In 2008 two events had considerable impact on the school system in Iceland with possible effect on education professionals and their professionalism. Legislation (no. 92/2008) was passed and the Icelandic financial and economic system collapsed. The collapse and subsequent financial difficulties had a huge effect on all levels of the society. In a nine-volume report from the Parliament is the domino effect of the crisis described, from the banks to the public institutions, companies and homes followed by financial and psychosocial effects on the whole community (Hreinsson et al., 2010).

The research aim is to map out how the economic crisis and the influences of the legislation and the national curriculum have affected the upper secondary school level and education professionals in Iceland. The main research question is: What characterizes the impact of the economic crisis on the curriculum implementation? The sub questions are: How has the financial landscape changed at the school level? Has students’ and teachers’ number, combination and class sizes changed during the crisis and does it affect the quality of teaching and learning? What characterizes the demands that the legislation and the curriculum have placed upon schools?  Have the crisis and the curriculum changes affected educators work, working environment and wellbeing? How does social tension between stakeholders appear? How did the crisis impact the implementation of the legislation?

The paper brings together two types of literature: On work health and wellbeing, and on curriculum reform, educational change, and school development. The former strand relates to researching the working environment in the aftermath of the crisis. Stress is often the consequence of a crisis and is defined as an experience of events that threaten the physical, social and mental wellbeing of individuals (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2007; Riggio, 2003). The working environment, communication at work and the working arrangement have direct and indirect impact on workers’ wellbeing (Sveinsdóttir et al., 2003). These factors will be evaluated at the upper secondary level among educators and stakeholders in parallel with important economic facts and statistics.

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