The Politics of School Choice in Scandinavia
Why so Stark Differences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11005903 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Susanne Wiborg (0000-0002-0213-1114, University College London, Institute of Education London UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scandinavian Political Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0080-6757 • E-ISSN: 1467-9477 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9477.70033 |
| OpenAlex | W4417450487 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
Since the 1980s, Scandinavian countries have pursued performance‐oriented education, yet only Sweden and Denmark adopted school choice reforms—while Norway stood apart by not introducing it. Sweden pioneered school choice reform in 1992, which included provisions for a universal voucher system and free schools. Denmark followed suit with the 2005 Free School Choice Act, allowing choice within the public‐school sector in addition to private options. Norway, by contrast, retained the student allocation system based on the “nærskoleprincippet” (close‐to‐school‐principle), established in the 1960s, making choice near impossible unless families move to a different school district or attend one of the country's few private schools. Why did such similar countries diverge so sharply? Using a Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) comparison, this article demonstrates that sustained bipartisan support for school choice and weakening opposition from vested interests, especially the teachers' unions, enabled choice reform in Denmark and Sweden. In Norway, however, the lack of bipartisan support and entrenched union opposition blocked the prospect of reform from the outset. Building on these findings, the article advances a new comparative mid‐range theory of school choice politics that not only explains this Scandinavian divergence but also offers a framework for rethinking the role of political coalitions and vested interests in the comparative politics of education
Divergence (linguistics · Opposition (politics · Politics · Private school · Public choice · School choice · Voucher · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · School Choice and Performance
The Nordic Education Model
Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics
A Loud but Noisy Signal?
Making Markets in the Welfare State
The Comparative Politics of Education
Party Families in Western Europe
The Nordic Model in Education
Educational marketization the Swedish way
Varieties of Democracy
Sweden
The Choice Revolution
Education and Social Integration
New Public Management Reforms of the Danish and Swedish Welfare States
The 2017 Norwegian election
Towards a two-party system? The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2006
Policy reform and the decline of corporatism in Sweden
The Danish ‘Competition State
Do Welfare State Regimes Determine Public Sector Reforms? Choice Reforms in American, Swedish and German Schools
The Swedish parliamentary election of 2010
Vested Interests and Political Institutions
The Norwegian parliamentary election of 1985
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |