Comparing Governance and Choice of Upper Secondary School in the Nordic Countries

In this concluding chapter, we compare and sum up the findings from the respective country studies and contributions to the edited volume. Across the countries, differences are particularly pronounced in the way the systems of upper secondary education are structured, varying from Sweden’s undivided upper secondary system in one comprehensive school, which was to include everybody, to Denmark maintaining a strong division between vocational and general academic tracks. Other differences include the degrees to which privatisation has taken place and undermines the role of free public schooling and whether access to upper secondary education is a statutory right and how – in one way or another – the market changes cause significant between-school and within-school differences and promote options for social distinction. Summed up, the contributions show that access to knowledge and qualifications is unfairly distributed. The entrance tickets to inclusion and participation are more accessible to some than to others. Access and opportunities still depend on the resources students bring into the education system and the opportunity structures that surround them where they live.