Education for Access to the Swedish Labour Market and Society: A Historical Comparison of Practices for the Integration of Immigrants in the 1960s and Early 2000s

The policies and strategies for the integration of immigrants into the Swedish labour market and society evolved considerably between the mid-1900s and early 2000s. While it could be reasonably claimed that there was a similar line of development in many other countries, the Swedish case has particularities that could well be associated with aspects of the welfare state and a traditional concern with social integration. From a historical perspective, this chapter analyses some of the core features of this development and examines questions such as how perceptions about work, education and integration have evolved. In relation to the first decades of the twenty-first century, the cases presented depict a new reality and a diversity of approaches that, it is argued, enrich the process of integration of immigrants into the labour market and society. This chapter will shed more light on the relationship between migration and societal change. In this investigation, the relationship between work, vocation and education is of particular interest. The chapter will also demonstrate how the changing character of this relationship can be understood as part of the idea structures of integration. Even though the analysis relates primarily to a Swedish context, it may be relevant to other national settings.