According to a survey by the Swedish Teachers' Union in 2023, over half of the teachers believed that parents had made unreasonable demands at least once during the past year. This can involve wanting the education to be adapted for their child or wanting the child to receive a higher grade.
According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), it happens that parents bring a lawyer when their child is to have a development talk at school, which can be perceived as threatening, according to Britt-Marie Selin, chairperson of the Swedish Teachers' Union in Stockholm.
No Service Institution
It can be to question given grades or assessments, even assessments of tests, she says.
Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (The Liberals) says in a comment to TT that the development described is "unacceptable" and that teachers should not have to endure that type of threat and pressure from parents.
"The Education Act and curricula need to be rewritten so that it becomes clear that it is the teachers who decide – not the students or their parents. Principals and school boards also need to support teachers in this and set up clear guidelines towards parents and clarify that the school is not a service institution", says Edholm.
Revamping the School System
The fundamental problem is today's school system, which creates incentives that lead to some parents starting to see themselves as customers in school, believes Edholm.
"We therefore need to revamp the school system from the ground up by changing the driving forces and incentive structures entirely", she says.
