From an industrial to a post-industrial society: changing conceptions of equality in education

The paper studies the change that happened in the ethos of educational politics in Finland from the 1960s to 1990s. In the 1960s, the comprehensive school reform was carried out under the auspices of the welfare State ideology. School was seen as an instrument of social justice, and education was expected to be socially inclusive and ensure an equal educational opportunity for all young people. The role of State as the equaliser of opportunity was considered crucial. Since the 1980s, with the coming of the post-industrial society, the new middle classes, with their individualistic aspirations appeared. At the same time, neo-liberalist economics affected the public services, advocating competition instead of regulation and individual opportunity instead of equal opportunity. The industrialists appeared as a new agent of educational reform. School legislation was changed towards the rules of market. However, a deep economic depression of the early 1990s shook the social and ideological scene and made civil society defend the common school. The historical significance of the idea of educational equality was recognised, and education as a public good maintained.