In response to global competition in higher education, university rankings have been developed. These have been interpreted as indicating the regions and countries with the most prestigious and competitive higher education institutions. The rankings are viewed as important in many countries, but their role is ambiguous and contested in the Nordic…

This study aimed to investigate common features and ways of understanding quality culture (QC) within higher education institutions (HEIs) in Nordic countries. While the concept of QC is commonly accepted and often used, its meaning is not always clear. This paper focuses on how Nordic universities frame QC in their internal documentation. The…

Prior research has suggested that well-performing school leadership clusters around a set of general core practices, which appear to be effective across a range of national, social and cultural contexts, yet contingent of school leaders being responsive to context and responding appropriately to their different contextual demands when they employ…

"Quality work" is a growing area of interest in higher education research, reflecting a broader political and scientific concern with how universities and colleges work with educational quality. However, the characteristics and theoretical underpinnings of the concept are understudied, and we have scarce knowledge about how different…

This article sheds light on governance mechanisms at work when decentralised implementation of national educational and welfare policies encounters a heterogeneous sector of private service provider organisations. It illuminates how isomorphic pressure plays out at the interface between local governance and private providers' organisational…

The Norwegian Educational Psychological Service (EPS) is a significant partner to guide and support the development of fruitful learning environments and inclusive education (IE) in kindergartens and schools. To do so, collaboration with principals and classroom teachers is crucial. The question addressed in this article is which properties of…

This narrative review aims to present and discuss the Norwegian school system as a context for inclusive education. Despite its clear political intentions, Norway lacks a common definition of inclusion and has limited insight into the quality of inclusive practices that are commonly implemented for students with special education needs (SEN) and…

This article explores how teacher education students perceive high-quality practicum. Data were collected through group interviews with students while in practicum at partnership schools and analysed thematically within the context of qualification, socialisation, and subjectification as goals of education. The findings show that students perceive…

This publication was prepared as part of the Cedefop project The shift to learning outcomes: rhetoric or reality. The purpose of this research is to analyse the conceptual, structural and political factors influencing the transformation of intended learning outcomes into achieved learning outcomes. It is considered as a first step in a long-term…