During the COVID-19 pandemic, students in higher education experienced mental health issues whereby National Unions Students & local unions, Higher Education Institutions, and governments played a role in addressing them. Mental health and wellbeing among students have been analysed by external actors as the topic has been talked about already…

Even though Iceland is yet to host as many refugees as other European countries, the number of young refugees seeking resettlement is growing rapidly. Little Icelandic research has been devoted to refugee youth and their social or educational inclusion to date. This study focuses on how young refugees are represented in the Icelandic context in…

Key competences are important for personal development, employment, integration into society and lifelong learning. They are transversal and form the basis for all other competences. Acquiring key competences is possible through various learning pathways, including vocational education and training (VET). However, little is known at the European…

The Nordic countries have often been depicted as progressive societies regarding sexual diversity and gender equality. These progressive changes in sexual minority issues, however, have not brought about radical changes in educational policies in addressing gender and sexual equality in schools. Both compulsory and upper secondary education often…

This literature review on school choice analyses the impact of choice schemes on students and on school systems focusing on equity. Reviewing the evidence can be difficult, as the literature is often fragmented and inconclusive, and the political importance of this research often results in high-profile attention given to individual studies rather…

This article focuses on evidence regarding cross-national patterns of participation in adult education and an interpretation of these patterns from an institutional and public policy perspective. The interpretation follows from the perspective that sustaining high and widely distributed levels of investment in the development and maintenance of…

In this paper, the development of educational policy and curricula in relation to the development of a multicultural society in Iceland are critically discussed. Neither policy nor national curriculum guides refer particularly to multicultural society, multicultural or intercultural education. Implementations of equity principles are not clear in…

For the first time, a pan-European study offers a comprehensive picture of reading literacy and identifies some of the key factors impacting on the acquisition of reading skills for 3-15 year olds. It addresses four key topics: teaching approaches, tackling reading difficulties, teacher education and the promotion of reading outside school. It…

Considerable change has taken place in Icelandic early childhood education during the past few decades. Preschool, from being geared primarily towards children with evident social needs, has become all but universal. The aim of this study was to shed light on Icelandic parents' views on their children's preschool education and to examine how their…

These conference proceedings consist of 15 presentations: "Trends in the Development of Vocational Adult Education" (Heinrich Wenidoppler); "Training Programmes for the Long-Term Unemployed in the Flemish Community in Belgium" (Frederik Geers); "New Technology and Non-Vocational Adult Education in Baden-Wurttemberg,…

Patterns in college student mobility between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are examined, with attention given to challenges posed by having three of these countries within the European Union and two outside it. The role of several formal agreements is discussed, and implications for policy needs concerning interinstitutional and/or…