Starting in 2028, compulsory preschool in Sweden for six-year-olds will be replaced with an extra year in primary school.
Starting in 2028, Swedish children will begin school at six years old, a year earlier than in the current education system. This is part of overhauling the nation’s education system, which calls for a change from play-based learning for early years learners.
The Swedish government has declared their intention to replace the förskoleklass, a compulsory preschool year for six-year-olds, with an extra year in Grundskola (primary school).
The plan was announced by the centre-right coalition government before the presentation of the 2025 budget, which is due on Thursday. It was led by Moderates and supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats. The plan was initially proposed by the previous government, and it was also supported by the left-leaning Social Democrats.
Johan Pehrson, the education minister, stated, “School must go back to the basics.” He added that there would be a greater focus on early learning to read and write, including mathematics. He stated, “This should lead to students having a better opportunity to develop basic skills such as reading, writing, and counting and to reach the goals in school.”
Critics argue that the plan will contradict the research showing that play-based learning environments best support children’s development, which encourages students to create, develop, and explore through play, curiosity, and guided discovery. Union leaders are also afraid that the decision will put many specialized preschool teachers out of jobs.
A professor of early childhood education at Södertörn University, Christian Eidevald, stated: “By pushing six-year-olds into a more formalized school setting, we risk losing the essential play-based methods that have been shown to foster children’s development. This is not just a pedagogical preference: studies confirm that play is foundational for early learning and the development of critical skills such as language and problem-solving.”
Eidevald is a member of a group of academics who studied children and pedagogy, including Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson, a senior professor of pedagogy at the University of Gothenburg, who authored an article questioning the government’s reasoning.
They wrote, “Incorporating six-year-olds into primary school without taking into account their specific developmental needs and without taking advantage of the unique competence of preschool teachers is a step in the wrong direction and will not lead to increased equality.” Instead of implementing structural changes, resources should be invested in raising the quality of education with competent teachers.”
The Social Democrats’ education spokesperson, Åsa Westlund, stated that her party backed the plans because they depended on maintaining a mix of play and learning in what she described as a “bridge between preschool and school.”
Some experts also think that the plan was a good one. For instance, Johannes Westberg, an education professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, stated that the decision made sense and would bring Swedish schooling in line with the rest of Europe.
He stated: “It will probably imply a schoolification of the förskoleklass, so more traditional school pedagogy will be provided already for these six-year-olds, but not necessarily affect the entire comprehensive school as such.”
The budget will also provide for “emergency schools” to temporarily relocate children when there are issues at school. There will also be significant investments in textbooks to support a screen-free environment and funding for teachers and preschool training.
