Introduction: Student Achievement and Equity Over Time in the Nordic Countries

This chapter introduces the importance of promoting fair, effective, and equitable teacher practice for both individual students and society in general. It presents the rationale, aims, and organizational structure of the book. The chapter provides an overview of the similarities and differences across the Nordic welfare states, focusing on aspects such as population composition, student characteristics, and student performance in mathematics and science to offer a backdrop for policymaking aimed at enhancing effective and equitable teacher practices. The main argument of this chapter, and indeed the entire book, revolves around the necessity of evaluating teacher practices by investigating their contribution not only to student learning outcomes (effectiveness) but also their potential in reducing the gaps in educational outcomes among students with diverse backgrounds (equity), including gender, socioeconomic status, and home language. This approach to evaluating teacher practice holds substantial relevance for the development of educational policy and practice.