Privatization of Early Childhood Education and Care in Nordic Countries

This book explores the increasing role of private providers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) as they become a core part of the Nordic welfare model-one that once rejected for-profit involvement in public welfare. Within this context, ECEC has become the key battleground over private providers' role in the welfare system. Chapters compare five Nordic countries: Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, to discuss possible benefits from having different types of providers-public, nonprofit, and for-profit-in the welfare mix. To conclude, the authors also provide a comparative perspective on governance of the ECEC sector and on the development and functions of the Nordic welfare model.

Håkon Solbu Trætteberg is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research, Norway. His main research interest is in public welfare services and their organization, as well as how citizens experience them.
Karl Henrik Sivesind is Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, Norway. He has project managed multiple projects for the Norwegian Research Council. His previous books include Promoting Active Citizenship: Markets and Choices in Scandinavian Welfare (2017), Civil Society in Comparative Perspective (2009), Management in Scandinavia: Culture, Context and Change (2004).

Maiju Paananen is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Tampere University, Finland. She co-leads Child politics in Early Childhood research group. Her research focuses on early childhood education policies, politics and governance.

Steinunn Hrafnsdóttir is Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland. Her research includes third-sector organizations and volunteering, social enterprises and ecosystems, social innovation and administration, and the working environment of welfare organizations.