STEERING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN EUROPE: THE CASE OF SWEDEN

The article begins with a description of the functioning of Swedish higher education following the 1977‐Reform, the watchwords of which were centralization, standardization, quality, democratic access, and equal chances, all in line with the political and social traditions of the country. As of the 1980's, increasing aspects of the 1977‐Reform and the operation of the higher education system were challenged. Calls were made for decentralization, autonomy for the individual units of the system, competition among them, specialization, and rigorous evaluation. Movement in these directions was hastened by the election of a conservative national government in September 1991, followed several months later by the decision to abolish the Swedish National Board of Universities and Colleges, the main buffer organization for higher education in Sweden. But the signals are confused given that the call for decentralization is emanating from the center in a country with a very strong centralist tradition.