Sweden

Bodil Lövgren
Ingrid Tillander
Maria Lööf
Patrik Björk
Peter Werner
Ulrika Wennerholm Ståhl





The City of Västerås has 155 000 inhabitants and is situated 100 kilometers west of Stockholm. The city provides services to its inhabitants in various fields such as pre-schools, schools, elderly care, social services, sport arenas and other leisure centers, youth activities, infrastructures and environmental planning.

Västerås stad, Barn och utbildningsförvaltning is the school administration of the local authority of the city. The organisation provides and organises pre-schools (4000 children), primary schools (6000 pupils), lower secondary schools (5000 pupils) and upper secondary schools with 17 different national programmes including programmes that include VET-training (in total 4000 students). Over 3000 teachers and pedagogues are helping the children/students to reach their educational goals and preparing them for their future adult life.

The administration has a department for research and school development with specialists in different school subjects. Two overall development leaders for Mathematics are appointed, one for younger children and one for students from 10 years and upwards. Their task is to support teachers and school leaders with methods and tools based on the latest research and proven experience within the field of Mathematics. The development leader for the older students, Bodil Lövgren, oversees training packages and the development of new practice together with partners nationally and internationally and is the project leader of ProgMath.

The city and the local university, Mälardalens Högskola, are working closely together in several fields such as student education, teacher training and research. The department for research and school development are also cooperating with for example the University of Uppsala, the National Agency for Education and the National Centre for Mathematical Education.