Between populism and professionalism – Some main challenges for Nordic Schooling in the long 20th Century In the modern educational history of the nordic countries one can see a pattern of earlier and more extended unified schooling than in most other parts of Europe. This long lasting strive for unified schooling can be related to strong populist democratic forces in the 19th century and be seen as part of the more general development of a Nordic universal welfare state model from the 1930s to the 1970s. Two long waves of systematization are central in this historical process. Through the first of these a comprehensive system of general education is established. Already from the last decade of 19th century to the two first decades of 20th century general reforms had led to a vertically integrated system of general education. From the 1950s to the 1970s a mass education system took shape in all Nordic countries based on a combination of common basic schooling in combination with fast expansion and comprehensive reorganization of the upper secondary level and a change from elite to mass education on the tertiary level. This early development of unified schooling have meant that callenges and conflicts originating from the growth of mass education from the 1970s and onwards might be analysed more thoroughly combining perspectives from different historical research approaches. The aim of the paper is to discuss the possibilities for further comparative historical research on common schooling in the Nordic countries and the contribution of historical comparisons to the understanding of contemporary educational challenges.

The aim of the paper is to discuss the possibilities for further comparative historical research on common schooling in the Nordic countries and the contribution of historical comparisons to the understanding of contemporary educational challenges.