Soft privatization in the Norwegian school: cooperation between public government and private consultancies in developing ‘failing’ schools

Abstract

Even though Norway is one of the Nordic countries that has been hesitant when it comes to implementing privatization policies, the influence of market-led reforms has facilitated an educational landscape where private companies increasingly serve public education. In this article, the interrelation between marketization and privatization is analysed as a process of soft privatization. Focusing on a school development project in Oslo, soft privatization is investigated in relation to how the public authorities actively facilitate private participation. This is especially related to how the framing of educational problems within a market-led context serves private interests and public-private cooperation. While arguing that marketization facilitates private-sector participation, the article also suggests that private actors reinforce the ideas that constitute the premises for their participation, thus confirming public policies. A consequence of this is not only a situation where market-led policies facilitate private-sector participation, but a situation where the two reinforce each other and where public and private actors develop mutual dependency.