SUMMARY
With the background of regional educational problems in some counties in Sweden, in the form of lower educational level and school achievements an integrative and systematic literature review (SLR) has been implemented in order to examine regional educational development in combination with school development worldwide during the last 50 years. The literature review shows an internationally sprawling view of the content and object of the study as well as a few international studies on the relationship between regional development and school improvement in mainstream school. Different regions, countries, and continents show various problems within this focus. The study shows different aspects; networks and knowledge-based clusters as guidelines; political decentralization and its repercussions on student learning; technical solutions; the importance of vocational schools in rural areas; tax reduction to compensate rural areas; the importance of a majority/national language and rural versus urban values. Regional development policies aimed at stimulating regional industrial competitiveness and innovativeness, educational attainment, and creative occupations emphasize that creative professionals are strongly related to regional income. The most important implication common worldwide, are concerns pertaining to urbanization, depopulation of rural areas, the need to highlight regional development factors, and a belief in education, especially involving mainstream schools.