Oświata w szwedzkim modelu państwa opiekuńczego. Rys historyczny

The Swedish model of the welfare state is considered admirable by many researchers. This model had a great influence on today’s prosperity of the Swedish society. Historians, who study the history of this country, are mainly surprised by the fact that before the twentieth century, Swe-den was one of the poorest and most backward countries in Europe. Economists are astounded by the fact that this model even in the condi-tions of current and past economic crises could and still manages to evolve towards more liberal reforms (some researchers even claim that “the Swedish model of the welfare state” became liberalized to the extent that it transforms into a “Swedish model of welfare society”). Along with the economic changes, the education system is progressing. Swedish ed-ucators and researchers, understanding the rapidly changing realities, are trying to adapt to the requirements of the modern education system. Thanks to the close cooperatiosssn of educational, public and private institutions, the Swedes can boast of one of most efficient and practical current education systems in the world. From the point of view of the international rankings, Sweden for many years has been at the forefront of innovative countries (as evidenced by the multiple places at the fore-front of Innovation Union Scoreboard) and offering one of the highest living standards (annual place among the top rankings of the Human De-velopment Index and the Better Life Index). This is possible also thanks to the efficient, flexible education system.