Reform Implementation Studies as a Basis for Curriculum Theory: Three Swedish Approaches

A curriculum reform can be seen as a case for comparative educational research in which the general environment and its value systems outside school are kept constant. It can also become a case study where the actual function of a school system in relation to its own goals may be studied from a fresh approach, without the layers of routine that otherwise may hide the crucial points in the interaction between the different parts of the system. A general model for implementation programs and systematic follow-up studies has recently been discussed in CTN (Dahll6f, 1970b). The illustrations from the secondary school reform in Sweden used in that article stem from a highly centralized national system. It has, however, to be borne in mind that the country is small and that many regional and