Still Social and Democratic? Inclusive Education Policies in the Nordic Welfare States

Overview & Synopsis

In this article, education policy is analyzed from a welfare state perspective. The aim is to Analise the significance attributed to social-inclusive aspects of education in contemporary education policies of the Nordic countries, and the extent to which education is regarded as an element in welfare policies. Four aspects are addressed: (1) access to education and measures to prevent social exclusion of young people, (2) comprehensiveness of education in terms of public/private, integration/segregation of e.g. minority children and children with special needs, (3) emphasis on democratic values and participation, (4) the importance of community and equality versus a focus on the individual. It is concluded that it is still justified to speak of the five Nordic countries as a rather distinct group. However, social-inclusive policies have also clearly been reformulated and delimited, related to a strengthening of the economic-utilitarian functions of education and a weakening of central education governance. (Contains 2 tables and 9 notes.)