Abstract
In the previous chapters, we have seen that work related health problems, intensification, mental stress and an isolated work situation are problem that many European countries have to deal with in order to make schools attractive workplaces for teachers. Most countries have to do this in a more and more decentralised and deregulated school system. In Sweden, for example, the responsibility for the schools has been transferred the Government to the municipalities. In this chapter we present the results from case studies of improvement initiatives in schools in four Swedish municipalities. The four examples of attempts to meet the problems at hand, and to develop schools into more attractive workplaces are compared with the results from a questionnaire study of teachers’ experience of their work situation, stress and what they believe to be desirable areas of improvement in their school. We will show that the dominating ideas about change on the municipality level matters, and reveal a gap between the development programs launched and teachers’ perception on development needs.