Higher Education in Scandinavia:A Case Study

The chapter examines how higher education in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are developing in relation to new contexts of globalization, national and international competition for students and research grants, economical efficiency and shortening of students’ length of studies. Two competing perspectives are at play; one seeing education as a public good and an important aspect of a welfare society, the other seeing education as an individual private investment. In Scandinavia higher education is generally free of tuition fees, and students are supported with study grants. During the 20th century, there has been a development towards universal access to education and diversification of educational institutions. The current tendency, however, is a process of centralization of higher education, fusions of existing institutions, focus on quality assurance, and discussions of limiting the growth of higher education.Higher education systems around the world have been undergoing fundamental changes through the last 50 years from more narrow self-sustaining universities for the elite and into mass universities, where new groups of students have been recruited and the number of students enrolled has increased dramatically. In adjusting to the role of being a mass educational institution, universities have been challenged on how to cope with external pressures, such as forces of globalization and international markets, increased national and international competition for students and research grants, increased pressure to become more efficient economically and regarding students’ length of studies. These pressures can be seen as expressions of national policy changes from more democratic governance towards new public management principles. The chapter examines to what extent the democratic tradition has had an impact on the educational systems in Scandinavia, and what possible futures can be envisioned