Mellem test og dannelse

This article investigates how some teachers in the Danish Folkeskole experience the influence of political and legal change in their work.The study is based upon accounts from three teachers, an educational councilor, and a consultant to the governmental Danish Agency for Education and Quality.The teachers generally agree upon the most central aspect of what the school should do: ensure that the students can cooperate with other people and thrive in society.However, an increased emphasis on test results and more competition between schools nationally and internationally in accordance with New Public Management rationalities has influenced Folkeskolen since the 1990s.The article employs the ethnological State Form and Life-Mode theory in order to help investigate the different teachers' motivations to do their job.The article concludes that competition might not impede social and democratic education, but that the balance between the two is causing concerns among teachers, and thus points out that the Danish authorities should be more aware of what teachers regard as 'the good school' to maintain teacher job satisfaction and the stability of the school in the future.