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This chapter analyses changes in the governance of subject time allocation in Swedish compulsory education. In Sweden, time governance has undergone significant shifts from strict state regulation in the 1960s to gradual deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in 1999 in an experiment that allowed 900 schools to freely distribute teaching hours across subjects, abolishing the national timetable. However, by the end of the experiment in 2005, a shift in political orientation was evident and national timetables gradually became more detailed. Applying a historical institutionalist approach, the chapter focuses on two key periods: the gradual deregulation and decentralisation ending in the timetable experiment (early 1990s – 2005) and the subsequent reintroduction and development of a more regulated national timetable (2012 – early 2020s). We conclude that time allocation in the Swedish case reflects broader education reform agendas, and that national timetables are instruments that can serve quite different purposes. 

Busy and unstructured school environments can present challenges for pupils diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although school restaurants may be demanding, limited research hasfocused on these pupils. This study explores how pupils diagnosed with ASD or ADHD navigate the physical, social, and pedagogical environments of school meals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in four Swedish schools, involving observations, conversations, and interviews with five 12-year-old boys and their mothers, findings show how pupils valued having a teacher orclassmate nearby during lunchtime. Crowded and narrow spaces posed motor challenges, leading to spills and comments ontable manners. Socially, pupils alternated between engaging with others and seeking solitude to escape noise and interactions.The study calls for reflection on how societal norms and environmental structures of school meals impact pupils diagnosedwith ASD or ADHD, emphasizing the role of school nurses in identifying potential issues.

In line with equal opportunities for all, free school meals are served to all pupils in Swedish compulsory schools, prepared and served by assigned school meal staff. This paper explores how school meal staff describe and approach their roles and responsibilities in relation to the school meal, and what influences their conditions to contribute to an inclusive school meal community. Based on approximately 100 hours of participant observations over five months in four schools, and interviews with five school meal staff, the analysis illustrates how school meal staff enacted inclusive practices, which included creating a safe and home-like environment in the school restaurant, aiming to provide a nutritious meal for all pupils, thereby reducing inequalities. However, participants reported a lack of collaboration with headteachers, upon whom they were highly dependent on to implement improvements. Moreover, feedback from pupils was often negative. Accordingly, the school meal staff balanced their mission by employing different approaches: some focusing on tasks related to food service, while others prioritized interactions with pupils. The findings suggest a need to acknowledge the contributions of school meal staff as important actors in building a school meal community, into which they themselves are not inherently integrated at present.

Both domain-general (e.g., working memory, executive functions) and domain-specific (e.g., number processing, phonological processing) cognitive factors have been found to predict learning in different age groups. Likewise, research has shown that various affective factors, such as different emotions (e.g., anxiety), self-concept, and interest, need to be considered when investigating individual differences in learning. However, few studies have investigated both cognitive and affective factors simultaneously in relation to learning. In particular, there is a lack of studies investigating the interplay (i.e., moderation and mediation) between cognitive and affective factors on learning.

The goal of this Research Topic is to deepen our knowledge on the relations between learning and both cognitive and affective factors in different age groups. We aim to provide a broad scope of emerging areas in research on cognitive and affective factors, especially related to academic learning (e.g., mathematics, reading, and other school subjects). Studies focusing simultaneously looking at the interplay of these constructs, as well as longitudinally, are of great interest. Further, we are interested in innovative study designs and recent advances in methodology in this field. To promote quality education for all and equity in education, cognitive and affective factors related to aspects of learning ranging from pre-school to tertiary provision, and inclusion of individuals with special educational needs, are of interest.