Happy Grades in Swedish Primary Schools: an Investigation - How different institutional logics can manage conficting institutional pressures

Abstract: Previously a role model for education, Sweden has been experiencing plummeting results in the international PISA rankings on education since they began in 2003. Defying this trend, the grades of Swedish students have been increasing. One significant change has been the Free School Reform that three decades ago made it possible for private actors to run schools. Now, voices are warning that the privatisation of education is driving grade inflation in Sweden, threatening the already strained system. Specifically, private schools are accused of giving `happy grades' to students as a cheap way to compete. The research in the area is inconclusive with different researchers reaching different conclusions, however, the previous research fails in discerning between different types of private actors. This is potentially a severe issue as the motivations of a non-profit organisation can be decidedly different from that of a for-profit corporation. To shed some light on the different types of actors in the school arena, this thesis investigates the difference in happy grade giving between different school forms. The research draws on theory of institutional spheres and further builds upon that by adding the frame of institutional logics. The investigation is made up of two studies, where the first investigates grading between different school forms, and the other polls Swedish headmasters for their views on marketing and competition. Results from the first study showed that there were no significant differences in grading between different forms, after controlling for education quality and the learning conditions of children. The second study found that there are significant differences between the market logic proliferation in different forms of schools. This difference suggests that market logic does not drive happy grades but is still present in some parts of schools. Furthermore, the thesis contributes by establishing different organisational roles embedded with conflicting logics, as a mechanism for sustainable institutional conflicts, as well as suggest conflict as a tool to be used for investigating institutional clashes.