It is researchers at Linköping University who have investigated how teachers at adult education use the curriculum. Over 1,200 questionnaire responses and 63 interviews with teachers showed that it is rather the market conditions that apply.
The teachers' image is that the education should be carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Courses are shortened when municipalities want to press prices in procurement, and the opportunity for individual adaptation for students is limited. In the same pattern, grades are set when payment is made per student who has completed the education.
"The curriculum is supposed to guarantee that students receive a certain knowledge. But the hidden curriculum contributes to grades being set that do not correspond to the knowledge", says Professor Andreas Fejes in a press release from the university.
The Schools Inspectorate has recently pointed out in its annual report that the principals' weak governance of adult education risks the quality of education. There is a lack of regulation for how much teaching time and teacher-led instruction students should have, which risks that the level of ambition becomes low.
The study at Linköping University has been published in Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.
