Managing Policy Dysfunctions - Counteracting Resource Imbalance in Nordic Schools

In this article, we explore how schools, especially via their management, work to fulfil policies of equity for a diverse range of children in, sometimes, segregated cities. We study how educational leaders in primary schools in polarized areas in three Nordic municipalities address institutional mechanisms that create durable inequality among students (Tilly, 2019; Tomaskovic-Devey & Avent-Holt, 2019). Different schools in the same municipality have both the same and different institutional environments created by networking relationships. The institutional environment consists partly of a mixture of national and local policy translated into municipal action plans for schools. These plans include, for example, curricula, municipal goals, visions, and the schools' financial resources. These are conditions that school leaders must negotiate, translate, and organize in their everyday school life (Author 1, 2018). Even if the municipality has an equality policy agenda, students have different opportunities, with social background affecting and being reproduced through education. In this article, our research question is as follows: What local measures do Nordic educational leaders employ to counteract the marginalization of children in socially exposed school districts?​ ​ Ensuring inclusive education for all is one of the most important driving forces for sustainable socioeconomic mobility (Duncan et al., 2012; Kääriälä & Hiilamo, 2017; Ryan et al., 2006). Nonetheless, there are great differences between urban areas in the Nordic region (Dovemark et al., 2018), creating unequal childhoods (Lareau, 2011) in countries otherwise known for being preoccupied with ensuring “education for all” (Frønes et al., 2020). The Nordic school model has been an integral part of the political system for the past 50 years (Telhaug et al., 2006). Societal development, combined with a decentralization of curriculum work, has presented school leaders with new and difficult challenges to be solved at the local level (Uljens et al., 2013). Recently, scholars have found and described loose coupling between institutions and school organizations related to the growth of neoliberal policy in education (Blossing et al., 2014). ​ ​ Our analysis illustrates how educational leaders work toward inclusive education aimed at children in socially exposed K–8 schools via their local management entrepreneurship (Mole & Ram, 2011). While expectations for the school to be a democratic and inclusive arena, ensuring freedom and subjectivation for children of all social standings are built into educational policy, local authorities and schools often must bridge the gap between different expectations on teaching and schools. There are possible solutions that can be employed locally that could counteract some of the issues that arise with segregated school districts and children at risk of marginalization. However, counteracting marginalization by local measures is a complex task that goes beyond normative ideas on the manifest function of education. The results highlight the issue of inequality in education, which is deeply rooted in the Nordic welfare models. It demonstrates the importance of management to meet the needs of children and their families, as well as the complexity of ensuring equity in education.