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Abstract
In 2011, a new curriculum and set of school organisational structures were introduced in Sweden. One consequence is a much stronger separation of the theoretical and vocational programmes in the upper secondary school. The paper explores the nature of the changes that have occurred particularly in relation to mathematics studies, the background and the implications of these changes for teachers and students.
Beliefs about what mathematics content the vocational students should be exposed to have differed over the years. Ideas have come from different groups such as policy makers, trade unions, syllabus writers, textbook authors, educators and others. These different views will be explored and located historically in building a case for how the mathematics curriculum might fruitfully progress. A review of a development project that investigated the previous reforms of 1994 will be presented to inform the discussion about the kinds of effects that these current changes may have on teachers and students.
The implications of the new arrangements in mathematics and the implications of the reorganised upper secondary school into clearly divided tracks or pathways will be discussed using the following questions: In what ways will mathematics content differ in the new arrangements? What are the affordances and constraints in mathematics for VET students? What ‘tensions’ do teachers in VET now face? The analysis is mainly based on document analysis and documented research studies.
