How compatible are the governing documents of Swedish authorities? A comparison between the Swedish National Agency for Education’s and the National Board of Health and Welfare’s competence requirements for elderly care staff – with a focus on norms and v

Abstract

Vocational education at upper secondary level in Sweden is conducted both in upper secondary school and in adult education. Among the vocational students in adult education over 40 percent choose to study a healthcare programme, with about half of these students being foreign-born. Both the education programme and the occupation of assistant nurse have undergone significant changes as part of the efforts to ensure the competence of the elderly care workforce. The political actors, the National Agency for Education and the National Board of Health and Welfare, issue binding regulations that the communities of practice, here the vocational education and the elderly care, are expected to follow. Based on these binding regulations, an inductive document analysis has been conducted with a focus on norms and values. The documents have been compared and subsequently the analysis has been deepened further using the theory of situated learning. The regulations of both communities of practice exhibit a considerable alignment regarding the knowledge and competence expected of assistant nurses, with some exceptions. The National Agency for Education and the National Board of Health and Welfare don’t always employ the same conceptual frameworks, which is reflected in the legal frameworks emphasized by the political actors in their respective regulations. With regards to culture, norms, and values the students are expected to learn about other cultures and how care recipients with different backgrounds should be approached, according to the regulations. This can be interpreted as an expectation that the students already possess knowledge of and have embraced the Swedish norms and values and can work accordingly.  One conclusion that can be drawn is that more knowledge is needed regarding where and how norms and values are brought forward and discussed within the communities of practice of adult education and elderly care.