Children's independent mobility in Sweden

The aim of this project is to explore children's independent mobility, that is, the degree to which children of different ages have the freedom to make trips to school, friends, shops and other destinations unaccompanied by adults and the implications this may have for children's development.The schools were chosen on account of their different characters, social as well as physical, and this is reflected in the nature of the children's independent mobility. Maria School is situated in a typical inner-city area and Sjostad School in a new-build area of urban character lying immediately adjacent to the inner-city itself. Sjoang School consists mostly of detached dwellings with light through-traffic and is surrounded by larger roads. Bredang is an area from the 1960-70s with multi-storey dwellings and traffic separation, inhabited mainly by immigrants. Rural Fjardhundra in the municipality of Enkoping, 90 kilometres from Stockholm, is a small community, but the school has a large catchment area encompassing various villages and small towns. These five schools are not meant to be representative of the country as a whole, but the schools are located in areas that may be regarded as typical. One class from Years 2-9 in each school (8-15 years of age) was included in the study. Of the 941 questionnaires distributed to pupils, 797 were completed, i.e. a response-rate of 85 per cent. The questionnaire was completed by 482 parents, a response-rate of 52 per cent. The data collection for this questionnaire study was the responsibility of a consultancy group (Nordiska undersokningsgruppen/the Scandinavian Inquiry Group, 2011). Interviews with teachers and head teachers in the five schools were also carried out. The introductory section presents the background to the study. Issues of accessibility and independent mobility are discussed along with safe and developmental outdoor environments for children. A description is also given of Swedish national policy and statistics together with information about children's independent mobility from nationwide studies.