For the past 15 years, Linnéa Lindquist has worked as a teacher and principal in the suburbs of Stockholm and Gothenburg. She has worked in areas that the Swedish Police Authority describes as particularly vulnerable, meaning there is a low socioeconomic status and that criminal networks have a major impact on the local community.  

Lindquist currently works at a municipal school with 220 students from preschool to third grade. At the school, there are about 30 different languages ​​among the students. Only about a quarter of the parents have post-secondary education, which we know is the most important factor affecting school results. Despite the difficult conditions, Lindquist and her fellow teachers have pursued a conscious language development work and succeeded in increasing the students’ results. Today, there are three times as many students who reach the knowledge requirements in year three compared to four years ago.  

Swedish education has the major problem that students with different socioeconomic backgrounds often attend different schools, and one consequence is that schools in vulnerable areas may only have a handful of students with Swedish as their first language. Lindquist is passionate about ensuring that students receive a high-quality education, regardless of their background.