This essay explores the concept of “equivalence” (likvärdighet) and how it can be defined in the context of the Swedish school system. The method that is used is a critical examination of the equivalence theory formulated by Lars Lindblom. The concept of equivalence in his theory can be defined as equal opportunities for education that is designed to provide compensated resources and welfare where the most disadvantaged students, which includes the differently abled, are compensated according to the principle of difference. Further, that the social distribution domain in a fair society must both ensure that the school provides equal opportunities and compensates the disadvantaged and that the school's compensatory mission must therefore become the first priority in equality. In the essay I advance the thesis that Lindblom’s theory does neither function as a framework for allocation of resources to different categories of students or as a tool do model teaching. This is, because it does not provide any practical guidance for how the concept of equivalence should be used when distributing resources among different groups of students, except for the fact that students who receive compensatory should be prioritized. Lindblom's contribution is nevertheless valuable in that the theory provides a new and in-depth insight into the various dimensions contained within the concept of equivalence.

This paper examines common and past applications of affirmative action, including arguments for and against the application; presents John Rawls’ theory of justice, and proposes a framework using Rawls’ theory for future applications of affirmative action. The proposal relieves heavily on the principle of fair equality of opportunity, both as an indicator for when using affirmative action is appropriate as well as a tool to help identify the people that affirmative action programs should target. Using this framework, the public education system is identified as a sector of society that fails to provide fair equality of opportunity for all citizens, and an example of how the Rawlsian conception of affirmative action should be used in practice to help address the inequalities and help restore equality of opportunity within the public education system is given. Objections to affirmative action, both in general and more specifically tailored to the model proposed in this paper, are raised and responded to. This paper comes to the conclusion that affirmative action programs, when targeted towards individuals who are denied fair equality of opportunity and have low rates of social mobility, will help create a more just society.