The School of Education and Communication was established in 1994 when Jönköping University became a foundation. However, our history stretches back to 1947, when the "folkeskole seminar" started in Jönköping.

The background

Teacher education has existed in Jönköping since 1947, preschool teacher education since 1963 and the Media and Communication Studies program (MKV) started in the late 1970s.

Until 2000, HLK was located at Västra torget in the former premises of the municipal girls' school.

Folkskoleseminariet received the first teacher candidates in 1947, in a house called Arken, on Skolgatan 19 in Jönköping. It remained here until 1968, when the Folk High School became the Teacher Training College and moved into the former premises of the municipal girls' school at Gjuterigatan 23-25 at Västra torget.

The Preschool Seminary in Jönköping was started in 1963 in temporary premises on one floor at the corner of Gjuterigatan/Kapellgatan. The program moved to Bäckalycke Manor in 1965 and in 1975 to the Teacher's College premises at Västra torget.

In 1977, Jönköping University was established and both the Teacher Training College and the Preschool Seminary became part of the new university.

In 1994, the Jönköping University Foundation was formed and the department then called UKI (Education Communication and Information) became the School of Teacher Education AB. HLK changed its name in 2001 to the School of Education and Communication.

During the inauguration of the new university campus in 1997, the adventurer Göran Kropp climbed the chimney where HLK is now located.

Consolidated campus and new courses

Thanks to a joint initiative between the municipality and the university, and sponsorship from some thirty companies in the region, construction of a new university campus began in 1995. The current campus at Munksjön was inaugurated in 1997 and first Jönköping International Business School and then the School of Engineering moved here. The School of Education and Communication moved into its current premises in summer 2000.

For a long time, teacher training, together with the MKV program and independent courses, formed the backbone of the educational offering, but since the beginning of the 2000s, other courses have also been added.

Postgraduate education

The doctoral program started in 2002, initially in cooperation with the University of Helsinki. In 2004, Jönköping University was granted the general right to award doctoral degrees in the entire field of humanities and social sciences.

Source: A multitude of people. Teacher education in Jönköping during 50 years(1997)