Studentrepresentation: en gemensam angelägenhet

This essay discusses and analyses the complexity regarding student representation within higher education in Sweden. A survey is conducted on sixteen universities as well as an in-depth, semi-structural interviews with six representatives from different student unions. The creation and use of a theoretical framework which is based on representation theory and previous international studies on how higher educational institutions view students within the governance of the institutions. The framework is used to analyse the empirical data. This essay portrays the multifaceted work of the student unions and the relation between student unions and higher educational institutions. It is concluded that there is a need of higher educational institutions to take accountability for the shared responsibility regarding student representation.