The roots of educational changes in the perspective of democracy challenges in Finland and England in the 20th century

This article presents Finnish educational changes in the context of The Nordic Model of Social Democracy improved since 1963 versus English model of Neoliberal Democracy based on conservatism since 1979 with its roots in the late eighteenth century in Europe. The reform of education in Finland was supported by a new curriculum and different methods of teaching. In 1963 students started to have an access to the highest-quality education and it was not related to students’ place of living, richness or annual income. On the other side in England, privatization and centralization were the main pillars of the reform with neoliberalism, neoconservatism and its market competition in education. The central government was responsible for the provision of educational services, educational policy, and planning the direction of the educational system. Teachers faced an ultimatum: “either submit to re-education or lose your job” (Jones, p. 43). The 1988 reform strengthened the ideological control of education and accelerated differentiation between schools.