Privatization of Early Childhood Education and Care in Nordic Countries

This book explores the increasing role of private providers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) as they become a core part of the Nordic welfare model—one that once rejected for-profit involvement in public welfare. Within this context, ECEC has become the key battleground over private providers’ role in the welfare system. Chapters compare five Nordic countries: Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, to discuss possible benefits from having different types of providers—public, nonprofit, and for-profit—in the welfare mix. To conclude, the authors also provide a comparative perspective on governance of the ECEC sector and on the development and functions of the Nordic welfare model.

1 Introduction.- Introduction.- The Nordic Welfare Model.- The Share of Public, Nonprofit, and For-Profit Welfare Providers.- ECEC in the Nordic Countries.- Three Sets of Goals for ECEC.- Challenges Facing ECEC in the Nordic Countries: Demographic Changes, Accessibility, and Educational Approach.- Explaining Institutional Change.- Approaches to the Provision of Welfare Services.- The Three Actors in the Welfare Mix.- Public Provision or Privatization?.- The Welfare Sector as a Quasi-Market.- The Role of Nonprofit Providers as Part of the Welfare Mix.- The Remainder of This Book: ECEC From a Comparative Nordic Perspective.- References.- 2 Shared Roots—Private Initiatives Along Two Trajectories.- Introduction.- The Dual Trajectory of the ECEC System.- Trajectory 1: Charities Establish Children’s Asylums as Protectors from the Dangers of Streets.- Trajectory 2: Philanthropic Kindergartens and For-Profit Child Residential Homes for Wealthy Families.- The Merging of the Two Trajectories.- Fostering a Nordic ECEC Model Through Kindergarten Teacher Education.- Chapter Summary.- References.- 3 From the Fringes to the Heart of the Welfare State—Growth in ECEC Coverage.- Introduction.- Legislative Foundation.- Consolidation and Growth.- Full Coverage.- Chapter Summary.- References.- 4 Changes in the Role of Commercial and Nonprofit ECEC Providers—Deviations from the Nordic Welfare Model?.- Introduction.- Private Growth.- Explaining the Growth of Private Actors: Framework Conditions, Financing, and Public Debates.- Chapter Summary.- References.- 5 Reigning in Provider Diversity? Regulation, Steering, and Supervision.- Introduction.- Educational Promotion—The Rationale for State Steering.- National Policies Pursued in Terms of Regulation and Curriculum.- Securing Compliance—Supervision.- Soft Steering—Manuals and Evaluations.- Chapter Summary.- References.- 6 Does It Matter? Quality Differences Among Public, Nonprofit, and For-Profit Providers.- Introduction.- Theoretical Underpinnings of Different Ownership and Quality.- Quality of ECEC.- International Experiences: Quality Differences Among Public, Nonprofit, and For-Profit ECEC?.- Research in the Nordic Countries on Quality Differences Among Public, Nonprofit, and For-Profit Providers.- Chapter Summary.- References.- 7 Conclusions.- Introduction.- Why Private Growth in Nordic ECEC?.- How to Respond to Adverse Effects From Marketization? Nordic Attempts to Reign in Quasi-markets.- Governance Challenges in the Welfare Mix.- Why Diversity in Provision?.- A Nordic Dimension in ECEC Governance?.- References.

Håkon Solbu Trætteberg is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research, Norway. His main research interest is in public welfare services and their organization, as well as how citizens experience them.

Karl Henrik Sivesind is Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, Norway. He has project managed multiple projects for the Norwegian Research Council. His previous books include Promoting Active Citizenship: Markets and Choices in Scandinavian Welfare (2017), Civil Society in Comparative Perspective (2009), Management in Scandinavia: Culture, Context and Change (2004).

Maiju Paananen is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Tampere University, Finland. She co-leads Child politics in Early Childhood research group. Her research focuses on early childhood education policies, politics and governance.

Steinunn Hrafnsdóttir is Professor in the Faculty ofSocial Work at the School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland. Her research includes third-sector organizations and volunteering, social enterprises and ecosystems, social innovation and administration, and the working environment of welfare organizations.