OCTOPUS in EDUCATION: new models of welfare – new demands on the teachers' profession

In the Nordic countries the Welfare State has a broad political base, but the meaning given the concept of welfare appears to be changing. The welfare state is not only talked about in terms of common responsibilities towards citizens in need of help or as a duty to protect citizenship and civic rights. Welfare is also talked about as a “service” directed to the individual and as an investment to insure the best possible development of national competitiveness in a global world. This transformation or displacement brings new demands on the knowledge and competence professionals need to be able to manage their daily work.

Drawing on empirical examples from research projects looking into everyday school work in Pre-school, Elementary school and Secondary school in Denmark and Sweden this study claims that the welfare state transformation introduces fields of tensions that teachers have to cope with. In this context raise new questions of professionalization understood as building up new bases of knowledge, developing new strategies for work organisation and time management and creating new spaces for ethical or democratic reflections.

The paper draws on empirical examples from 4 research projects studying teachers work in Pre-school, Primary School and Secondary school in Denmark and Sweden.