Similarly financed - similarly evaluated? - Opinions about privatised school systems in Sweden and Belgium

Both Sweden and Belgium have introduced a liberalised school system, with private schools financed by the public sector. Since this is a relatively uncommon arrangement, our study investigates if public opinions of these systems are now similar in each country. The Belgian system was introduced to guarantee religious freedom in the provision of education, while its Swedish equivalent was promised to improve school results through increased competition. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of texts from different thinktanks in each country. Our material was classified according to a theoretical framework which contrasted different motives for liberalisation. This framework was also modified to specifically account for the arguments about competition and religion which were prominent in these cases. Our findings suggest persistent differences in educational ideologies between Belgium and Sweden. Religious involvement was more controversial in Belgium, while economic incentives were highly contested in Sweden. Such differences in discourse might be explained by the apparent dominance of Catholic schools in Belgium, and profit-maximising school owners in Sweden. Some similarities were also apparent, regarding debate about segregation and social mobility. A larger study could treat a larger selection of sources, enabling results more appropriate for generalisation.