Skolchefen – en gammal roll i förändrad skepnad

Abstract

The School Superintendent – an old role in altered shape

The position of school superintendent, established in 1958, was abolished in 1991 as a law regulated position. The equivalent tasks of a superintendent were there after carried out by a local government official with many different titles and a varying set of responsibilities. However, in 2018 the position of school superintendent was re-established in the Swedish Educational Act. The purpose of this article is to study how school superintendents interpret the consequences of this change with regards to their commission and role. One-third of the informants claim that the revision of the law has not affected their daily work, while almost half believe that it has had some effect, albeit to a small extent. Informants believe it has contributed to a more well defined commission, a strengthened mandate, and a clarification of the superintendents’ responsibilities, which can be interpreted as yet an expression of an on-going process of re-centralization in the Swedish school sector.