Aesthetic Subjects

The election manifesto establishes that art, music and film create a richer society for all and that school should be compensatory, that is to say provide more support to those who come from study-inexperienced homes. The party programme gives school a broad mandate and emphasises that we humans shape who we are through culture. A mandatory aesthetic subject area in all national programmes follows from this.

• compensatory schooldecisive»En skola som ger barn lika chanser är också kompensatorisk, det vill säga den förmår ge mer stöd till den som kommer från sämre förutsättningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A school that gives children equal chances is also compensatory, that is to say it is able to provide more support to those who come from weaker prerequisites.”
• school has a broad mandate»Vi vill se en skola med ett brett uppdrag« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a school with a broad mandate”
• culture enriches all»Kultur som konst, musik och film bidrar till att skapa ett rikare samhälle att leva i för alla.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Culture such as art, music and film contributes to creating a richer society to live in for all.”
• culture shapes humanity»Vi människor formar vilka vi är genom kultur« (party programme ↗)“We humans shape who we are through culture”

The party programme makes knowledge and culture into tools for people's freedom and development and requires an active cultural policy that includes everyone, while at the same time noting that real educational opportunities remain socially determined. A mandatory aesthetic subject area in all national programmes is precisely a way to give also students from families without academic tradition access to this. The election manifesto's investments in cultural schools in resource-poor areas point in the same direction.

• culture as educational tooldecisive»Kunskap och kultur är verktyg för människors personliga frihet och utveckling.« (party programme ↗)“Knowledge and culture are tools for people's personal freedom and development.”
• break socially determined opportunities»Alla har i dag samma rätt till utbildning, men de verkliga möjligheterna är alltjämt socialt« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has equal right to education today, but real opportunities remain socially”
• active cultural policy»Ett verkligt kunskapssamhälle förutsätter en aktiv kulturpolitik.« (party programme ↗)“A truly knowledge society presupposes an active cultural policy.”
• all children's access to culture»Vi vill stärka kulturskolan för att säkra alla barns möjligheter till kulturella aktiviteter, och genomföra särskilda satsningar i resurssvaga områden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen cultural schools to ensure all children's opportunities for cultural activities, and implement special initiatives in resource-poor areas.”

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 explicitly requires aesthetic subjects in all upper-secondary programmes as part of the investment in culture for children in schools. It also establishes that aesthetic and creative activities are important for developing the whole person, and that all children should have access to culture regardless of their family's finances, which addresses the counter-proposal's argument about students from educationally disadvantaged homes. The requirement for a mandatory aesthetic subject area is thereby the plan's own line.

• aesthetic subjects in all programmesdecisive»satsa på barns kultur i skolan, med utbildad personal på alla skolbibliotek och estetiska ämnen i alla gymnasieprogram« (2022 manifesto ↗)“invest in culture for children in schools, with trained staff in all school libraries and aesthetic subjects in all upper-secondary programmes”
• creative activity develops the whole person»Estetisk och skapande verksamhet är liksom motion och rörelse viktigt för att hela människan ska utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Aesthetic and creative activities are, like physical activity and movement, important for developing the whole person.”
• culture regardless of family finances»Alla barn ska ha möjlighet att utöva kultur inom någon form av kulturskola oavsett familjens ekonomiska förutsättningar.« (party programme ↗)“All children should have the opportunity to engage in culture through some form of cultural school regardless of their family's economic circumstances.”
• critical thinking in schools»Etiska diskussioner och övning i kritiskt tänkande är viktiga inslag i undervisningen för att förbereda varje elev för att delta i samhällsutvecklingen.« (party programme ↗)“Ethical discussions and practice in critical thinking are important elements of teaching to prepare each student to participate in social development.”

The party programme makes it a self-evident part of the public mission, particularly in publicly funded education, that all regardless of social and cultural background get access to cultural values and creativity, and lifts the value of education for freedom and critical thinking. An obligatory aesthetic subject area on all programmes serves this. The plan's emphasis on free choice weighs against, so the basis is weak.

• culture in educationdecisive»Att ge alla, oberoende av var vi bor, oberoende« (party programme ↗)“To give everyone, independent of where we live, independent”
• education's value»Bildning breddar våra horisonter, ökar vår frihet och egenmakt, stärker den demokratiska grunden för samhället och möjligheterna till livslångt lärande.« (party programme ↗)“Education broadens our horizons, increases our freedom and agency, strengthens the democratic foundation of society and opportunities for lifelong learning.”
• broad education»Även bildning i bred mening, från förskolan till universiteten till den livslånga folkbildningen, är en bärande del av det demokratiska projektet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Also education in the broad sense, from preschool to universities to lifelong civic learning, is a bearing part of the democratic project.”
• free educational choice»Möjligheten för elever och studenter att fritt välja utbildning ska vara så stor som möjligt.« (party programme ↗)“The possibility for pupils and students to freely choose education shall be as large as possible.”

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 culture shall take greater place in school and that Sweden shall be an example regarding culture for and by children and young people, and it requires that all pupils read fictional classics. The ambition is particularly motivated by pupils from homes with limited study tradition, which is the plan's own equality grounds. The plan therefore speaks for aesthetic subjects in all programmes, even though it simultaneously wants to expand time for Swedish and mathematics.

• more culture in schooldecisive»Kultur ska ta större plats i skolan, och kvaliteten i kulturskolan ska säkras genom skapandet av ett nationellt kunskapscentrum.« (party programme ↗)“Culture shall take greater place in school, and the quality of the culture school shall be ensured through the creation of a national knowledge centre.”
• culture for children and young people»Sverige ska vara ett föredöme på området kultur av och för barn och ungdomar.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall be an example in the area of culture for and by children and young people.”
• compulsory cultural content»Alla barn och elever ska få läsa både svenska och internationella skönlitterära klassiker i skolan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All children and pupils shall be able to read both Swedish and international fictional classics at school.”
• more time for core subjects»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.”

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 space shall also be given to practical and aesthetic subjects that contribute to comprehensive and creative personal development, and that culture has a unique intrinsic value that must not be limited to a circumscribed sphere. The counter-proposal's requirement for a mandatory aesthetic subject area in all national programmes follows from that commitment. The committee's reasons, however, concern the distribution of competence between Parliament, Government and agency, which the plan does not address here.

• space for aesthetic subjectsdecisive»ska även ges åt praktiska och estetiska ämnen« (party programme ↗)“shall also be given to practical and aesthetic subjects”
• culture's intrinsic value»har den ett unikt egenvärde och får inte begränsas till en avgränsad sfär« (party programme ↗)“it has a unique intrinsic value and must not be limited to a circumscribed sphere”
• cultural creation is needed»Utan kulturellt skapande av exempelvis musiker, författare, konstnärer och skådespelare skulle« (party programme ↗)“Without cultural creation by, for example, musicians, authors, artists and actors”
• good school prioritized»BRA SKOLA« (2022 manifesto ↗)“GOOD SCHOOL”

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's education policy commitment is to deal with soft schooling and focus on measurable factual knowledge, and it states that school's other tasks rest first and foremost on the core task of conveying knowledge. A legally mandatory aesthetic subject area on all national programmes crowds out exactly that knowledge focus and the relevant content the plan demands of vocational programmes. The demand is rejected.

• measurable factual knowledgedecisive»Fokusera på mätbara faktakunskaper, med inspiration från Finlands läroplan« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Focus on measurable factual knowledge, inspired by Finland's curriculum”
• knowledge school first»Vi ska göra upp med flumskolan och återupprätta kunskapsskolan« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We will deal with soft schooling and restore knowledge school”
• knowledge task is the main thing»Men dessa uppgifter vilar först och främst på« (party programme ↗)“But these tasks rest first and foremost on”
• relevant vocational content»De gymnasiala yrkesutbildningarna och vuxenutbildningarna i Sverige måste få ett innehåll som är relevant och eftertraktat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden's upper secondary vocational and adult education must have content that is relevant and sought-after.”

The election manifesto wants to restore a knowledge-focused school with clearer knowledge goals and faster, practical paths into the labour market through two-year vocational education. A new mandatory aesthetic subject area in all national programmes takes space from that direction and is not something the plan commits to. That the plan wants to protect and showcase Swedish culture points partly in the opposite direction, but does not carry a statutory obligation.

• knowledge-focused schooldecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill återupprätta en kunskapsfokuserad skola.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to restore a knowledge-focused school.”
• faster paths to employment»Tvååriga praktiska gymnasieutbildningar ska införas för att ge snabbare vägar in på arbetsmarknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Two-year practical gymnasium education should be introduced to provide faster paths into the labour market.”
• clearer knowledge goals»Läroplaner ska kompletteras med tydligare kunskapsmål.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Curricula should be supplemented with clearer knowledge goals.”
• protect Swedish culture»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to protect, care for and showcase Swedish culture.”