Justice, equity and marketisation in/of education: concluding comments Lisbeth Lundahl, Umeå University

A Nordic model of education

The social motive included perspectives on recruitment as well as a perspective on the school and the classroom as an all-embracing social community bringing together students from different backgrounds. The recruitment perspective implied that (…) all young persons should have equal educational opportunity, so that human resources were put to full use. The experience of being on the margin of society would be replaced by loyalty and a sense of belonging. More emphasis on social justice (implying, not least, greater opportunity for people in remote regions) would build a stronger nation. The school as social community would serve nation building because it would develop a sense of belonging and of respect and mutual understanding between students from different social classes. (Telhaug, Mediås & Aasen 2004, p. 143)

Nordic education at the turn of the millennium

The assumptions are, first, that the Unified School’s didactics and management have become to be regarded as inadequate because of ideological and motivational changes in the 1990s, and because of the economic, social and cultural effects of the Information Age. Secondly and in response, there has been the production of a new educational policy to meet the needs for competition and quality at the individual and national level. The Information Age requires individual, differentiated, competitive learning ‘just in time’, in order to be seen as relevant for producing competitiveness in the global economy (Welle-Strand & Tjeldvoll 2002, p. 673-674).

Social justice in terms of inclusion

Aspects of inclusion (1) Access to education and work (2) Integration – division of education and pupils (3) Democracy and participation (4) The importance attached to community and equality vs. focus on the individual Anne-Lise Arnesen & Lisbeth Lundahl (2006) Still Social and Democratic? Inclusive Education Policies in the Nordic Welfare States, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50:3, 285-300 2019-02-28

1. Access to education and work All Nordic countries High accessibility to education at all levels No school fees Broad entries to education, avoidance of dead ends (Finland, Denmark to lower extent) School-to-work transitions pose growing difficulties; increasing youth unemployment and loose connections to the labour market (Finland and Sweden to higher extent) 2019-02-28

2a. United or divided education In common: Low degree of organised divisions (streaming, tracking) within youth education (clearer divisions in Denmark and Finland at upper secondary level ) Traditionally low levels of private schooling (Denmark an exception) – but rising in Sweden in 2000s The Nordic countries belong to those with the lowest segregation between children and schools Sweden: decentralisation, deregulation, school choice and increased housing segregation result in growing differences and school segregation 2019-02-28

2b. United or divided education Almost all pupils who receive special education are integrated in ordinary classes (big differences in how children with special needs are defined and registered), but Growing proportions of children who are taught separately in1996-2004 in Denmark, Finland, Sweden. A growing ‘medical-diagnostic culture’ Cultural diversity poses challenges to the comprehensive school (considerable differences between the countries) 2019-02-28

3. Democracy and participation Common tendency: teaching about, in and for democracy. E.g. organised forms of student influence – rare in other countries The students express stronger feelings of belonging to their school than in other countries (weaker in Finland) More positive attitude to gender equality and participation in political elections. Attitudes to immigration more mixed 2019-02-28

4. Community versus Individual rights and choice Common tendency: increasing dilemmas and contradictions between economy – welfare, public – private, collective - individual Education is regarded as a private rather than a common good Strengthening of the individual rather than collective aspect (e.g. citizen – consumer) Individual choice of school and education is stressed Students with disabilities are regarded as individual problems, in need of individual treatment 2019-02-28

Still a Nordic model, but.... The social-inclusive aspects are still strong… but social-inclusive policies have been reformulated and restricted On the whole, the changes have caused little political conflict 2019-02-28

The neoliberal ideology has been presented as politically neutral and has functioned almost as common sense. (from Thurídur Jóhannsdóttir´s conference presentation on the transformation of Icelandic teacher education)

References Antikainen, A. (2010). The Capitalist State and Education: The Case of Restructuring the Nordic Model. Current Sociology, 58(4), 530-550. Arnesen, A.-L. & Lundahl, L. (2006). Still social and democratic? Inclusive education policies in the Nordic welfare states, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(3), 285-300. Beach, D., Gordon, T. & Lahelma, E. (2003). Democratic education. Ethnographic challenges. London: The Tufnell Press. Jónasson, J. T. (2002) Policy and reality in educational development: an analysis based on examples from Iceland, Journal of Education Policy, 17:6, 659-671 Lundahl, L. (2002). Sweden: Decentralisation, deregulation, quasi-markets – and then what? Journal of Education Policy, 17 (6), 687-697. Rinne , R., Kivirauma, J. & Simola, H. (2002) Shoots of revisionist 1 education policy or just slow readjustment? The Finnish case of educational reconstruction, Journal of Education Policy, 17:6, 643-658 Telhaug, A. O.; Mediås, O. A. & Aasen, P. (2004). From Collectivism to Individualism? Education as Nation Building in a Scandinavian Perspective, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 48(2), 141-158. Welle-Strand, A. & Tjeldvoll, A. (2002) The Norwegian unified school - a paradise lost?, Journal of Education Policy, 17:6, 673-686