Education in Norway
Education in Norway is mandatory for all children aged from 6 to 16. Schools are typically divided into two divisions: primary and lower secondary schooling. The majority of schools in Norway are municipal, where local governments fund and manage administration. Primary and lower secondary schools are available free of charge for all Norwegian citizens as a given right.
When primary and lower secondary education is completed, upper secondary schooling is entitled to students for enrollment, which prepares students for higher education or vocational studies.
The school year in Norway runs from mid-August to late June the following year. The Christmas holiday from mid-December to early January historically divides the Norwegian school year into two terms. Presently, the second term begins in January.
History of education in Norway
Organized education in Norway dates as far back as 2000 B.C. Shortly after Norway became an archdiocese in 1153, cathedral schools were constructed to educate priests in Trondheim, Oslo, Bergen and Hamar.After the Reformation of Norway in 1537, following the unification with Denmark in 1536, cathedral schools were turned into Latin schools, and it was made mandatory for all market towns to have such a school.
In 1736 training in reading was made compulsory for all children, but was not effective until some years later, when ambulatory schools were also established. In 1827, Norway introduced the folkeskole, a primary school which became mandatory for seven years in 1889 and nine years in 1969. In the 1970s and 1980s, the folkeskole was abolished, and the grunnskole was introduced.
Traditionally poorer counties like Finnmark and Hedmark have the highest shares of inhabitants who only have completed not compulsory primary education, with numbers as high as 38%.
Under the Independent Schools Act of 2003, private schooling in Norway has become available. However, very few such schools exist in comparison to Norwegian public schools. Private schools must be founded upon a curriculum used and recognized internationally or an alternative approach to teaching – either religious or pedagogical. These schools must be approved by the government and are heavily grant-aided, and cannot select students based on subjectivity, such as skill or intelligence.
Education today
The Norwegian school system can be divided into three parts: elementary school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school. The barneskole and ungdomsskole levels are compulsory, and are commonly referred to as grunnskole.Elementary and lower secondary school are mandatory for all children aged 6–16. Before 1997, mandatory education in Norway started at the age of 7. Students often have to change schools when they enter lower secondary school and almost always have to change schools when they enter upper secondary school, as many schools only offer one of the levels.
While not compulsory, "camp school" stays are authorised in Section 2-3 of the Education Act and are defined as "training at a staffed camp school or other activity such as excursions or trips that are part of primary and secondary education with at least three consecutive nights".
Primary school ('''', grades 1–7, ages 6–12)
In the first year of primary school, students spend most of their time playing educational games and learning social structures, the alphabet, basic addition and subtraction, and basic English skills. In grades 2–7, they are introduced to mathematics, English, science, religion, aesthetics, and music, complemented by geography, history, and social studies in the fifth grade. No official grades are given at this level. However, the teacher often writes a comment, analysis, and sometimes an unofficial grade on tests. Tests are to be taken home and shown to parents. There is also an introductory test to let the teacher know if the student is above average or is in need of some assistance at school.Lower secondary school ('''', grades 8–10, ages 13–16)
When the students enter lower secondary school, at age 12 or 13, they begin being graded on their work. Their grades together with their location in the country will determine whether they get accepted to their upper secondary school of choice or not. From eighth grade, students can choose one elective and one language. Typical offered languages are German, French, and Spanish as well as additional English and Norwegian studies. Before the educational reform of August 2006, students could choose a practical elective instead of the languages. Teens born in 1999 and later could once again choose a practical elective known as or career studies upon starting lower secondary school, thus getting the option to choose two electives. The electives vary significantly between schools, even in the same municipality.A student may take the grade 10 exam in a particular subject early as long as he or she has been granted an exemption from further instruction in the elementary/middle school curriculum of that subject.
In 2009, Norwegian fifteen-year-olds performed better in OECDs Programme for International Student Assessment than other Scandinavian countries, with significant improvement since 2006. In mathematics; however, the top 10% were estimated to lag three years behind the top-scoring students in Shanghai.
Criticism has come from Sanna Sarromaa, a sociologist who has taught at Lower secondary level : "One always waits for the slowest and" most stupid "; furthermore, she says that the parents must "provide all basic knowledge".
Upper secondary school ('''', grades VG1–VG3, ages 16–19)
in Norway is primarily based on public schools: In 2007, 93% of upper secondary school students attended public schools.Until 2005, Norwegian law held private secondary schools to be illegal unless they offered a "religious or pedagogic alternative", so the only private schools in existence were religious, Steiner/Waldorf, Montessori schools, and. The first "standard" private upper secondary schools opened in the fall of 2005.
Videregående is the equivalent to high school.
As of 2017, graduation from videregående skole was at 73%.
Prior to 1994, there were three branches of upper secondary schooling: general, mercantile, and vocational studies. The high school reform of 1994 merged these branches into a single system. Among the goals of the reform was that all students should have a certain amount of general studies large enough to make them eligible for higher education later, meaning more theory in vocational studies, and that it should be possible to cross over from one education path to another without losing too much credit. In the old system, two years of carpentry would be wasted if one wanted to switch to general studies, but in the new system one could keep credit for at least half of it.
Since the introduction of the reform Kunnskapsløftet in the fall of 2006, a student can apply for a general studies or a vocational studies path. Inside these main paths, there are many sub-paths to follow. An upper secondary school usually offers general and vocational curriculum. Vocational studies usually follow a typical structure named the "2+2 model": after two years of school training, the student does an apprenticeship for two years in an enterprise or a public institution. The apprenticeship is divided into one year of training and one year of practical work. Some vocational curricula are nonetheless entirely school-based, and others include three years of apprenticeship instead of two.
The new reform makes the incorporation of IT into the schooling mandatory, and many counties offer laptops to general studies students for free or for a small fee. Kunnskapsløftet also makes it harder to switch between electives that are taken in the second and third year in the general studies path.
Students graduating upper secondary school are called Russefeiring in Norwegian. They often celebrate with parties and festivities, which are held a few weeks before the final examinations of the final year.
Educators in Norwegian schools
The titles of educators in Norwegian schools vary with the degrees they have.- Preschool teacher : These teachers are primarily employed in kindergartens and the first four grades of primary school. To become a preschool teacher in Norway, a bachelor's degree from a university college is required.
- Adjunct teacher : These teachers primarily work between the 5th and 10th grades of lower secondary school, but some are also employed in high schools, usually in minor subjects. To become an adjunct requires a bachelor's degree in a particular subject from a university or university college. Many adjuncts have studied other courses at a lower level, which they teach as a secondary subject. In addition, a one-year course in pedagogy is required.
- Lecturer : Lecturers work in upper secondary school and high schools, from 8th grade up to the third year of high school. Lecturers have a master's degree from a university, along with a pedagogy course. Lecturers usually have a more academic approach to teaching than other teachers.
Higher education
Where there are more applicants than students admitted, applicants are ranked based on their grades from upper secondary school. To gain access to studies commonly requiring a high GPA, like medicine, law and engineering, many students re-sit their upper secondary school examinations to improve their grades.
Higher education is broadly divided into:
- Universities, which concentrate on theoretical subjects, supply bachelor, master and PhD titles. Universities also run a number of professional studies including law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and psychology. However, these are generally separate departments that have little to do with the rest of the university institution. Universities can offer their own curricula at any level without external accreditation.
- University colleges, which supply a wide range of educational choices, including university degrees at bachelor, master and PhD levels, engineering degrees and professional vocations like teacher and nurse. University colleges are required to obtain accreditation from NOKUT for study programmes at the master's and PhD level. The grade system is the same as it is for universities.
- Private schools, which tend to specialize in popular subjects with limited capacity in public schools, such as business management, marketing or fine arts. Private schools are not common, although the fraction of students attending private schools is 10% in higher education, compared to 4% in secondary and 1.5% in primary education.