Íslenska þjóðfélagið: The Icelandic Society (Dec 2011)
Áhrif nýfrjálshyggju á íslenskt leikskólastarf
Abstract
For the last decades neo-liberalism has been growing as a political ideology, globally as well as nationally. In Iceland the manifestation of neo-liberalism is mostly noticeable in discourses related to deregulation, accountability, choice, and privatization, both in the school system as well as in wider society. The aim of the article is to explore the influence of neo-liberalism on the Icelandic preschool system. Among influential forces in Icelandic society is the Iceland Chamber of Commerce which published a futuristic vision of, among other things, how to run the preschool system. Those ideas will be scrutinized especially in connection with the development of the legal frame for preschool as well as public discourses. The conclusion is that neo-liberal influences have become rather obvious on the preschool´s public structure. The neo-liberal ideology has been a constructive force as is apparent in the new act of law on preschools from 2008 and how they have been implemented.
