Quality is a main issue when practices of validation are developed. In the Nordic countries, a model of quality assurance in validation has been introduced, to be applied in the development of validation practices. The model puts the individual at the centre and introduces eight factors for quality: information, preconditions, documentation,…

The national policies and historical roots of early childhood education (ECE) vary from society to society. In the Nordic countries, early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies have been built in the context of the welfare state. As such, they are closely connected to other welfare policy areas such as social policy, family policy and…

This article investigates why school choice is exercised to a limited degree by parents despite major government initiatives to enhance diversity, competition and choice in the Danish education system. Denmark has had 20 years of centre-right governments, promoting choice reforms perhaps even more vigorously than the other Nordic countries, yet…

This article analyses the contribution of post-compulsory education and training systems to the development of literacy and numeracy skills across OECD countries. While there is extensive cross-country comparative research on the effects of primary and lower secondary education systems on aggregate skills levels, there has been little comparative…

Educational research in Norway has experienced unprecedented structural expansion and cognitive shifts over the last two decades because of greater state investments and the strategic use of extensive and multi-year thematic programmes to fund research projects. Using a neo-institutionalist framework, we examine institutionalisation dynamics in…

Parental leave and early childhood education and care (ECEC) are two policies widely proposed and implemented to support working parents with young children. This article examines entitlement to leave and ECEC in 25 European countries, including 22 EU Member and Accession States, and the relationship between them, in particular to what degree…

There is no doubt that what is generally referred to as "Ph.D education" has undergone dramatic changes in Europe in recent years. Whereas the Bologna Process, launched in 1999, originally had in mind to make it easier for undergraduate students to gain international experience and enhance their employability by facilitating mobility and…

This article presents a brief analysis of teacher education in five European countries: Italy, Germany, England, Sweden and Finland. In the post-industrial world, the sense of teaching has profoundly changed, influenced by a rapidly evolving socio-economic context. The responses given by each country are different, but two tendencies emerge: on…

Patterns in college student mobility between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are examined, with attention given to challenges posed by having three of these countries within the European Union and two outside it. The role of several formal agreements is discussed, and implications for policy needs concerning interinstitutional and/or…

Recent reforms in vocational education in Sweden and Finland reflect economic, academic, and practical concerns common to many countries today. Two issues of particular interest are continuity of vocational training after late secondary school and establishment of parity between vocational and general education. (MSE)

This article discusses events that have led to recognition of the need for enhanced human rights education; describes aims and projects of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe; notes establishment of the European Centre for Human Rights Education; and examines possible Nordic…