This article explores affective alignment and epistemic polarization in the field of feminist research, resulting from the neoliberalization of the universities and a performance-oriented research economy. Previous research has described and analysed the 'epistemic splitting' that feminist scholars engage in to live up to standardized performance…

This paper engages with and reflects on the arguments developed by contributors to the special issue. These papers serve to provide a corrective to English and, on occasion, European perceptions, which often view the Nordic countries as being all of a piece and beacons of progressivism. The contributors provide analyses that not only point to the…

The five articles in this special issue present studies focusing on two key aspects of vocational education and transitions in the Nordic countries in relation to social justice: (a) impacts of policies and reforms on transitions and (b) content, practices, curriculum and equality. Collectively, the articles outline important similarities and…

In 2012 the author wrote about what a socially just system would look like, and used the example of Finland Since then the already emergent aspects of neo-liberalism within Finnish education have grown, as privileged white parents increasingly demand privileged spaces within comprehensive schools for their children. There are radical spaces within…

This article describes a study that took place in Helsinki, Finland in late 2015. A Canadian education professor conducted individual interviews with Finnish educators: six practicing teachers in Helsinki schools, two education professors at the University of Helsinki, and the advisor to the president of Finland's teachers' union. Although all…

Assurance of citizens' social rights and minimization of social differences have been central tenets that have framed the educational policy of Finland and the other Nordic welfare states. Equality has been on the official agenda in educational politics and policies since the comprehensive school reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. However, the…

Finnish education and schooling has embraced the neoliberal model of education. No longer is the education system focused on social justice and social equality; rather, Finnish education and schooling has been remarketed into a more individualist mode of learning and schooling. This has especially happened in Finnish higher learning, as students…

This book critiques dominant discourses and debates pertaining to values education, cultural identity and teaching democracy, set against the backdrop of growing social stratification and unequal access to quality education. It addresses discourses concerning globalisation, ideologies and the state, as well as approaches to values education and…