” Det bästa blir det normala ”

Sammanfattning: This essay examines the core ideas behind the Swedish private school reform 1992, to test the New Public Management theory as explanation for the reform. In contrast to the historical analysis, the essay also examines contemporary discourse to compare ideas. The method used is the discourse method for idea analysis as well as a source-critical approach. I the empirical analysis presents the argument that private school reform was legitimized based on demands for savings in the public sector at a time when Sweden was facing financial crisis. Secondly, today’s increased regulatory governance and centralization is based on conclusions about unequal education and segregation, partly because of migration crisis and segregated schools. Conclusion, society and its challenges are not only visible in the education system, they are concentrated and reinforced. At the same time, political reality must be complemented by administrative theory. New Public Management has strengthened the tendencies of decentralization, management by objectives and the opening of private schools in Swedish welfare.