ABSTRACT
The 'Nordic countries' are often perceived as a homogeneous unit of geographically close and politically and economically stable countries that share social democratic values rooted in a shared history and culture. While this is not wrong, it ignores significant political, economic and geographical differences that make it misleading. This chapter discusses some of their qualities and how they relate to early literacy education. These countries' policies and practices are then addressed, with a contrastive view on Norway and Finland. The chapter concerns about future resources in the increasingly complex and multicultural learning communities of the Nordic preschools and schools. Historically, two factors have impacted on Nordic identity and values, and more indirectly early literacy education. Analysts of the systematically positive Finnish educational results underscore that they cannot be attributed to one factor alone; it is the totality of factors in combination that constitute the Finnish educational system.
