Iceland: Challenges in educational governance in Iceland: The establishment and role of the national agency in education

The chapter sets out to explore development in educational policies in Iceland, especially changes in governance during the last 20 years and the establishment and role of the national agency, i.e. the Directorate of Education. Furthermore, it looks into who the main players in the field are and sheds light on the major challenges that affect educational governance in Iceland. The governance of education is organized on state and municipal level. The state is politically and legally responsible for the school system, but municipalities operate preschools and compulsory schools. Although rooted in Nordic model of education, neo-liberal emphasises in policies, together with instability in educational governance, have ruffled the educational system. Part of this is also public debate concerning the establishment, actions and purpose of the new Directorate that needs to gain trust from the school level. Its main challenges are to unite the educational field around a robust education policy. For that purpose, the state level must take more responsibility to support the work of the local and school level.