Cohort 2010

Summary

The purpose of the comprehensive data surveys is to enable both longitudinal and cross-sectional surveys of large and representative student samples. The follow-up survey of this current sample began in spring 2020 when the pupils were in 3rd grade of comprehensive school, 9918 pupils. In the spring of 2023, when the majority of the students were in 6th grade, the school administrative information was complemented with information collected directly from students, guardians and teachers. By definition, the sample is tied to its grade affiliation, which means that it includes pupils with different birth years but they all attend the same grade. However, the majority, or just over 96 per cent, were born in 2010. The number of students who answered all or part of the questionnaire is 5190 and the parent questionnaire 4785. The proportion who answered the student questionnaire is 53 percent and the parent questionnaire 49 percent. The number of teachers who responded to the teacher questionnaire is 731.

Basic tasks

Basic tasks

Register data that Statistics Sweden attaches in connection to the selection of classes mainly consist of:

• Year of birth
• Sex
• Migration background
• Income
• Educational background
• Socio-economic data

School administrative data

The school administrative data were collected from grades 3, 4, 5 and 6. A form is sent out to the school the student attends and the school fills in information for each student included in the survey. In 3rd grade, it is mainly the classes that were included in the sample that fill in these information, but over the years more students move, which means that the form is sent out to more and more schools that then fill in information for individual students. All so that the students who were initially included can be followed over the years into adulthood. This information consists of:

• Municipality school class
• Class form
• Mother tongue
• Swedish for immigrants
• Date when moving to another school
• New municipality
• New school
• Grades in different subject, when applicable

The collection in 6th grade

Cognitive tests

The cognitive tests are of contain tasks of verbal, inductive and spatial nature. These have been given at every collection in 6th grade and began at the evaluation in 1961. The subtests and how they were developed are described in Svensson, A. (1964). As of the 2005 evaluation, there is another newly constructed verbal test. 

1. Antonyms: Specifying the opposite of a particular keyword among four options
2. Synonyms: To specify the synonym of a particular keyword among four options.
3. Sheet metal folding: To find out which among four figures you get if you fold together a depicted "piece of plate"
4. Number series: To supplement a number series, where six numbers are given, with two additional numbers

More about the cognitive tests can be found in: Relative achievement : school performance in relation to intelligence, sex and home environment (pdf downloadable from GUPEA). 

Questionnaire for students

The questionnaire includes 20 questions in addition to the cognitive tests. Most questions are formulated as main questions with a number of sub-questions with four or five answer alternatives. By constructing scales and using the sub-questions as indicators, it is possible to access phenomena that are difficult to measure. The questions concern the following areas.

• The students' general perception is illustrated by five questions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and shows what ability the students consider themselves to have to acquire knowledge and skills in different areas of knowledge and their general interest in learning in these areas.
• Experiences in specific school situations and school well-being are illustrated by five questions (6,7, 8, 14 and 20) and show how students feel in different learning and social contexts in school as well as their general school well-being.
• The students' motivation is highlighted in a question (9) to examine their motivation to learn in school and if they have any specific goals with their learning.
• Working methods in the classroom are highlighted by a question (10) to investigate how students and teachers work in the classroom.
• Homework and homework are highlighted by three questions (11, 12 and 13). These questions aim to find out how much time students spend on homework or homework and how frequent homework is, as well as how much time they get help with their homework.
• The parents' involvement in the child's school situation is illustrated by two questions (15 and 16) and shows the parents' interest in the child's school situation and its future educational plans.
• The grading issue is illustrated by two questions (17 and 18).
• Leisure activities are highlighted by a question (19) and deal with the extent of students' hobbies.

The exact wording of the questions can be found in the questionnaire for students in 6th grade (pdf 1 MB in Swedish).

Questionnaire for guardians

The questionnaire offered in 2017 included 14 questions. The first three questions concern certain factual circumstances such as who answers the survey and to what extent the pupil has participated in preschool activities. Most of the other questions aim to provide a picture of the contact between children and parents and how the parents view the school's activities. Each of the questions consists of a number of sub-questions. The questions concern the following areas.

• Choice of school (questions 4 and 5).
• Development talks and parent meetings (6).
• The requirements set by the school (7).
• Views on grades (8).
• The child's school situation (9)
• TThe importance of different school subjects (10)
• Communication between children and parents (11)
• School resources (12)
• Information from the school (13)
• The dissemination of knowledge by schools (14)

The exact wording of the questions can be found in the questionnaire for guardians in 6th grade (pdf 0.5 MB in Swedish).