An after-school pedagogue (Swedish: fritidspedagog) is an educator who works in after-school centres. Since 2011, the programme is officially called primary school teacher specialising in after-school centres (Swedish: grundlärare med inriktning mot arbete i fritidshem, GLF), but the term fritidspedagog is still used colloquially and in statistics.
Education and qualification
The primary teacher programme specialising in after-school centres is a three-year higher education programme (180 ECTS credits) that qualifies the graduate to teach in after-school centres and in certain compulsory school subjects at the lower primary level (e.g. art, music, physical education). Trained after-school pedagogues can apply for a teaching licence from Skolverket.
Proportion of trained staff
Kolada measures the proportion of staff with a higher education degree in pedagogy in after-school centres per municipality. The national average varies, but a large proportion of after-school centre staff lack formal higher education in pedagogy — which is a debated problem for the quality of activities.
Why does it matter?
Research and the Swedish Schools Inspectorate's reviews show that a high proportion of trained staff is linked to better pedagogical quality in after-school centres. Trained after-school pedagogues plan and document activities more systematically and create better conditions for children's learning and development.