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Does the State Expand Schooling? A Study Based on Five Nordic Countries
Abstract
Incl. bibl. notes.
... The credential account of expansion in higher education It has been argued that the overall growth of education can be explained with reference to the credential account or the status competition account. By considering why secondary (Jónasson, 2003a) and higher education (Brown, 1995;Collins, 1979;Dore, 1976;Jónasson, 1999aJónasson, , 1999bD. F. Labaree, 1997;D. ...
... The perspective presented in this paper is a bird's-eye view of educational expansion, which previously led me to the credential account. This overall viewpoint is conducive to drawing forth the differences between macro changes, with which I was earlier preoccupied (Jónasson, 1997(Jónasson, , 2003a and the system changes which perhaps devolve from them, rather than vice versa (though that is normally thought to be the case). My position is that the force of overall expansion is driven by a powerful, though nevertheless diffuse, striving for credentials, which either moulds or enables particular developments in the education system. ...
... The extent to which the expansion of higher education in the Nordic countries fits with predictions of the credential account and thus with exponential growth rates calls for investigation. In order to study this we will use the predictive method applied by (Jónasson, 2003a). Examining the participation rate over a certain period in each of the Nordic countries, we will attempt to determine whether trends can be forecast using the exponential fit and thus be able to demonstrate how much reality deviates from predictions in these instances. ...
How does the education system expand? And why? How do we describe this expansion and how do we account for it? (Tyack & Cuban, 1995) suggest that there may be some implicit rules that govern the development of schools and understanding those may give a useful insight into the fate of educational
reforms. They call these rules, the grammar of schooling. In recent papers I have attempted to investigate the nature of educational expansion (Jónasson, 2003b, 2004) and I am gradually coming to the conclusion that there are perhaps some implicit rules that govern this expansion, which we might analogously call the
grammar of education or educational development. It is perhaps appropriate to distinguish between the surface and deep structure of this development. The surface features are exhibited in the number of students that enrol and graduate and the underlying features in the nature and changes of the academic
programmes. In recent papers I have attempted to investigate the nature of this expansion by attempting, inter alia, to discern the role played by governments (Jónasson, 2003b, 2004
... The paper seeks to demonstrate the exponential characteristic of the expansion of higher education, and how this throws a new light on important features of this expansion. It has previously been shown by the author that there is affinity between the Nordic countries in educational expansion at the upper secondary level (Jónasson, 2003), and there it was argued that the nature of the growth is usefully described as exponential growth. This also holds for HE, again when corrected for cohort size (Jónasson, 1999(Jónasson, , 2004(Jónasson, , 2006. ...
... Thus, by way of examples, we have indicated that the perspective offered by exponential growth may be valuable, in order to understand the dynamics of growth in higher education. By using similar data this has already been shown in some detail for upper secondary education in the Nordic countries, where basically the same approach is used (Jónasson, 2003). We will return more details in the data and the more substantive theoretical issues while discussing various versions of disaggregated data, especially with reference to the different patterns for males and females. ...
... It is ubiquitous and relatively isomorphic, one finds it in a similar forms in most cultures and within many subgroups within all those different contexts (but with variations of course). It is not confined to HE, a practically identical gap was found at the upper secondary level in the Nordic countries (Jónasson, 2003). The higher the levels of education the fewer people enroll. ...
On the basis of the author's previous work the paper argues that there are important, but not transparent, regularities in the expansion of higher education that tell an important story about its nature. These regularities can be demonstrated by exploring long-term growth patterns of enrollment and graduation with reference to the whole student body. In particular by exploring the differential growth for gender, and also cohorts and ethnic groups. These regularities of expansion are explored using the lens of exponential growth, which is based on a steady rate of growth and seen to fit such pattern. A steady rate of growth (proportional) is very different from a steady growth (linear) and invites a very different interpretation and discussion. An apparently small linear growth may reflect a relatively large proportional growth and vice versa.
Then the question becomes: what grows proportionally steadily for such a long time within the field of (higher) education? The most parsimonious answer is that the interest in higher education, indicated by enrollment (or graduation) increases steadily over a long period. Thus, a credential account which involves the students as key actors (those showing the interest), is suggested as being responsible for the
expansion of higher education. This view is supported by looking at the differential growth pattern for males and females, which in turn suggests a novel interpretation of the gender gap in the enrollment figures in higher education. The credentials remain as a basic feature of the system even though they gradually form a very complex system; their relative values may also change considerably. But in their
basic form they remain the pillars of the system and thus the expansion. This in turn provides a basis for understanding in theoretical terms some of the dynamics of the institutional development of higher education, notably with the direct involvement of the labor market and the educational institutions themselves.
A credentially based expansion, in the short term, may not always be described by an exponential pattern as other forces may operate simultaneously, most often temporarily, even though this does not affect the underlying long-term pattern. The level of analysis presented here does not necessarily allow the determination of the exact coefficients of expansions, but the differences between gender and similarities across gender, and social groups may be very important, already at this exploratory stage.
... The comparative approach of this paper will also clarify small differences where large ones might be expected. Previously I have based my argument on European, especially Nordic data (Jónasson, 2003(Jónasson, , 2004b, projecting it onto potentially similar US developments. Here I will attempt to relate the European and US developments more closely. ...
... Since Weber, however, little attempt has been made to apply this idea generally to expansion phenomena in Europe. However, it has been argued (Jónasson, 2003) that both the long-term regularity of the expansion indicated by some Nordic data and in particular the exponential form of this regularity lend support to credential interpretations. Thus both qualitative and quantitative evidence point to the viability of a credential account. ...
... Normally favouring an academic bent, students begin to drift towards academic programmes to the degree that discrepancies in programme status grow. I have argued that this phenomenon is clearly exhibited by the unfailing development of secondary academic education in the Nordic countries throughout the 20 th century, whereby the student population has chosen academically-based programmes in preference to vocationally-based programmes (Jónasson, 1997(Jónasson, , 2003 and where similar patterns were evidenced in tertiary education 12 Archer postulates four stages in the development of educational systems: the unification of a system (which does not necessarily imply centralisation), systematisation, differentiation and specialisation. Even though her scheme applies to an entire system, it may be useful when inspecting the development of a major sub-system such as the system of HE. 13 Green at al. (1999, pp. ...
... bóknámsrek (e. academic drift) (Jón Torfi Jónasson & Gyða Jóhannsdóttir, 2008;Jón Torfi Jónasson, 2006;2003). Á Íslandi eru daemi um heilbrigðisstéttir eins og ...
... Nemendarek (e. drift of the student body) er sú tilhneiging nemenda að saekja frekar í háskólanám en starfsnám á framhaldsskólastigi (Jón Torfi Jónasson, 2003;. Námskrárrek (e. curriculum drift) er þegar til daemis námskrá starfsnáms verður fraeðilegri og bóklegri á kostnað starfsnámsins (Jón Torfi Jónasson, 2003;. ...
... Nemendarek (e. drift of the student body) er sú tilhneiging nemenda að saekja frekar í háskólanám en starfsnám á framhaldsskólastigi (Jón Torfi Jónasson, 2003;. Námskrárrek (e. curriculum drift) er þegar til daemis námskrá starfsnáms verður fraeðilegri og bóklegri á kostnað starfsnámsins (Jón Torfi Jónasson, 2003;. Breytingar á námskrá tannheilsustétta hafa verið haegfara þrátt fyrir miklar framfarir segir í greinum Hendricson & Cohen, 1999og Tedesco, 1995. ...
... The perspective presented in this paper is a bird's-eye view of educational expansion, which previously led me to the credential account. This overall viewpoint is conducive to drawing forth the differences between macro changes, with which I was earlier preoccupied (Jónasson, 1997(Jónasson, , 2003a and the system changes which perhaps devolve from them, rather than vice versa (though that is normally thought to be the case). My position is that the force of overall expansion is driven by a powerful, though nevertheless diffuse, striving for credentials, which either moulds or enables particular developments in the education system. ...
... The extent to which the expansion of higher education in the Nordic countries fits with predictions of the credential account and thus with exponential growth rates calls for investigation. In order to study this we will use the predictive method applied by Jónasson (2003a). Examining the participation rate over a certain period in each of the Nordic countries, we will attempt to determine whether trends can be forecast using the exponential fit and thus be able to demonstrate how much reality deviates from predictions in these instances. ...
The question in the title above can be presented and segmented in numerous ways. Not only can we ask what drives the expansion or development of higher education, but also what controls (directs or limits) this expansion or development. Furthermore, it would be in line with current discourse to ask what role government policy plays in the expansion. Does the government in fact drive or control it in any way? Finally, we might ask whether any underlying forces are at play. To the extent that we find it important to implicate government we could present the question from a slightly different perspective by asking how important it is to investigate on the one hand government action, especially financing, rules and regulations, and on the other hand policy documents, the government's green or white papers on its intentions in this sphere. Observing the above questions as a whole, the responses to the latter ones will crucially depend on the responses to the former ones. For instance, if governments are assumed to play a relatively minor role in the development of higher education, analysing their intentions or attitudes will be of minimal interest, whereas the opposite assumption will lead to their substantial relevance. An additional point is that if we assume the authorities not to be instrumental in creating the expansion, we might next ask what forces are then responsible. Thus we are asking two kinds of questions, basically very different: firstly, about the forces that steer the development of higher education, and, at the same time, about the relevance of dwelling on government actions, which incidentally are often taken a priori as highly important.
... There is considerable affinity between the Nordic countries, seen when looking at the educational expansion at the upper secondary level (Jónasson, 2003), where it was argued that the nature of the growth is usefully described as exponential growth. This also holds for HE, again when corrected for cohort size (Jónasson, 1999(Jónasson, , 2004(Jónasson, , 2006. ...
... It is ubiquitous and relatively isomorphic, one finds it in a similar forms in most cultures and within many subgroups within all those different contexts (but with variations of course). It is not confined to HE, a practically identical gap was found at the upper secondary level in the Nordic countries (Jónasson, 2003). ...
The basis of the paper is the argument that the growth of Higher Education is most profitably described as exponential growth. Thus the notable gender difference in attendance and graduation rates is described by referring to the different growth coefficients of males and females, seen over long periods. Typically, the growth rate for women is higher than for men, irrespective of the absolute numbers, and whether they refer to attendance or graduation rates. Thus the gender gap is no longer dependent on which gender shows higher absolute numbers, but which has the higher growth rate. Thus the difference can be stable even at times when the difference in absolute numbers is changing, even being reversed. The gender patterns we refer to are fairly universal, but showing notable country differences. Using this perspective, it can be noted that these gender differences are remarkably stable over long periods. In the Nordic countries they reach far back into the 20th century and all the indications are that they will extend far into the 21st century, only being dampened by the gradual saturation of female attendance sometime well into the century. This will mean a notable increase in the difference in the absolute numbers between females and males during the next two or three decades. A corollary of the perspective presented here is that there is no “old” or “new” gender difference as is sometimes thought when looking at the gender reversal in absolute numbers in most national systems.
... Despite Iceland's small population, many studies have shown that the educational system has developed similarly to much larger systems, especially the other Nordic systems, and has faced many of the same problems (Blondal, et al., 2011;Guttormsson, 2008;Jónasson, 1999Jónasson, , 2003Jónasson & Tuijnman, 2001). The most developed part of the Icelandic system is the ten-year compulsory school, run by the municipalities, where children start in the year they are six and leave in the year they are sixteen when most of them register in upper secondary education. ...
... This has been explained by theories of "laddishness" reflected in anti-study culture among boys (Jackson, 2002;Van Houtte, 2004). This is in line with by Jónasson's (2003) argument, based on a study of the long-term development of Nordic upper secondary schools, concluding that, in a literal sense, girls and boys can be seen as in two different systems even though they sat side by side in class. The girls were much more likely to be expecting a long educational carrier (irrespective of their academic inclination) than the boys. ...
In this chapter we investigate school effects on student disengagement as expressed by school misconduct among students in the last year of compulsory education in the capital area of Reykjavík in Iceland. We build on an input-process-output model. Multilevel analysis was used on the Icelandic data gathered in 2014–2015 (1996 students in 10th grade, age 15 in 44 schools) as a part of the ISCY study. We examine how the input variables socioeconomic status, both at school and individual level, affect students’ behavior disengagement, also in light of gender, and if these effects are mediated through the three process variables: students’ academic self-efficacy, their perception of value of education, and their relationship with their teachers. Results showed that school effect and socioeconomical composition of school predicted behavioral disengagement among boys and these effects where independent of individual-level objective and subjective SES and the process variables. Results for girls where different, as after controlling for individual-level objective and subjective SES, effects of school and SES composition of school were nonsignificant. The process variables all significantly predicted behavioral engagement for both boys and girls. The results call for further exploration of the gender effect and the school effect for the boys.
... Selv om den samlede islandske befolkning er liten og ikke passerte 300.000 før i det 21. århundre, har en rekke studier vist at islandsk utdanning følger omtrent samme utvikling som langt større systemer, både når det gjelder kvantitative og kvalitative mål. Utdanningssystemet står dessuten også åpenbart overfor mange av de samme problemene (Jónasson 1999;Jónasson & Tuijnman 2001;Jónasson 2003; se for eksempel Jóhannisdóttir 2006). ...
... Igjen er det uklart hvordan departementet vil balansere sin styring mot den styringen laerestedene utøver. Det er ikke tvil om at regjeringen fortsetter sine vedvarende forsøk på å støtte og bygge opp yrkesfaglig opplaering, dog tydeligvis mot alle odds (Jónasson, 1998(Jónasson, , 2003(Jónasson, , 2008. Men myndighetene mener også at laerestedene selv, ved å få mer handlefrihet, må finne måter å redusere frafallet på. ...
... The globally increasing rates emerge clearly in data presented by Schofer and Meyer (2005), enabling our inference that the overall global rate of expansion is approximately 4.2%, cf. Figure 1. If we perceive this growth as exponential and find the best-fit exponent, HE growth presents itself as relatively constant (Jónasson, 2003). There are actually many problems in documenting this growth over long periods for individual countries, mainly because the available statistics are frequently fragmented. ...
Carried out in 2011 to 2012, this study investigated how the higher education (HE) system has developed in a small country, Iceland, compared to the HE systems of larger countries, such as the US, Japan and other Nordic and European countries. Similarities and differences in the HE systems were sought by focussing on the following issues: 1) the expansion of HE participation, 2) the structural development of HE systems and various categories of academic drift, and 3) the regulation and evaluation of HE institutions, including the establishment of quality assurance agencies. The article intends to answer three questions: 1. To what extent can it be assumed that HE develops in essentially the same way in a very small system as in larger or even much larger systems? 2. Does Icelandic HE present significantly different drivers of change than larger systems for which comparable data exist? 3. Can specific development problems be identified in a small system that do not come to the fore in the larger systems? Our data stem from the available literature as well as various official documents and statistical data banks. Regarding the dimensions explored, the principal conclusions are that small and large systems show essentially the same development characteristics. Governmental and institutional agents as well as students were also revealed to act in similar ways, whether in small or large systems. On the whole, Icelandic HE faces the same problems as larger systems, even though some differences were found, such as in Iceland students having had until recently to go abroad for graduate studies, and in the implementation of quality systems, as through quality assurance agencies.
... Academic pathways at upper secondary schools and higher education following graduation are seen as the key to upward mobility and future options. Especially as academic drift and increased demand and requirement for university education has made this pathway predominant (Field og Guez, 2018;Jónasson, 2003). ...
This is the eighth volume in the research book series Emerging Issues in Research on Vocational Education & Training. The series is published by the research group VETYL (Vocational Education & Training/Yrkeskunnande och Lärande), at the Department of Education, Stockholm University, Sweden.
The research book series started primarily as dissemination venue of selected papers, after a peer review process first presented at the international conferences organized yearly since 2012 by our research group VETYL. The conference has become a forum for sharing state of the art research in the field of VET and serving as a forum for networking and cooperation. The Stockholm International Conference of Research in VET is one of the major scientific events organised in Europe as part of the European Network for Vocational Education and Training (VETNET).
This volume contains chapters that were first present as papers at the research conference held 11-13, May 2022.
... Academic pathways at upper secondary schools and higher education following graduation are seen as the key to upward mobility and future options. Especially as academic drift and increased demand and requirement for university education has made this pathway predominant (Field og Guez, 2018;Jónasson, 2003). ...
VET policies that assign increasing importance to workplace learning, including as a route into higher education, emphasise technological advances, such as international discourses referencing a fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Such approaches have become increasingly central to UK social and economic policies over the last 12 years, centred on the reform of apprenticeships and ‘technical education’ in England. Yet these policies have also appealed to a discourse of ‘craft’ to validate vocational routes, recalling the earlier status of skilled work during the handicraft period. These apparently incongruous references to moral and material dimensions of skilled work, largely neglected by technological policy discourses, call our attention to cultural and societal contexts of these policies. This paper explores these contexts drawing on methods used to construct material cultures from the chaîne opératoire of historical artefacts. This chaîne leads us back to a dualisation of labour markets and social policies that is increasingly reshaping VET across developed countries.
... In political science and educational history, the government is understood as an agent of change that can promote or slow down educational expansion through specific educational policies [58]. Government intervention can be proactive, increasing demand for education or facilitating educational pathways through changes in school legislation. ...
The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the reasons for regional disparities in educational expansion in Germany (i.e., rising rates of general university entrance qualification) on the basis of theoretically relevant influencing factors: changes in school policies, changes in social structure, or general social modernization processes. We pay special attention to the legal framework of schools, which has changed at different times in the German states. Our analysis is based on data from the National Educational Panel Study and on a database on the development of schooling regulations in the German states after World War II. For the analysis, we use two-way crossed random-effects models. Our analyses show that the modernization of school structures is only associated with increasing individual opportunities to access higher school education. However, this association disappears when controlling for social structure and cohort sequence. Rather, the educational expansion of the recent decades is characterized by a changed social structure and, in small parts, by general social modernization processes. In light of our findings, we argue that educational policy adapts school structures to societal changes, opens up new opportunities, yet at the same time reproduces and exacerbates educational inequality.
... Contemporary trends polarise gender differences in a number of ways and, as found in studies of other European contexts, seem to foster certain kinds of working-class masculinities and femininities (Colley, 2006;Connell, 1991;Moret, Dümmler, & Dahinden, 2017). Even if vocational programmes always appear to have been considered "male education" (Jónasson, 2003;Odih, 2007), it might be argued that current trends imply that certain vocational programmes are becoming even more male dominated. Furthermore, the differences between vocational programmes are accentuated by contemporary trends in which those programmes dominated by females are geared more towards higher education than programmes dominated by their male counterparts, as in most European countries (see Reisel, Hegna, & Imdorf, 2015). ...
In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is
manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division
between vocationally (VET) and academically oriented programmes
at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a
critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate
the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities.
The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on
Bernstein´s theory of pedagogic codes. In the re-analysis we
draw on previous studies of policy, curriculum and educational
praxis as well as official statistics. The main conclusions are that
contemporary policy and curriculum trends in all three countries
are dominated by a neo-liberal discourse stressing principles such
as “market relevance” and employability. This trend strengthens
the academic–vocational divide, mainly through an organisation
of knowledge in VET that separates it from more general and
theoretical elements. This trend also seems to affect VET students’
transitions in terms of reduced access to higher education, particularly
in male-dominated programmes. We also identify low
expectations for VET students, manifested through choice of textbooks
and tasks, organisation of teacher teams and the advice of
career counsellors.
... A second path of inquiry involves cross-national research on educational expansion and formalization. This substantial body of work spans academic disciplines, investigates alternative theoretical explanations, encompasses different levels of analysis and employs a range of research designs (see Craig, 1981;Archer, 1979;Heidenheimer, 1981;Boli et al., 1985;Rubinson and Ralph, 1984;Benavot and Riddle, 1988;Fuller and Rubinson, 1992;Meyer et al., 1992;Jónasson, 2003;Clemens, 2004). 2 The present chapter follows a third path of inquiry. It sketches a historical geography of the diverse, often context-specific, meanings and institutional forms of education, and explores the different historical trajectories along which these elements developed. ...
This chapter explores the historical bases of the idea of universal education
and of efforts to realize this goal, as well as the conditions that
facilitated (or hindered) these in different times and places. It seeks to move beyond existing avenues of scholarly inquiry and sketches out an
alternative strategy for a comparative historical study of universal education.
By identifying key analytical components of the contemporary conception
of mass schooling and examining their historical emergence, this
chapter focuses on the diverse antecedents of existing models of universal
education and revisits the unique pathways and divergent outcomes of
past models. We liken our strategy to standing over a rich and flavorful
“educational” broth, in which the initially distinct and numerous ingredients
have settled to the bottom of the pot. We wish to stir up and reexamine
the savory (and often forgotten) ingredients lying at the base of
the soup cauldron, which are perceived as having fused together into a
standard framework of universal education. By doing so, we hope to raise
new questions and ideas, which are relevant to current policy debates on
universal education.
... This development in the structure of HE systems is closely related to academic drift. Several scholars have explored academic drift (Neave, 1979;Kyvik, 2004, Morphew, 2000Jónasson 2003, 2004a, Jóhannsdóttir, 2008, 2012, an example of which is the establishment in the UK of a two-tier HE system of polytechnics and the universities, which were later merged into one category, as all became universities. Scott (1995) introduced a typology of how different countries organize their HE. ...
The impact of transnational processes (such as those driven by the Bologna and Lisbon goals of the European Union, the recommendations of the OECD, etc.) on reforms of Nordic higher educational policy has been significant in discussions on higher education (HE) over the past fifteen years (Neave and Maasen, 2007), in Iceland and in the other Nordic countries. Musselin (2009) introduces the concept of re-nationalization, suggesting that governmental actors are not simply controlled top-down by European measures, but such external instruments are also used to tackle difficult and unpopular local and national problems in order to avoid national resistance. The impact of external drivers may be difficult to ascertain as they may interact with internal drivers such as those engineered by national governments.
... On the other, the State-defined policies of educational restructuring in response to demands for equity, participation and diversity, have the effect of encouraging decentralisation of schooling (Zajda, 2006; Zajda & Gamage, 2009). In examining differential effects of state intervention in education in the Nordic countries Jonasson (2003) views the role of the State in the policy and schooling nexus as a very 'complex' one, which, he argues, can be either 'proactive or reactive' (Jonasson 2003: 162). Klees (1999) believes that discussion of " liberalism, libertarianism, liberty, and freedom " have, in practice, served to legitimate different types of State intervention and that the 'key feature' of neo-liberalism in educational policy is to preserve inequality: ...
This article critically examines the overall interplay between decentralisation in education and the role of the State. It draws upon recent studies in the areas of decentralisation, and the role of the State in education in the global economy and culture. The article explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable in the research of the State, and decentralisation in education globally. It illustrates the way the relationship between the State and education policy affects current models and trends in decentralisation of schooling. Centralisation and Decentralisation in Education: The main goal of centralisation reforms in education globally, and especially in such countries as the USA, the Russian Federation, Australia and elsewhere is the quest for academic standards and quality. Standard in education is defined broadly as 'a learning standard that an educational programme aims learners to develop' (UNESCO, 1993, p. 78). State defined and controlled standards in education would give 'clear signals' of academic standards to schools and to parents 'in the hope that high standards will raise parent demands and school performance' (Carnoy, 1999, p. 39). Education reforms targeting standards in the USA and the Russian Federation during the 1990s and between 2000 and 2009 were aiming to improve minimum standards in secondary schools and to raise students' academic achievement. The most radical centralisation reforms, affecting the curriculum and education standards took place in the Russian Federation between 1996 and 2005. This was done in order to overcome to overcome differences in the quality of schooling created by various decentralised education authorities, which used different curricula and assessment procedures. The quality of education in Russian schools, during the 1990s, at the height of decentralisation reforms, had eroded significantly.
... During the next hundred years, however, the system became mature, flexible and fairly advanced, largely on par with systems in the other Nordic countries (Guttormsson, 2008). Despite Iceland's small population, many studies have shown that the educational system has developed similarly to much larger systems and has faced many of the same problems Jónasson, 1999Jónasson, , 2003Jónasson & Tuijnman, 2001). By comparison, the Icelandic system still faces one outstanding problem: a high dropout rate in upper secondary education . ...
... The second principle, and in fact one of the major aims of the new legislation, is decentralising the upper secondary school system, even though the schools have to obey guidelines set by the ministry (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, n.d.). Again, it is unclear how the ministry will balance its control with that of the schools, but there is no doubt that the government continues its effort to bolster vocational education , apparently against the odds of it actually being effective (Jónasson, 1998, 2003, 2008). Schools themselves, by being given extra freedom, may find ways to diminish the dropout rate. ...
Early in the 20th century, the Icelandic education system was poorly developed, with no compulsory education and no legal
framework for primary education. During the next 100 years, however, the system became mature, flexible and fairly advanced
– largely on par with systems in the other Nordic countries (Guttormsson, 2008). While the total Icelandic population did
not reach 300,000 until the 21st century, numerous studies have shown that Icelandic education developed in ways similar to
much larger systems, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, and apparently dealt with many of the same problems (e.g.,
Jóhannsdóttir, 2006; Jónasson, 1999, 2003; Jónasson & Tuijnman, 2001). Such studies draw attention to important similarities
between different systems and warn against over-emphasising their differences, though they of course exist. The conclusion
is that much can be learned about various aspects of many major problems in Iceland simply by analysing studies from its neighbours.
Moreover, these neighbours may also benefit from Iceland’s experience, as information about a number of issues is relatively
easy to come by in the quite well-documented Icelandic setting.
... On the other, the State-defined policies of educational restructuring in response to demands for equity, participation and diversity, have the effect of encouraging decentralisation of schooling (Zajda, 2006; Zajda & Gamage, 2009). In examining differential effects of state intervention in education in the Nordic countries Jonasson (2003) views the role of the State in the policy and schooling nexus as a very 'complex' one, which, he argues, can be either 'proactive or reactive' (Jonasson 2003: 162). Klees (1999) believes that discussion of " liberalism, libertarianism, liberty, and freedom " have, in practice, served to legitimate different types of State intervention and that the 'key feature' of neo-liberalism in educational policy is to preserve inequality: ...
... On the other, the State-defined policies of educational restructuring in response to demands for equity, participation and diversity, have the effect of encouraging decentralisation of schooling. In examining differential effects of state intervention in education in the Nordic countriesJonasson (2003)views the role of the State in the policy and schooling nexus as a very 'complex' one, which, he argues, can be either 'proactive or reactive': ...
Reprinted from "International Review of Education", 2004, Vol. 50, Issue 3/4. Incl. abstracts in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian. Incl. bibl., index.
... A second path of inquiry involves the research literature on educational expansion and formalization. This substantial body of historical and empirical research spans academic disciplines (e.g., economics, history, sociology, political science), incorporates and often tests alternative theoretical explanations (e.g., functionalism, convergence, reproduction, status competition, population ecology), encompasses different levels of analysis (e.g., individuals , regions, states), and employs a range of research designs (e.g., historical case studies, regional comparisons, and cross-national analyses) (see Meyer et al., 1977; Craig, 1981; Archer, 1979; Heidenheimer, 1981; Boli et al., 1985; Rubinson and Ralph, 1984; Benavot and Riddle, 1988; Fuller and Rubinson, 1992; Meyer et al., 1992; Jónasson, 2003; Clemens, 2004). The vast majority of these studies investigate the antecedents of educational expansion. ...
This paper explores the historical bases of the idea of universal education
and of efforts to realize this goal, as well as the conditions that facilitated (or
hindered) these in different times and places. It seeks to move beyond existing
avenues of scholarly inquiry and sketches out an alternative strategy for a
comparative historical study of universal education. By identifying key analytical
components of the contemporary conception of mass schooling and
examining their historical emergence, this paper focuses on the diverse antecedents of existing models of universal education and revisits the unique
pathways and divergent outcomes of past models. We liken our strategy to
standing over a rich and flavorful “educational” broth, in which the initially
distinct and numerous ingredients have settled to the bottom of the pot. We
wish to stir up and reexamine the savory (and often forgotten) ingredients
lying at the base of the soup cauldron, which are perceived as having fused
together into a standard framework of universal education. By doing so, we
hope to raise new questions and ideas, which are relevant to current policy
debates on universal education.
The chapter will explore the development of the Icelandic education system by using a twofold historical perspective. More specifically, the analysis will look at the very long-term development and then the period 1990–2020. Using only the latter focus in isolation may lead to an erroneous interpretation of recent developments and that is why we also include the longer perspective. In the first of three sections, we describe examples of educational development with reference to six characteristics, arguing that these reflect distinctive developmental dynamics, and these are very important in order to grasp the nature of this development. Second, we address educational governance to clarify what changes can clearly be attributed to this important component of an educational system. Thirdly, we note that there are additional examples of specific efforts to influence educational development that could equally have been taken up for discussion to clarify our main argument, which is that specific actions rarely have the intended effects. In this discussion, we claim that Icelandic education has certainly developed and is being governed, but it is argued that the latter has mainly a facilitatory influence on the former. We see little sign of hard governance and perhaps minor signs of soft governance and the influence from outside, in particular from OECD through the mechanisms of social technology.
This article compares the linkages between organizational structure, power relations, and group identities within the private schools operated by the francophone Jewish communities of Brussels, Paris, and Geneva. A school's organizational structure and balance of power reflect its identity and its conceptual world. That is, its organizational structure reflects the forces operating within the school system, the power wielded by various actors, and the relationships existing between the system and the actors. A school's balance of power is thus a practical manifestation of its inherent political inclination and identity. The main concern in this article is to analyze the ways in which the structural organization of the school influences the allocation of power and the school's identity, and how this identity affects structural aspects of the curriculum. (Contains 2 figures and 50 footnotes.)
This chapter critically examines the overall interplay between privatisation, decentralisation and the role of the State.
It draws upon recent studies in the areas of decentralisation, privatisation and the role of the State in education in the
global economy and culture. The chapter explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable in the research
of the State, privatisation, and decentralisation in education globally. It demonstrates the neo-liberal ideological imperatives
of privatisation and decentralisation, and illustrates the way the relationship between the State and education policy affects
current models and trends in privatisation and decentralisation of schooling. The dominant discourses and debates pertaining
to the newly constructed and re-invented Grand Narratives of privatisation and decentralisation in education are critiqued.
The chapter shows the way they may well be operating as an educational model of a new global ‘master narrative’ – playing
a hegemonic role within the framework of economic, political and cultural hybrids of globalisation and localisation.
Teaching children to read and write at home has been a general custom in Iceland from at least as early as the sixteenth century (Thorláksson 2003, pp. 186, 386). However, the development of a primary school system did not start until in 1907 when school attendance was made compulsory for children aged 10–13 and primary schools were gradually established in all towns and rural communities. The development of the academic branches of the upper secondary and tertiary school systems can be traced back to two church schools founded in the twelfth century. These schools were the precursors of the General Grammar School of Reykjavik founded in 1904 and the Theological Seminary founded in 1847. Together with the School of Medicine founded in 1877 and the School of Law founded in 1908, the Theological Seminary was merged into the University of Iceland in 1911. The development of the vocational branches of the present upper secondary and tertiary school systems can be traced back to the period between 1880 and 1920 when several special vocational schools were founded and to the 1930s when secondary schools offering 2- and 3-year courses with their emphasis on practical subjects were opened in most of the towns and rural regions. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007 and Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.
Purpose: The aim was to answer the research question: How has the evolution of the profession and academic drift influenced the education of Icelandic dental technicians?
The main purpose of the research was to trace the evolution of methods of the trade, evaluate the influence of academic drift on education of dental technicians and assess the influence of curriculum drift and system drift on dental technology education.
Methods: In this research project both quantitative and qualitative research forms as well as action research were used. Interviews were taken with key informants and a questionnaire used for purposeful sampling. Old Icelandic official documents were investigated. Published and unpublished material were used concerning the history of the Association of Dental Technicians in Iceland as well as other documents that concern the development of teaching dental technology in Iceland and abroad. Comparison was made on the curriculum in dental technology in Iceland from the beginning of teaching the profession until today; currently a BS university degree. The evolution of the methods of the trade and the development of the profession was followed. The official history of dental technology education in this country was analyzed, the changes that have been made were investigated as well as the reason why they occurred. The concepts; academic-, institutional-, system-, faculty-, curriculum drift and drift of the student body was looked into and fitting concepts connected to the development of changes
Results: The main results of the research show that from the beginning of formal teaching of dental technology in this country progress has been rapid. Their formal influence is seen as slow progress. This has had the effect of producing a gradual increase in educational requirements and curriculum content which then has led to academic drift and finally to system drift within institutions.
Conclusion: From the research results it can be concluded that the changes that have taken place in the education of dental technicians from being a Higher Education degree to a BS University degree have been logical in the context of the trade’s evolution and coincides with the requirements demanded of dental technology today. The changes will also help towards a future positive evolution of dental technology in Iceland for the benefit of both students and clients.
This paper examines the origins of state educational systems in Europe in the nineteenth century and the institutionalization of mass education throughout the world in the twentieth century. We offer a theoretical interpretation of mass state-sponsored schooling that emphasizes the role of education in the nation-building efforts of states competing with one another within the European interstate system. We show that political, economic, and cultural developments in Europe led to a model of the legitimate national society that became highly institutionalized in the European (and later, world) cultural frame. This model made the construction of a mass educational system a major and indispensable component of every modern state's activity. We discuss the usefulness of this perspective for understanding recent cross-national studies of education.
In this article the author analyzes the growth of U.S. information work in order to test Bell and Porat's view of the information society as post-industrial. The findings presented here indicate that the information work sector grew significantly in the 1920s, rather than in the 1950s, due to the expansion of American corporate bureaucracies. Contrary to post-industrial explanations, it is concluded that any theory of the information society must construct a single explanation for the rise of early 20th century information work, as well as for growth after World War II.
Here it is perhaps most useful to considerArcher'sphases of unification and systematization
- Archer
Her suggestion that educational reform often seems to allow increased access for disadvantaged groups while retaining the advantage for the upper social groups seems to be dramatically
- Walters
Deltagende i utbildning
- Petra Packalén