New Public Management in Educational Reform in Norway

The article focuses on the similarities and differences in using new public management (NPM) administrative arrangements in educational policy as they have been presented in the educational reform process carried out this millennium by two governments in Norway: the Centre-Conservative government and the current Red-Green coalition government. First, key elements in the reform process are identified. The methods applied are selective studies of documents and speeches by policy actors (ministers), and an examination of the implemented policy. Personal communication with the Ministry of Education's Communication Centre and the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training has provided some additional information. The findings are that there is an overall consensus on the primacy of economic values (at the level of ideas), management by output control, explicit standards, a test system (implemented at the policy level) and an accountability system (implemented at the policy level). Consensus between the two governments on these new institutional arrangements in education seems to be the major trend. However, disagreements over new free/private schools and markets in education are important. It is concluded that there are two versions of NPM policies present - a liberal one advocated by the Centre-Conservative government and a communitarian version advocated by the Red-Green government - and that the major consensus trend between the governments may imply steps towards an ideological hegemony of ideas related to the NPM tradition.