From classroom to ministry: the reconfiguration of epistemic authority in Swedish education commissions

This study examines the distribution of epistemic authority in Swedish education policy over the last half century through an analysis of the composition of governmental commissions of inquiry. The professional backgrounds of all individuals appointed to commissions focused on education initiated between 1968 and 2021 are analyzed, revealing a dramatic reconfiguration of the epistemic community assembled in education policymaking. The inclusion of education sector professionals such as teachers, school leaders, and educational administrators has declined sharply over time. At the same time, the representation of government ministry personnel has increased substantially. This pattern holds across a wide range of education policy topics and cannot be attributed to a shifting policy agenda. Nor is it primarily ideologically driven, as governments of varying political orientations have all contributed to the shift. Rather, the pattern reflects a piecemeal institutional change through which successive governments accept and build upon lower baselines of professional inclusion rather than restoring earlier norms. We argue that this reconfiguration of epistemic authority may have contributed to enabling and sustaining major education reforms by reducing the capacity of education sector professionals to shape problem framings in the legislative process.