Management by Objectives in Swedish education – a systematic review

Abstract

This article is a systematic review aiming to analyze prior research focusing on Management by Objectives (målstyrning) in Swedish education. Policy and research extensively discuss the pros and cons of Management by Objectives (MBO). Synthesizing this research, the review provides a knowledge foundation for researchers and policymakers engaged in studying and improving educational governance.

This systematic review covers peer-reviewed studies published between 2000-2021 in Swedish and international journals and dissertations authored at Swedish universities and higher education textbooks (including anthologies and reports) by researchers. The guiding questions for the review are: What characterizes research on MBO in Swedish education? What knowledge has been produced by research regarding MBO in Swedish education?

Based on these questions, the following search terms were developed for literature searches in international databases: “management by objectives,” “management by results,” “management by objectives and results,” “goals and objectives,” and “steering by objectives.” Although in Swedish, equivalent search terms were used for searches in Swedish databases. The search terms “school*,” “education*,” “Sweden,” “Swedish,” “Nordic,” and “Scandinavian” were added to the international searches.

Systematic literature searches were conducted in two international (EBSCO, SCOPUS) and three Swedish databases (Libris, Swepub, and DiVA) in the fall of 2021. Hand searches were conducted in selected journals. The search result yielded 2556 references. After screening based on the title and abstract, 26 studies were identified. Further screening was based on strict criteria for inclusion and exclusion and for quality, identifying seven studies to be included in the systematic review.

The analysis of the included studies was conducted in several steps. First, each study was summarized based on the following highlighted aspects: aim and study design, theoretical perspectives, methods and data, and explanatory models, including time periods and policy decisions. Synthesizing the studies, we searched for similarities and differences in each aspect.

All seven studies have an explanatory approach. One study lacks a theoretical framework for its analysis. Three of the remaining six studies aim to explain the introduction of MBO in Swedish education around 1990, while three focus on education reforms and change from a broader perspective, including aspects of MBO. Regarding theoretical perspectives, institutional theory and curriculum theory dominate. All seven studies analyze official policy documents, and most studies draw on governmental investigations and bills from the Ministry of Education. In addition, some studies use governmental investigations and bills from the Ministry of Finance.

The review shows that research has produced knowledge that contributes to answering questions on how and why MBO was introduced in Swedish education. All of the included studies link the introduction of MBO to governmental investigations and parliamentary decisions in 1989-1993. However, the research provides competing answers on why MBO was introduced. On the one hand, three studies show that MBO is founded on ideas and values that contrast sharply with the underlying logic of the dominant governance models around 1990. On the other hand, four studies indicate that MBO has a more extended history because they shallowly trace the origins of educational reforms in the 1940s and the 1960s.

The review concludes that research on MBO in Swedish education mainly expresses the government’s official view lacking the voices of teachers, school leaders, organizations, and agencies in the educational sector. The image of MBO that emerges from the studies embraces the perspectives of policymakers, and it is based on unanimous studies concerning theory and methods. The review has identified a need for historical studies based on empirical data from a plurality of actors and system levels and other conceptualizations of MBO than the official ones.