Report 2006:1 R

Teaching in a new country - The importance of a recognised qualification and encounters with Swedish schools

This report accounts for a follow-up of the significance of a certificate of qualification in the Swedish labour market and also what routes are open to those who wish to qualify as teachers even though their applications were rejected . This study shows that certificates of qualification play an important role in acquiring a teaching position and the form of employment offered. Among those whose qualifications were recognised, 81 per cent were working as teachers during the autumn term of 2004. The majority also had permanent posts and were teaching the subjects or specialisations in which their qualifications were recognised. Many of the teachers in the study state however that they have experienced difficulties in acquiring teaching posts in Sweden because of their foreign qualifications or background. They consider that experience abroad is not considered to have the same value in the labour market as experience in Sweden.

Home language teachers are well established in the labour market but feel that they are not treated fairly. Home language teaching is most often timetabled outside normal school activities and home language teachers therefore feel that their skills are not being used to advantage and that their status as a group is lower than for other categories of teachers.

The study also displays the importance of interaction between the foreign teachers and the Swedish educational system. Foreign teachers need to be given a chance to reflect on the elements in their previous teacher training that can be used directly, what has to be adapted to their new circumstances and what has to be abandoned. Schools in Sweden must be prepared to accept foreign teachers to facilitate this process. An introduction should therefore be offered to all foreign teachers even those whose qualifications have already been recognised.

Two-thirds of those whose applications were rejected are interested in completing their training. However, it is difficult to find information about possible courses of study and many feel that it will take an unreasonably long time to attain a teaching qualification.

The National Agency for Higher Education is proposing to the Government that selected higher education institutions should be given the task of

• organising the induction of foreign teachers into the Swedish educational system
• offering individually adapted supplementary programmes that will lead to the award of a teaching qualification
• providing programmes for qualified teachers, above all home language teachers, that will enable them to extend the scope of their qualifications
• providing overall information and study counselling for foreign teachers and also help in planning individual programms of study.