ABSTRACT
The area of Scandinavia refers to the three North European countries of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, which in many ways have a shared history and relatively similar development of welfare societies, where education plays a central role. In the development of higher education in Scandinavia there are different perspectives on education at play. One perspective sees education as a 'public good' that benefits society and therefore should be free and accessible for all students who qualify to be admitted. According to this perspective, one of the main purposes of higher education is to add value to all students, so they can contribute to society. Another perspective sees education as mainly an individual investment, and therefore students should pay for attending their education. According to this perspective, one of the main purposes of higher education is instead to select the best among the students, in order to sharpen their market value.
