Homeschooling, which can be defined as “the practice of families choosing to wholly or partly educate their children in settings other than schools” (Myers, 2020, p. 212), is profoundly restricted in Sweden, but to different degrees permitted in all other Nordic countries (Eurydice, 2018). It is therefore reasonable to assume that the very meaning of ‘the right to education’ have come to stand for different things in the different countries, with potential consequences for the relationship between families, schools and the state across the different nations. National configurations of the relation between families, schools, and the state have consequences for individual citizens in each Nordic state. 

In this paper we argue that there is a need for clarifying the meaning of education in relation to homeschooling in a Nordic context, that can bring about a more nuanced and precise language to talk about the right to education. We use different philosophical perspectives on education, as well as educational policy on homeschooling in Sweden and Finland to discuss different understandings of the right to education in the Nordics.  

Essential for developing a more nuanced and precise language to talk about the right to education is the insight that the right to education can be approached in different ways and is relevant from the perspective of various fields such as law, ethics, and history, as well as political science and sociology among others.  

From a pedagogical and philosophy of education perspective, the question of how education should be understood becomes central in the talk about the right to education (see e.g. Dewey’s ‘education as growth’, Peters’ ‘education as initiation’, Illich’s ‘deschooling’, Curren’s ‘initiation into practices that express human flourishing’ and Masschelein’s & Simons’ ‘defence of the school’). Despite this, there has been little discussion of the notion of education underpinning this right. Therefore, a more considerable attention needs to be given not just to the implementation of the right, but also to its conceptualization (McCowan, 2010 & 2012). How can we understand the right to education in relation to pedagogical relations, upbringing, Bildung, schooling and learning goals?

 On the one hand, education is often considered synonymous with schooling, and it is easy to miss both the complexity of a student's school experience and a broader understanding of how the concept of education can be understood (McCowan, 2012). In most parts of the world, schools are seen as natural, self-evident and inevitable (Papastephanou, 2014) and in Sweden, public schooling under a national curriculum is compulsory for all children.  

On the other hand, education is also often understood as reaching some specified learning goals. In the Finnish context, the obligation to learn means that instead of participating in the teaching organized through official schools, a person can acquire knowledge equivalent to the basic education by, for example, studying at home. This is referred to as “hemundervisning” (["home teaching"] i.e. homeschooling). However, the focus is on learning outcomes and knowledge goals rather than on the pedagogical process itself.