The aim is to understand how Swedish municipals and preschool principals systematic quality work relate to the Swedish National curriculum for preschool (2018). This study examines two interrelated, challenges that can create dilemmas. First, a challenge related to the potential weaknesses in cooperation between the municipalities and preschool principals (cf. Håkansson, 2016, 2019; Love, 2021). Second, a challenge related to the potential difficulty for the preschool principal to position him- or herself professionally, in alignment with the governing policies (cf. Boyland et al., 2019; Rodriguez et al, 2021). Curriculum alignment (alignment theory) is used to compare how and if the principal’s responsibility for systematic quality work is interlinked between the municipalities, local preschools, and the Swedish National curriculum for preschool (cf. Pianta et al., 2009; Spjut, 2021). The study operates within a qualitative research paradigm, using document study as the chosen method. Data collection involves official documents that contains systematic quality work from twelve Swedish municipalities and twelve local preschools. The analytical approach used is a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (cf. Bingham et al, 2019).The following ethical aspects are considered: confidentiality, integrity of personal data and case numbers is used to prevent disclosure of personal information. Approved 2023 by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. The study reveals contrasting interpretations of responsibility between the municipalities and preschool principals when evaluating the systematic quality work in preschools The findings are important for understanding how to improve policy implementation around systematic quality work on different levels.