Educational reform in Finland shifted from 1960s welfare state ideology, which viewed education as an instrument of social justice and equal opportunity, to the 1980s neoliberal ideology of competition and individualism, to the economic depression of the early 1990s, which resulted in a new definition of educational equality. (Contains 20…

International indicators show that Finland has one of the most educated citizenries in the world, provides educational opportunities in an egalitarian manner, and makes efficient use of resources. But at the beginning of the 1990s, education in Finland was nothing special in international terms. The performance of Finnish students on international…

Since the 1980s, numerous education reforms have sought to dismantle centralised bureaucracies and replace them with devolved systems of schooling that emphasise parental choice and competition between increasingly diversified types of schools. Nevertheless, the "Finnish variety of "post-comprehensivism" continues to emphasise…

Managerialism and neoliberal changes and demands influence the work and family lives of academics differently in different positions and contexts. In this article, I explore how Finnish academics on short fixed-term contracts have been treated, and how they interpret recent changes and their effects on their work and private lives. I ask how the…

Schools everywhere vary little with regard to the subjects they teach, the classrooms where students learn, and the students' opinions about school. They do differ significantly in one area, however: the way they address the inequalities and diversity their students bring to school. For the small, agrarian, and relatively poor nation of Finland,…