The Nordic countries are often perceived as a coherent group representing the Nordic model of welfare states, with a strong emphasis on the public provision of universal welfare and a strong concern with social equality. But today we see a change in the Nordic model as part of a global knowledge economy. The aim of this article is to examine education in the five Nordic countries utilising three dimensions of political change: deregulation, marketisation and privatisation. We also analyse the parallel changes in relation to segregation and differentiation in education. The analysis shows that the themes related to deregulation seem to show fairly similar patterns and structures in all contexts. The emerging differences were discovered mainly in the themes of marketisation and privatisation. Institutional segregation emerges in all Nordic countries to different extents along the lines of these three processes, and we observe a simultaneous social segregation and differentiation with an ambiguous connection to them. Based on these findings, the question of what is left of the "Nordic model" could be raised.

The overall aim of this paper is to give a comprehensive picture of the marketization of early childhood education in Iceland. Our theoretical framework is based on Hursh’s (2007) analysis of how the governance of schools is reshaped to serve a neoliberal agenda with the help of internal and external privatization (Ball and Youdell, 2007). In this paper we explore charter schools in Iceland, categorizing them according to Fabricant and Fine (2012), and shed light on how the most dominant charter school chain in Iceland, Hjallastefnan (e.g. the Hjalla-policy), is leading the corporatisation of public education. Our main data sources are policy and media documents and data from Statistics Iceland. Content analysis is our method of inquiry. Our findings indicate that Iceland is on a similar route to other Nordic countries, where privatization has become an ‘inevitable’ part of the education system. Internal privatization is shaping the sector, based on technical methods of delivering predetermined outcomes. External privatization, in the form of educational programs, is growing along with charter schools.

This review investigates how the scholarly fields, themes and concepts of ‘inclusive education’ are applied in the research and educational contexts of Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands. It identifies and outlines which thematic areas of research and sub-fields of study are referenced in each country by applying a systematic, multilingual approach. We reviewed literature in the local languages of each of these countries over the past decade, from 2007 to 2018, paying particular attention to (a) micro-level, in-depth, classroom interactions; (b) social and political contexts; and (c) social categories. Results of this review emphasise that across all three countries (a) there are similar conceptualisations of inclusive education dominated by categories of disability and special needs, and (b) there is a similar lack of attention to modes of exclusion based on social class, gender, ethnicity and geography as well as to how these can be addressed by more advanced research on inclusive education in these local spheres.

Magnúsdóttir and Jónasson explore the formation of three documents: the first white paper (WP2014) issued by Icelandic state educational authorities and two background papers (WP2017 and GP2014) co-authored by the OECD and EAIE. These papers are explored through content and bibliographic network analysis and semi-structured interviews with Ministry officials. The main results show minimal use of academic references and unsystematic use of green and white papers when forming policy. A low interconnection is between these three documents in terms of content, bibliography, and ministerial procedure. The WP2014 base their data and values mainly on OECD references. The analysis reveals a scarcity of professional resources in the Ministry, a culture of short time-frames, and loosely defined protocols in the policy making that contribute to ministerial governance and externalization.

The study explores how mothers in Iceland, a relatively new nation state, and one that is perceived as gender equal, classless and homogeneous, adapt and respond to international trends of consumer cultures. Building on studies about neighbourhood choices of parents, parental practices and reproduction of social class the study's aim is to examine the local manifestations of those in an international context. To reach this aim, nine interviews with middle-class mothers who live in either disadvantaged or privileged neighbourhoods in terms of income, education level and ethnicity were analysed.Our findings on middle-class anxiety over class-reproduction that is mediated by neighbourhood and school choice are in coherence to the vast international literature. Our findings part with those internationally documented in the way social capital reproduction plays out in the most affluent neighbourhood and the importance the most affluent middle class mothers put on closeness to their extended families.