Swedish in schools

The plan gives schools a compensatory task and establishes that students' background should not determine their opportunities, which requires more support, not redistributed resources away from mother-tongue instruction. The plan also gives Sweden a special task to strengthen the rights of minorities to identity and language. To regulate away other languages from schools and move resources away from mother-tongue instruction contradicts both commitments.

• compensatory schooldecisive»roll att spela i att kompensera för klasskillnader och andra skillnader i« (party programme ↗)“role to play in compensating for class differences and other differences in”
• minorities' language rights»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“the rights of national minorities to identity, language, cultural heritage”
• background should not determine schooling»Om dina föräldrar är låg- eller höginkomsttagare, akademiskt skolade eller inte, invandrade eller svenskfödda, spelar en allt större roll för dina möjligheter att klara skolan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If your parents are low- or high-income earners, academically educated or not, immigrants or Swedish-born, increasingly matters for your chances of getting through school.”
• broad school mission»Vi vill se en skola med ett brett uppdrag« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a school with a broad mission”

The election manifesto makes it a central task that everyone learns good Swedish, wishes to see more time for the language and schoolwork and drives language requirements in welfare. A demand for more teaching in Swedish and Swedish as the language of conversation in school lies in that direction. Moving resources from mother tongue instruction however has no support in the plan, and the party programme protects the language rights of minorities, which makes the conclusion uncertain.

• good Swedish is centraldecisive»Att lära sig god svenska, delta i arbetsmarknadsinsatser och studier är centralt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Learning good Swedish, participating in labour market measures and studies is central.”
• more time for the language»Det ger mer tid till att lyckas med språket och skolarbetet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It gives more time to succeed with the language and schoolwork.”
• language requirements in welfare»Genom språkkrav och utbildningsinsatser vill vi säkerställa att alla som jobbar i välfärden talar god svenska.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Through language requirements and educational measures we wish to ensure that everyone who works in welfare speaks good Swedish.”
• minorities' language rights»I detta ska också ingå att hävda och stödja nationella minoriteters möjligheter att« (party programme ↗)“This shall also include asserting and supporting national minorities' possibilities to”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan states that languages other than Swedish shall be seen as advantages and resources and that subject teaching in the mother tongue gives all students the chance to reach curriculum goals, and that teaching shall have a global perspective and take into account students' languages. The counter-proposal instead wants to move resources from mother-tongue teaching and restrict other languages in school. The plan certainly wants to give everyone high-quality Swedish teaching, but not at the cost of mother-tongue instruction.

• mother tongue as a resourcedecisive»Andra modersmål än svenska ska ses som fördelar« (party programme ↗)“Languages other than Swedish shall be seen as advantages”
• subject teaching in mother tongue»Ämnesundervisning på modersmålet ger alla elever« (party programme ↗)“Subject teaching in the mother tongue gives all students”
• global perspective in teaching»ska ha en global utgångspunkt och ta hänsyn till« (party programme ↗)“shall have a global perspective and take into account”
• good Swedish teaching for all»Alla som behöver ska erbjudas en högkvalitativ« (party programme ↗)“Everyone who needs it shall be offered high-quality”

The counter-proposal wants to regulate teaching and conversation language in detail and shift resources away from mother-tongue instruction. The plan instead starts from each child's needs, not least in early language learning, and promises to strengthen the status of minority languages and see multicultural society as a strength. The requirement for intensive language training in integration lends some support to more Swedish, but does not justify draining the mother tongue.

• start from the child's needsdecisive»Det är viktigt att utgå från varje barns behov, inte minst för den tidiga språkinlärningen.« (party programme ↗)“It is important to start from each child's needs, not least for early language learning.”
• strengthened status for minority languages»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, the right to property, the prohibition on discrimination, minority protection and the status of minority languages”
• multicultural strength»Det är en styrka att leva i ett mångkulturellt samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“It is a strength to live in a multicultural society.”
• intensive language training»Integrationen ska präglas av intensiv praktik och språkutbildning, med hårt arbete och höga förväntningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration shall be characterized by intensive practice and language training, with hard work and high expectations.”

The plan explicitly states that pupils with mother tongues other than Swedish should be able to develop and deepen their knowledge in their mother tongue, which directly contradicts the counter-proposal's demand to redirect resources from mother-tongue teaching. The plan also wants pupils to read more foreign languages, not fewer. That the plan simultaneously wants to expand teaching time in Swedish and sees Swedish as the society-bearing language only supports parts of the counter-proposal.

• right to mother tonguedecisive»Elever med annat modersmål än svenska ska kunna utveckla och fördjupa sina kunskaper i modersmålet.« (party programme ↗)“Pupils with mother tongues other than Swedish should be able to develop and deepen their knowledge in their mother tongue.”
• more foreign languages»Redan i grundskolans årskurs ett bör eleverna börja läsa engelska och eleverna ska uppmuntras att läsa fler främmande språk.« (party programme ↗)“Already in primary school year one should pupils begin to read English and pupils should be encouraged to read more foreign languages.”
• more teaching time in Swedish»Vi vill bygga ut undervisningstiden i bland annat svenska och matematik så att det finns tid till att lära sig mer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to expand teaching time in Swedish and mathematics among other subjects so that there is time to learn more.”
• Swedish as the society-bearing language»Svenska är och ska vara det samhällsbärande språket.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish is and shall be the society-bearing language.”

The plan explicitly establishes that schoolchildren shall be given the opportunity for mother-tongue instruction to maintain contact with their parents' cultural identity and to broaden the linguistic competence in Sweden, and that immigrants have the right to teach their children their mother tongue. The counter-proposal wishes to redirect resources from precisely mother-tongue instruction, which contradicts this commitment. That the Swedish language is a key to integration qualifies but does not override the plan's explicit stance.

• right to mother-tongue instructiondecisive»Skolbarn ska ges möjlighet till modersmålsundervisning för att kunna bibehålla god kontakt med sina« (party programme ↗)“Schoolchildren shall be given the opportunity for mother-tongue instruction to be able to maintain good contact with their”
• freedom to teach children their mother tongue»medborgare och ha rätt att bosätta sig var de vill, att utöva sin religion, lära sina barn sitt modersmål och för« (party programme ↗)“citizens and have the right to settle where they wish, to practice their religion, teach their children their mother tongue and”
• Swedish as an integration key»Jobb, kunskap i svenska språket och det civila samhället är viktiga nycklar till integration.« (party programme ↗)“Work, knowledge of the Swedish language and civil society are important keys to integration.”
• the status of Swedish»det svenska språket, vars ställning som majoritetsspråk bör vara grundlagsskyddat.« (party programme ↗)“the Swedish language, whose status as majority language should be constitutionally protected.”

The plan makes the Swedish language one of the most important individual measures to break segregation and promises extensive investments in Swedish from an early age, with mandatory language monitoring and language preschool for children with inadequate language development. Increasing the share of teaching in Swedish and directing resources toward strengthened Swedish teaching for students with weak language skills follows directly from that commitment. The plan's goal is that all children should learn good Swedish early.

• Swedish language breaks segregationdecisive»De enskilt viktigaste åtgärderna för att bryta segregationen handlar om kvaliteten i undervisningen och det svenska språket.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The most important individual measures to break segregation are about the quality of teaching and the Swedish language.”
• all children shall learn Swedish»Där alla barn får lära sig bra svenska tidigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where all children get to learn good Swedish early.”
• targeted Swedish initiatives»Införa obligatorisk språkförskola för barn som visar en bristande språkutveckling« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce mandatory language preschool for children showing inadequate language development”
• early language monitoring»Införa obligatorisk språkuppföljning vid 3 års ålder för att upptäcka barn som inte kan tala svenska« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce mandatory language monitoring at age 3 to detect children who cannot speak Swedish”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that all public support aimed at immigrants preserving their original cultures and identities should be withdrawn, and that the Swedish language should be prioritised in public childcare and education. Raising the proportion of teaching in Swedish and moving resources from mother-tongue teaching to strengthened Swedish teaching is precisely this. The plan's assimilation line carries the requirement straight through.

• withdrawn support for original culturesdecisive»skall allt statligt och kommunalt stöd som syftar till att invandrare skall bevara och stärka sina ursprungliga kulturer och identiteter dras in« (party programme ↗)“all state and municipal support aimed at immigrants shall preserve and strengthen their original cultures and identities shall be withdrawn”
• Swedish language prioritised»Prioritera svenska språket inom barnomsorgen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prioritise the Swedish language in childcare”
• activities in Swedish»Alla barn ska också ges möjlighet att bli en del av det svenska samhället och verksamheten ska därför bedrivas på svenska språket.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All children should also be given the opportunity to become part of Swedish society and activities should therefore be conducted in the Swedish language.”
• Swedish as foundation for integration»Invandrare som kommer till Sverige skall erbjudas grundläggande utbildning i det svenska språket, svenska lagar, svensk historia och svensk kultur och samhällsliv.« (party programme ↗)“Immigrants coming to Sweden should be offered basic education in the Swedish language, Swedish laws, Swedish history and Swedish culture and society.”