School and education
Ensuring access to good schools and courses of education is a core assignment for the welfare state. Together with those in the other Nordic countries, the Danish welfare state is categorised as belonging to the group of “universal welfare states”, which provide equal access to public sector services for all citizens. A key aspect in this context is free and equal access to schools and education. Such free and equal access goes a long way to explaining the success of the Danish welfare state in generating prosperity and a relatively low degree of inequality.
On account of the high significance accorded to schools and education, the area attracts a great deal of political attention regarding the structure of the schooling and education system, as well as resource consumption within the system. Some of the core issues with regard to schools include whether the pupils obtain a satisfactory level of academic skills, and the level of well-being they enjoy in their everyday lives. Another important question is whether the school is sufficiently successful in breaking the cycle of social inheritance.
With regard to the education system, other key questions centre on how to ensure that as many people as possible receive an education, the extent to which the education system provides young people with the skills they need on the labour market, and whether the system has the capacity to take care of groups facing special challenges – children of immigrants and marginalised young people, for example.
Here at the ROCKWOOL Foundation, we work with a wide cross-section of the problem issues that exist in relation to obtaining a robust schooling and education system. The school constitutes a hub in the lives of most children: not only does it play a central role in the life and well-being of the individual family, but it also has a decisive impact on children’s lives after they leave school.
Latest releases on school and education

Research
Comment
Admission requirements for upper secondary education and admission to vocational education
May 2023

Research
Research report
Maximum Impact Intergenerational Associations
April 2023

Research
Knowledge overview
“Early investments” in children are not always timely
April 2023

Research
Podcast
Wealth and inequality in Denmark
April 2023
Employees who are particularly involved in school and education
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