Elevnärvaro till varje pris? En rättslig analys av skolpliktens relation till principen om barnet bästa vid skolvägran
(2025) LAGF03 20251Faculty of Law
Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Skolplikten utgör en av hörnstenarna i det svenska skolsystemet. Trots att den grundlagsstadgade rätten till utbildning vilar på förutsättningen att eleven ska närvara i skolan, har problematisk frånvaro blivit ett växande problem som i vissa fall eskalera till en fullständig skolvägran. Samtidigt har inkorporeringen av barnkonventionen i svensk lag stärkt barnets roll som individuell rättighetsbärare. Det har medfört att principen om barnets bästa, vilket inbegriper inhämtande och beaktande av barnets åsikter, ska beaktas i varje beslut som rör barnet.
Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera förhållandet mellan skolplikten för grundskoleelever och principen om barnets bästa, för barn med problematisk frånvaro till följd av skolvägran.... (More) - Skolplikten utgör en av hörnstenarna i det svenska skolsystemet. Trots att den grundlagsstadgade rätten till utbildning vilar på förutsättningen att eleven ska närvara i skolan, har problematisk frånvaro blivit ett växande problem som i vissa fall eskalera till en fullständig skolvägran. Samtidigt har inkorporeringen av barnkonventionen i svensk lag stärkt barnets roll som individuell rättighetsbärare. Det har medfört att principen om barnets bästa, vilket inbegriper inhämtande och beaktande av barnets åsikter, ska beaktas i varje beslut som rör barnet.
Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera förhållandet mellan skolplikten för grundskoleelever och principen om barnets bästa, för barn med problematisk frånvaro till följd av skolvägran. Förutom att redogöra för innebörden av skolplikten som en närvaroplikt, undersöks även förutsättningarna för hemskolning och distansundervisning som möjliga alternativ till att skolplikten kan fullgöras utan fysisk närvaro i skolan. Trots att alternativen finns reglerade i skollagen, är de begränsade och ska tillämpas restriktivt. Uppsatsen visar att det, för barn som vägrar gå till skolan, saknas tydliga riktlinjer för hur barnets bästa ska vägas in vid beslut om hemskolning och distansundervisning, särskilt när frånvaron grundar sig i psykisk ohälsa eller social problematik.
Resultatet visar att principen om barnets bästa är införlivat i skolregleringen på ett generellt plan, medan det kan ifrågasättas om den strikta utformning av skolplikten som ett närvarokrav går i linje med barnkonventionens intentioner på individnivå. Analysen belyser en risk att barnets rätt att bli hörd förbises i situationer av skolvägran. Närvaro i sig tycks utgöra en förutsättning för att barnet överhuvudtaget ska få sitt bästa beaktat och barn som av olika skäl inte kan vistas i skolan riskerar att hamna utanför de skyddsmekanismer som principen om barnets bästa syftar till att säkerställa. (Less) - Abstract
- Compulsory schooling constitutes one of the cornerstones of the Swedish education system. Although the constitutionally enshrined right to education is based on the premise that the student must attend school, problematic absenteeism has become a growing issue, which in some cases may escalate into complete school refusal. At the same time, the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law has strengthened the child's position as an individual rights-holder. This has led to the requirement that the best interests of the child, which includes the solicitation and consideration of the child’s views, must be taken as a primary consideration in every decision concerning her.
The purpose of this thesis is to... (More) - Compulsory schooling constitutes one of the cornerstones of the Swedish education system. Although the constitutionally enshrined right to education is based on the premise that the student must attend school, problematic absenteeism has become a growing issue, which in some cases may escalate into complete school refusal. At the same time, the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law has strengthened the child's position as an individual rights-holder. This has led to the requirement that the best interests of the child, which includes the solicitation and consideration of the child’s views, must be taken as a primary consideration in every decision concerning her.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between compulsory schooling for primary school students and the principle of the best interests of the child, with a focus on how this principle is applied in cases of problematic absenteeism due to school refusal. In addition to clarifying the meaning of compulsory schooling as an obligation to attend, the thesis also examines the conditions for home education and remote learning as possible alterna- tives for fulfilling compulsory education without physical presence at school. Although these alternatives are regulated by the Swedish Education Act, they are limited in scope and intended to be applied restrictively. The thesis shows that, for children who refuse to attend school, there is a lack of clear guidelines on how the best interests of the child should be weighed in decisions concerning home or remote education, particularly when the absenteeism stems from mental health issues or social difficulties.
The result indicates that the principle of the best interests of the child appears to be fulfilled at a general level, whereas it can be questioned whether the strict formulation of compulsory education as an attendance requirement aligns with the intentions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the individual level. The analysis highlights a risk that the child’s right to be heard is overlooked in situations of school refusal. Attendance itself seems to be a prerequisite for the child’s best interests to be considered at all, suggesting that children who, for various reasons, are unable to attend school risk falling outside the protective mechanisms that the principle of the best interests of the child is intended to guarantee. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9190678
- author
- Xu, Sofia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- förvaltningsrätt, utbildningsrätt, barnets bästa, barnkonventionen, skolplikten
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9190678
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 13:40:00
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 13:40:00
@misc{9190678,
abstract = {{Compulsory schooling constitutes one of the cornerstones of the Swedish education system. Although the constitutionally enshrined right to education is based on the premise that the student must attend school, problematic absenteeism has become a growing issue, which in some cases may escalate into complete school refusal. At the same time, the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law has strengthened the child's position as an individual rights-holder. This has led to the requirement that the best interests of the child, which includes the solicitation and consideration of the child’s views, must be taken as a primary consideration in every decision concerning her.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between compulsory schooling for primary school students and the principle of the best interests of the child, with a focus on how this principle is applied in cases of problematic absenteeism due to school refusal. In addition to clarifying the meaning of compulsory schooling as an obligation to attend, the thesis also examines the conditions for home education and remote learning as possible alterna- tives for fulfilling compulsory education without physical presence at school. Although these alternatives are regulated by the Swedish Education Act, they are limited in scope and intended to be applied restrictively. The thesis shows that, for children who refuse to attend school, there is a lack of clear guidelines on how the best interests of the child should be weighed in decisions concerning home or remote education, particularly when the absenteeism stems from mental health issues or social difficulties.
The result indicates that the principle of the best interests of the child appears to be fulfilled at a general level, whereas it can be questioned whether the strict formulation of compulsory education as an attendance requirement aligns with the intentions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the individual level. The analysis highlights a risk that the child’s right to be heard is overlooked in situations of school refusal. Attendance itself seems to be a prerequisite for the child’s best interests to be considered at all, suggesting that children who, for various reasons, are unable to attend school risk falling outside the protective mechanisms that the principle of the best interests of the child is intended to guarantee.}},
author = {{Xu, Sofia}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Elevnärvaro till varje pris? En rättslig analys av skolpliktens relation till principen om barnet bästa vid skolvägran}},
year = {{2025}},
}