Are Timetable-Free Schools Possible?

Abstract

This article is about timetable-free schools, the latest 'innovation' in Swedish educational policy, and is based on findings from an ongoing research project. In autumn 2000, the Swedish government started a 5-year trial period where a limited number of municipalities and schools were allowed to abandon the current restrictions in the national timetable for comprehensive schools. The research primarily focuses on the effects of abandoning the timetable on the inner life of the schools. Two categories of schools are followed: (two) schools with the national timetable and (four) schools without. Primary findings indicate that the use of time in school is a complex sphere of operation. In many aspects, the differences within the category schools without the national timetable are more notable than differences between the two categories of schools. How time is spent in schools is related to a wide range of interlinked factors on different levels, and the national timetable is only one of them. It seems that when the new so-called freedom increases, the instruments of individual control also increase. This may be an indication that disciplining and selection still are fundamental tasks for schools to fulfil.

Equality and the freedom to choose the ‘what and when’ of schooling: students with special educational needs in timetable‐free settings

“…If their education is more tightly controlled, as happened in the sample schools, a vicious circle is set up, since the students are given no opportunities to develop responsibility (From et al, 2003). However, the students still felt they had the same chance to choose activities as their fellows.…”

Svensk forskning om bedömning och betyg 1990-2005

“…Uppnåendemål och betygskriterier har därmed fått en ny och central roll i lärarnas arbete. Även i en annan studie relaterad till timplanens roll (From, Holmgren, Andersson & Ahl, 2003), betonas betygssystemets starka effekter på skolans inre liv jämfört med effekterna av att timplanen slopas. De hävdar att det mål-och kunskapsrelaterade betygssystemet, tillsammans med godkäntgränsen påverkar atmosfären i skolan för alla inblandade parter.…”