The ICMI Representative for Sweden is nominated by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (the IMU adhering organization) through its National Committee for Mathematics, and the subsidiary organization the Swedish Committee for Mathematics Education.
There are a number of networks and organisations in Sweden for mathematics teachers, mathematics teacher educators, and mathematics education researchers.
The Swedish Society for Research in Mathematics Education (SMDF) is a national, non‑profit association founded in 1999. Its mission is to strengthen the development and quality of mathematics education research in Sweden and highlight its importance for teaching and learning at all educational levels. SMDF serves as a meeting place for researchers, doctoral students, and others interested in mathematics education research. The association organizes the recurring MADIF research conference, publishes the MADIF conference proceedings, newsletters and hosts annual meetings for PhD supervisors. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the field, and the society works actively to share information, support research environments across Sweden, and promote collaboration among institutions.
The Swedish Association of Mathematics Teachers (SMaL) is a national, non‑profit organization founded in 1994. Its purpose is to support and develop mathematics education from preschool through university. SMaL works to improve the quality of mathematics teaching by serving as a consultative body to the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), offering professional development such as the long‑running annual summer course in Mullsjö, and supporting local chapters across the country. The association also organizes lectures, events, and national activities such as promoting Pi Day, and publishes a member magazine twice a year that shares teaching ideas, research insights, and news in mathematics education.
The National Centre for Mathematics Education (NCM) is a national resource center established by the Swedish government on January 1, 1999. It is based at Gothenburg university and was created to coordinate, support, develop, implement, and monitor initiatives that improve mathematics education across preschool, school, and adult education in Sweden. NCM builds on long-standing experience from Nämnaren, a mathematics education journal that began in 1974. NCM works nationally to strengthen mathematics teaching and learning by offering consultation and professional guidance, producing journals and publications (including Nämnaren, NOMAD, and other educational materials), and providing online and on‑site resources such as teaching activities, a mathematics workshop, libraries, and exhibitions of teaching materials. Specifically one should highlight the journal Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, NOMAD, which is a journal publishing research in mathematics education. It addresses all that are interested in following the progress in this field in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. NCM houses NOMADs main editorial office. The center also organizes and participates in conferences, courses, seminars, and nationwide projects, often in collaboration with schools, municipalities, government agencies, and universities.
The Mathematics Biennial (Matematikbiennalen) is Sweden’s largest recurring national gathering for teachers, researchers, school leaders, students, and organizations engaged in mathematics education. The event serves as a major meeting place for professional development, networking, and the exchange of ideas within mathematics teaching and mathematics education research. The biennial is organized by the National Centre for Mathematics Education (NCM) in collaboration with teacher education institutions.
The Mathematics Education Research Seminar (Matematikdidaktiska forskningsseminariet, MADIF). Scientific conference, organised by SMDF, taking place biannually since 2000, in direct connection to the Biennial. Primarily targeting the Swedish mathematics education research community, it typically attracts 100–150 participants, mainly from Sweden, but also from the Nordic countries. The program consists of plenaries by invited (often international) speakers, paper and short oral presentations, workshops, and the like. Proceedings are published as part of the SMDF publication series.
The Mathematics Teacher Educators conference (Lärarutbildare i matematik, LUMA) is an annual Swedish conference for mathematics teacher educators, bringing together university lecturers, researchers, and others involved in mathematics teacher education. The program includes presentations, panel discussions, project reports, and group sessions addressing current issues in teacher education, including policy questions, AI, course development, and professional learning.
Mathematics education researchers generally work in universities, most are also mathematics teacher educators, and many are themselves educated and experienced as teachers. Doctoral degrees in Mathematics Education or closely related subjects are offered by most Swedish universities and are commonly undertaken by students with many years of experience as teachers or school leaders.
In addition to research work at universities, several governmental initiatives in Sweden provide targeted opportunities for research funding within (mathematics) education. One important initiative is ULF (Utbildning, Lärande, Forskning), which aims to strengthen long‑term collaboration between universities and schools through practice‑based research. ULF enables joint research projects where teachers and researchers co‑design studies, offering funding structures that are particularly relevant for mathematics education research grounded in classroom practice. Another key actor is the Swedish Institute for Educational Research (Skolforskningsinstitutet, Skolfi), which supports and commissions research with direct relevance for teaching and learning. Skolfi funds systematic research reviews as well as applied research projects and has identified mathematics education as a strategically important field. Together, ULF and Skolfi contribute to improved conditions for sustainable research environments and create concrete funding pathways that link mathematics education research closely to school development and educational policy.
Postgraduate studies in mathematics education are organized by universities with examination rights, often with just a few at each university because of the strict funding rules for postgraduate studies. However, Sweden has a long tradition of organizing postgraduate studies in mathematics education through collaborative graduate schools. It started when Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ, the foundation of the Swedish Central bank) decided to finance a national graduate school in 2001 in the didactics of mathematics comprising 15 graduate students. A graduate school is a structured educational environment for doctoral students in which courses, research, and supervision are coordinated within a shared program. It provides a clear and coherent structure for doctoral education through joint activities such as seminars and networks spanning several universities. Since RJ’s initiative in 2001, there have been several graduate schools in mathematics education, some as collaborations within universities between subjects and some as collaborations between universities. In 2026, during the writing of this summary, we can mention ReMath, ASSESS, RelMaS, FontD, AMTLR, KÄKK, CULF, and Beppe as ongoing collaborative graduate schools with at least one phd-student in mathematics education and several that focus exclusively on mathematics education with around ten doctoral students.
The main national/regional journals on mathematics education are Nämnaren and NOMAD, both presented above.
Teacher education is conducted at 27 universities, which include approximately 40,000 students annually, with 27 universities (SUHF, https://suhf.se/arbetsgrupper/expertgruppen-for-lararutbildning/). Teacher education is conducted in various specializations, including preschool teacher, primary school teacher (age 6-9), primary school teacher (age 10-12), after school teacher (fritidslärare), subject teacher for secondary school and upper secondary school, vocational teacher, and special needs teacher. There are also specific teacher education programs for people who already have certain subject knowledge or practical knowledge. Universities also have postgraduate studies in educational science.
The government body overseeing the Swedish school is the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket).
The Swedish school system is publicly funded. It is free and compulsory for all citizens from around the age of 6 to around the age of 16. The education is based on the same state curricula throughout the country, and grades are set for students from grade 6 and above. After compulsory school, upper secondary school is optional, but most Swedish young people also attend upper secondary school. All upper secondary education provides basic eligibility for university studies.
Curriculum for the compulsory school (year 0-9) and pre-school
www.skolverket.se/publikationer
Curriculum for Upper Secondary School (year 10-12)
www.skolverket.se/polopoly_fs/1.174554!/Menu/article/attachment/Mathematics..pdf