exemplar of inclusive education implementation within a decentralised governance structure. Despite Sweden's legislative commitment to equity through the Education Act 2010 and Discrimination Act 2008, municipal autonomy has created fragmented interpretations of inclusive practice. The Essunga Municipality transformed from ranking 287th nationally in 2007 to third place by 2010, achieving 96% student goal attainment and 100% secondary education eligibility through a comprehensive inclusive framework. This two-phase methodological analysis explores the conceptual foundations of Sweden's inclusive education policy and examines the practical implementation of the Essunga model through relational pedagogy, collaborative teaching structures, and elimination of deficit-based categorisation. Key enablers included strong leadership, multi-professional collaboration, student voice integration, and evidence-based professional development. The model rejected diagnostic gatekeeping, embedded special needs educators within mainstream classrooms, and fostered community-anchored support systems. However, significant barriers to replication persist, including policy ambiguity, inadequate teacher preparation, neoliberal marketisation pressures, and the model's dependence on small-scale context. While the Essunga model demonstrates that locally driven inclusive reform can yield substantial academic and social outcomes, systemic constraints limit national and international transferability without coordinated policy frameworks linking legislative intent with relational pedagogical practice.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


inclusive education, Essunga model, relational pedagogy, special needs education, educational reform

Full Text:

PDF

References


Allan, J., & Persson, E. (2016). Students’ perspectives on raising achievement through inclusion in Essunga, Sweden. Educational Review, 68(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2015.1058752

Australian Government. (1992). Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A04426

Australian Government. (2005). Disability Standards for Education 2005. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2005L00767

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2022). Building a culturally responsive Australian teaching workforce: Final report for Indigenous cultural competency project. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/cultural-responsiveness/building-a-culturally-responsive-australian-teaching-workforce

Barow, T., & Berhanu, G. (2021). Inclusive education in Sweden: Policy, politics and practice. In N. B. Hanssen, S.-E. Hansén, & K. Ström (Eds.), Dialogues between Northern and Eastern Europe on the development of inclusion: Theoretical and practical perspectives (pp. 35–51). Routledge. https://gup.ub.gu.se/publications/show/304476

Berhanu, G. (2011). Inclusive education in Sweden: Responses, challenges, and prospects. International Journal of Special Education, 26(2), 128-148. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ937181

Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (1998). From them to us: An international study of inclusion in education. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/From-Them-to-Us-An-International-Study-of-Inclusion-in-Education/Ainscow-Booth/p/book/9780415139793

Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (2011). Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools. Retrieved from https://prsinstitute.org/downloads/related/education/IndexforInclusion.pdf

Corbett, J. (2001). Teaching approaches which support inclusive education: A connective pedagogy. British Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.00220

Diskriminerings O. (2008). Discrimination Act 2008:567. Retrieved from https://www.do.se/choose-language/english/discrimination-act-2008567

Dyson, A. (2001). The Gulliford lecture: Special needs in the twenty‐first century: where we’ve been and where we’re going. British journal of special education 28(1), 24-29. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.T01-1-00200

Ekstrand, B. (2015). What it takes to keep children in school: A research review. Educational Review, 67(4), 459–482. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2015.1008406

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. (2013). Organisation of provision to support inclusive education: Meeting the needs of all learners – a school transformation: Nossebro School, Essunga, Sweden. Retrieved from https://www.european-agency.org/sites/default/files/Essunga-visit-report.pdf

European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. (n.d.a.). Sweden: Legislation and Policy. Retrieved from https://www.european-agency.org/country-information/sweden/legislation-and-policy

European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. (n.d.b.). Sweden: Systems of support and specialist provision. Retrieved from https://www.european-agency.org/country-information/sweden/systems-of-support-and-specialist-provision

European Commission. (2018a). European school education platform: Essunga Municipality schools. Retrieved from https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/teach/teaching-materials/essunga-municipality-schools

European Commission. (2018b). European school education platform: European toolkit for schools, Essunga Municipality schools. Retrieved from https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-10/Essunga-Municipality-Schools_detailed-description.pdf

Göransson, K., Lindqvist, G., & Nilholm, C. (2015). Voices of special educators in Sweden: A total-population study. Educational Research, 57(3), 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2015.1056642

Göransson, K., Lindqvist, G., Möllås, G., Almqvist, L., & Nilholm, C. (2017). Ideas about occupational roles and inclusive practices among special needs educators and support teachers in Sweden. Educational Review, 69(4), 490–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2016.1237477

Göransson, K., Nilholm, C., & Karlsson, K. (2011). Inclusive education in Sweden? A critical analysis. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(5), 541–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110903165141

Janlöv, A., Blume, S., Glenngård, A., Hanspers, K., Anell, A., Merkur, S. (2023). Health systems in transition: Sweden. Vol. 25 No. 4. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Retrieved from https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/sweden-health-system-review-2023

Kazda, L., Bell, K., Rae, T., McGeechan, K., Sims, R., & Barratt, A. (2021). Overdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. Journal Published by the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5335

Keles, S., ten Braak, D., & Munthe, E. (2024). Inclusion of students with special education needs in Nordic countries: A systematic scoping review. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 68(3), 431–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2022.2148277

Klau, J., Bernardo, C. D. O., Gonzalez-Chica, D. A., Raven, M., & Jureidini, J. (2021). Trends in prescription of psychotropic medications to children and adolescents in Australian primary care from 2011 to 2018. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56(11), 1477-1490. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674211067720

Lanas, M., & Brunila, K. (2019). Bad behaviour in school: a discursive approach. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(5), 682-695. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1581052

Magnússon, G. (2020). Inclusive education and school choice lessons from Sweden. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 35(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2019.1603601

Miškolci, J., Magnússon, G., & Nilholm, C. (2021). Complexities of preparing teachers for inclusive education: Case-study of a university in Sweden. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 36(4), 562–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2020.1776983

Mutuota, M. (2024). Equity and exclusion in Kenyan schools: Navigating neoliberal education reform. Journal of Comparative and International Education. https://doi.org/10.11081307/rev.electron.educ.pedagog23

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2014). Sickness, disability and work: Breaking the barriers – Sweden: will the recent reforms make it? Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/sweden/sickness-disability-and-work-breaking-the-barriers.htm

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). Indicators of inclusion in education: A framework for analysis (OECD Education Working Paper No. 300). Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/education/indicators-of-inclusion-in-education-working-paper-300.htm

Persson, E. (2012). Raising achievement through inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.745626

Sigurðardóttir, A.K., Morris, A., Skoglund, P., Tudjman, T. (2018). Knowledge partnerships between schools and universities: Modelling the process of connection and relations. Evidence & Policy 14(4), 683–705. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426417X14872517690770

Tah, J. K., Raptopoulou, A., Tajic, D., & Dutt, K. G. (2024). Inclusive education policy in different contexts: A comparison between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Greece, India and Sweden. European Journal of Inclusive Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.7146/ejie.v3i1.143939

Takala, M., Silfver, E., Karlsson, Y., & Saarinen, M. (2020). Supporting pupils in Finnish and Swedish schools—Teachers' views. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2018.1541820

Taneja-Johansson, S. (2024). Facilitators and barriers along pathways to higher education in Sweden: A disability lens. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(3), 311–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1941320

Tomlinson, S. (1995). Inclusive education: The real issues. British Journal of Special Education, 22(2), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.00238

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2020). Background paper for the 2020 global education monitoring report: Teacher education for inclusion—Five countries across three continents. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374509

Wirz, S. & Donde, S. (2009). Inclusion and education. In M, Alur, & V. Timmons. (Eds.), Inclusive education across cultures: Crossing boundaries, sharing ideas (pp. 220 – 233). SAGE Publications.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v12i1.6462

Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Special Education Research (ISSN 2501 - 2428) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).