Sweden

Overall ALE situation in Sweden

Sweden has the highest participation rate in the EU. However, the Swedish country report - European Semester 2024 highlighed that adults have been underperformancing in basic skills since 2018 and pointed out lower participation among older people and people with lower levels of education.

Government cuts are a reality in Sweden, with cuts in 2024 and 2025 and expected for next year. On folk high schools: Since 2020,  the regular state grant to folk high schools has remained more or less unchanged, excluding the additional grants provided during the pandemic (now removed). In 2024, the grant was increased, but this increase was insufficient in relation to the inflation trends of 2022 and 2023. 

According to 2023 report on the finances of folk high schools provided by the Swedish National Council of Adult Education, negative trend is shown over the past years. The number of folk high schools reporting deficits in their educational activities has increased significantly, from 21 schools in 2021, to over 37 schools in 2022, reaching 95 folk high schools—or 60 percent of all folk high schools—in 2023. 

In addition to funding, discussions are also underway regarding state having a more direct role in the supervision and evaluation of non-formal adult education in study associations and folk high schools, or whether a government agency should take over the responsibility for allocating and monitoring the state subsidy.

This Country Report has been conducted with the support of Folkbildningsrådet, the Swedish National Council of Adult Education. 

The skills dimension 

Skills are important and necessary. However, adult learning and education must be seen as a necessity in its own right. 

AI in Adult Learning

The association is currently training artificial intelligence (AI) to support writing, summarising, and analysing content and data. Although this work is still in its early stages, many organizations within Swedish Folkbildning have identified AI development as a key priority, which including making AI tools accessible and applicable through adult learning and education activities.

How engaged is the Folkbildningsrådet in the decision-making process?

Folkbildningsrådet (the Swedish National Council of Adult Education) has not, but the Swedish Adult Education Association (Studieförbunden i samverkan) regularly do. The Swedish Adult Education Association is the interest organisation of the study associations, and its task is to strengthen the position of the study associations in our society through communication, cooperation, and analysis of the surrounding world. During the year, the SAEA put out reports on the situation for music groups, as well as the state of cultural activities during cutbacks, amongst other things. Both organisations contribute with dissemination, networking and webinars/seminars. Folkbildningsrådet also prepares a budget proposal for the sector.

Folkbildningsrådet's take on the PIAAC results

The Swedish National Council of Adult Education belive the PIAAC results are somewhat representative of the situation in Sweden. These current budget cuts and the fact that the has not been adjusted despite high inflation and significantly increased costs affects education and training providers, including folk high schools. For folk high schools, the extra participation slots that were added during the pandemic have also been removed.

These budget cuts may have the greatest impact on smaller municipalities and on groups in need of extra support. This will affect access to education and learning for everyone, regardless of background or place of residence.

Folkbildningsrådet's top funding sources

The organisation mentions project funding, programme funding (contracts of education authorities with learning providers to deliver certain learning programmes/courses to certain target groups) and operating grants/structural funding as sources of funding. SNCAE is also the only member who mentions formula funding (funding of learning activities based on the number of participants and/or learning hours) and popular movements as souces of funding. 

Folkbildningsrådet's recommendation to the European Commission

Understand the value of lifelong learning as a piece of the puzzle for community, democracy and equality.

Disclaimer on the participation in education and training data: the data focuses on formal and non-formal education and training, excluding guided on-the-job training. Participation is higher when on-the-job training is included. Data coming from sources such as OECD and the monitoring framework of the European Pillar of Social Rights may differ from the presented data.