Production, Transforming and Practicing ‘What Works’ in Education – The Case of Norway

Abstract

This article describes, analyzes and discusses key changes in the Norwegian education system during the last 60 years. It starts with the period from 1955 until about mid-1970s, often referred to as the golden era of social democracy. We will show how this period gave rise to a comprehensive education system, as well as to a public welfare system. During the next period (since the end of the 1980s), the Norwegian education system went through major reforms, influenced largely by new managerialist ideas, and we will discuss how and why new public management began to gather momentum in the 1990s, followed by an emphasis on ‘what works’ in schools. We argue that both individuals and organizations, often labelled as policy actors, have strongly influenced this change in educational policymaking. Although the basic values about equal opportunities and access for all seem to persist, we might see a process of re-imagination of these values through digitization in the local schools.KeywordsThe social democratic legacyNew public managementPolicy actorsSchool reformsDigital educationEvidence-based research