Social Change Through Education: A Scandinavian Approach

Abstract

Compulsory education is the only arena where all children and young adults can be reached. It is also an arena where all countries have developed national curricula with minimum requirements for what the students are to learn based on assumptions of what it means to be a good citizen in a highly dynamic and globalized world. What these assumptions are can be found at policy levels, such as white papers and curricula. The national policies dictate social changes, and national and international assessments measure the extent of changes. Examples of expected social changes through education are increased democratic participation, improved mental and physical health, increased collaboration, improved creative skills, increased critical thinking, sustainable development, and decreased fallout rates in senior high schools. This chapter explains types of social change that compulsory education aims at, with examples from a Scandinavian context, and discusses the extent to which the social changes apply to all students. The Scandinavian ideal is that education ought to apply to all students and take place through variation and adaptations to the diversity of the student group within the community. Through various arenas, education should give all students the opportunity to develop and to learn. The aim of the chapter is to understand social change through adaptive and differentiated education for all students. However, a particular focus is on multicultural and multilingual students and gifted students, since these are examples of marginalized groups in the current practice of educational policy.