High Hopes and Hard Lessons : How Problems Are Represented in Swedish Teacher Education Reform

In this paper, I draw on my background as an educational scientist with roots in sociology and gender studies to explore how public debate, political reforms, and policy documents shape Swedish teacher education with the aim of reforming not only the school system but also Swedish society. Historically, teacher education in Sweden has been influenced by visionary ideals, particularly with the introduction of grundskolan (comprehensive school) in 1962; however, the debate in the 21st century has increasingly shifted toward reforming teacher education to solve perceived acute societal issues. Concurrently, criticism of both Swedish schools and teacher education has intensified.With a forthcoming proposal for teacher education reform set to be presented on November 29, 2024, this paper analyzes the hopes tied to reforming teacher education, exploring which societal issues it is expected to address and how. The study employs Carol Lee Bacchi's discourse-analytic framework, What’s the Problem Represented to Be, to scrutinize how the proposal and its preparatory works frame current teacher education and articulate aspirations for a reformed version.Building on previous research on Swedish teacher education, this study aims to shed light on the expectations linked to a reformed teacher education, critically relating these to political tensions within Swedish society and considering their potential impact on teacher education.