The Popularity of Establishing Private Schools in Norway - Essay Example

Popularity of Establishing Private Schools in Norway I. Introduction Norway is a thinly populated country of 4.5 million population spreading over 120,000 square miles. As an independent nation, the nature of the country’s education system is directly related to its historical development. In particular, the country’s schools system is dominated by the Norwegian concept of comprehensive school for all. Such ideology, according to Lauglo (1998), conceives of education as something that promotes equal rights among social groups, while also helping to unify the national culture. In Norway, historically, local communities have had a strong influence on education policies concerning both the content of teaching and the management of schools (Darnell & Hoem, 1996; Lauglo, 1998). Operating parallel to this decentralized process, however, has been the states effort to exert more management and control over the schools in order to protect a democratic popular education. Such control is considered necessary for maintaining equality in education. In 1997, Norway developed a new national curriculum plan for primary and lower secondary schools. The 343-page plan (Laereplanen, 1997) is ideologically based on nationalism, is oriented both to children and to the community, and focuses on projecting methods and integrative strategies for teaching. The plan also stresses subject knowledge and explains, in detail, "what should be learned." Today, not only public schools but also private schools receive almost all of their funding from the state, and they must follow an overall state policy for education. The vast majority of students attend public schools. At the university and college level, only about 10 percent of students attend private institutions. At the upper secondary level, 4 percent are in private education. More than 98 percent of primary and lower secondary education students attend public state schools. Only a very few children are home schooled. For all intents and purposes, the state has a say in almost all school matters in Norway, and its reach is extending toward such alternative education methods as home schooling. Background Private Schools As a result of the special geography and history of Norway, there is no historically rooted national upper class. While some children have learned from private tutors, or at Christian schools or other private schools, Norway does not have a strong tradition of private, upper-class schools. Some alternative schools at the primary and lower secondary levels were established by special interest groups for religious or other ideological reasons. Teaching in the state schools has long been based on the state religion of the Lutheran church. Religious hegemony in the country has been decreasing, however. Christian groups and others have pressed for the establishment of private schools that are based on more secular issues such as parents rights and human rights, as outlined in international conventions (Habermas, 1995; United Nations, 1948; UNESCO, 1960; Vestre, 1999). After a long political conflict, a law establishing private schools was passed in 1970 and renewed in 1985 (Privatskoleloven, 1985). Alternative schools, including those based on a different religion, now were allowed, and they could receive financial support from the state, at a rate of 85 percent of the cost for a state school pupil. Up until the late 1980s, however, only Christian and Rudolf Steiner schools were sanctioned. Some years later, Montessori schools were permitted. Today, Norway has 28 Rudolf Steiner schools, approximately 40 Christian schools, and 8 Montessori schools as alternatives to the 3,200 Norwegian public state schools. The first Muslim school is expected to open soon. Private schools tend to specialize in subjects not offered by public schools, like business economics (microeconomics), marketing and MBAs. Again, private schools do not loom large on the horizon, although the fraction of students attending private schools is a whooping 10 percent in higher education, compared to 4 percent in secondary and 1.5 percent in primary education. Grades varies between schools, but many private schools compete on the international market, or hope that their students will, so business education schools tend to use the US system (A-D and F, F is fail). All public education in Norway, up to and including university levels, is free. From secondary school upwards, students buy their own books and pay for materials used, but there is no tuition fee. The "unity school" system was organized in 1935 and operated until the invasion of Norway in April 1940, and is being re-established at the present time. The elementary school is the foundation of all further education. The leaving certificate from the elementary school is a requisite to all types of advanced schools. The elementary school, which is named "Peoples School," is a free and compulsory school and attended by all children. The course of the elementary school is 7 years in length. Continuation schools are public and governed by the local authorities. They are either optional or compulsory in attendance, depending upon the decision of the local authorities. In municipalities where attendance in continuation schools is compulsory, the school-leaving age is raised to 15 years. The usual course of the continuation school is for 1 year, although there are also courses of 2 and 3 years. Youth schools are of three groups: Folk High Schools (privately owned); Christian Youth Schools (privately owned); and County Schools. These schools, chiefly for persons who are 17 years of age or older, offer courses about 2 years in length. Trade schools provide for vocational training. Some are public and some are privately owned and controlled. The state and the municipalities grant scholarships for pupils to study in both the public and in the private schools. The secondary schools are of two kinds: (a) the gymnasium, which prepares pupils for matriculation in the universities; and (b) the realskole, which offers a general education and also prepares the pupils for matriculation in other kinds of schools. The first two years of the gymnasium and the realskole have the same curriculum in order to make it possible for pupils to pass from one school to the other. The gymnasium course is 5 years in length and the realskole (modern school) is 3 years in length.In addition to the 5-year gymnasium and the 3-year realskole, there are a 4-year gymnasium and a 2-year realskole to which pupils can be admitted only after having attended a year or 2-year course at a continuation or a youth school.The final examinations of the secondary schools are public and are the same throughout the country. They are organized by a special Council of Secondary Education. The eksamen artium (matriculation examination) is normally taken at the age of 19, and the realskoleeksamen is usually taken at the age of 17.The teachers of the elementary, the continuation, and the youth schools are trained at the special teacher-training colleges. These colleges require a special entrance examination for matriculation in the 4-year course and the minimum age limit for entrance is 17; age limit for entrance into the 2-year course is 19.The teachers of the secondary schools receive their training at a university. The course required is from 4 to 7 years in length. Higher Education The oldest full university of Norway is located at Oslo. There is a new university at Bergen (nucleus of which is the Bergen Museum). Other institutions of higher education in Norway are an agricultural college at Aas, a veterinary college at Oslo, a technical university in Trondheim, a college for dental surgery in Oslo, and a commercial school in Bergen. Also, there is a "Congregational Faculty" ( College of Theology) in Oslo, a private degree-granting institution which, in accordance with the orthodox Lutheran faith, trains students of theology to become clergymen of the state church.Foreign students wishing to study in Norway receive permission to matriculate in the universities if they are qualified for admission to universities of high standing in their own country, through the Collegium Academicum, which may also grant exemption to foreign students from the qualifying examinations.A Norwegian agency for cultural interchanges with the United States is the NorgeAmerika Foreningen, Roald Amundsensgate 1, Oslo, with Tordis Jarl Johnsen as secretary. Information regarding education in Norway may also be had from the Royal Norwegian Information Service, 3516 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington 7, D.C., and from the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., 80 Broad Street, New York 4, N.Y. Education in Norway In Norway, education is mandatory for all children aged 6-16. Before 1997, the mandatory education in Norway started at the age of 7. The school year in Norway runs from late August to mid June the coming year. The Christmas holiday from mid December to early January divides the Norwegian school year into two terms. The Norwegian school system can be divided into three parts: primary school ("barneskole", age 6-13), lower secondary school ("ungdomsskole", age 13-16), upper secondary school or high school ("videregående skole", age 16-19). The principles of compulsory education for all children were set up by a governmental decree in 1739. At the present time the compulsory school age is from 6 to 14. High school is 3 years of optional schooling, although recent changes to society (no jobs for 16-years olds) and law (government required by law of 1994 to offer secondary schooling in one form or another to everyone between 16 and 18 who submits the application form) has made it largely unavoidable in practice. Secondary education in Norway is primarily based on public schools, attended by 96% of the students. Until 2005, Norwegian law held private secondary schools to be illegal unless they offered a religious or pedagogic alternative, meaning that the only private schools in existence were religious (Christian), Steiner/Waldorf and Montessori schools. The first standard private High schools in Norway opened in the fall of 2005. After the election in the fall of 2005, that lead to a change of government to a socialdemocratic government, the private schools have been criticized by the minister of education (Kunnskapsministeren) Øystein Kåre Djupedal (Socialistic left). Since the High school reform of 1994 (Reform 94), the branches have been merged into a single system. Among the goals of the reform was that a) everybody should get a dosis of general studies large enough to make them eligible for higher education later, meaning more theory in professional studies, and b) it should be possible to cross over from one education path to another without losing too much credit. In the old system your two years of carpentry would be wasted if you wanted to switch to general studies, in the new system you would keep credit for at least half of it. There exists public and private offers for adults (20+) that want secondary education or want to improve their grades before appying for higher education. Fall 2006 a new reform Kunnskapsløftet (Two meanings: Knowledge lift + Knowledge promiss) was started. A student will apply for a General education (Studiespesialisering) or a Proffessional Studies (Yrkesfag) path. Inside these paths there are many other paths to follow. The new reform makes the incorporation of IT into the schooling mandetory, many countied (responsible for the public High Schools) offers laptops to General Studies students. Kunnskapsløftet makes it harder to switch betweens electives that you take in 2nd and 3rd year in the general studies path. State-Controlled School System The majority of schools in Norway are under the administration of the Ministry of Church and Education. Some of the vocational schools are under the administration of their respective ministries, e.g., the commercial and the seamens schools are under the Ministry of Commerce; the agricultural and the domestic science schools are under the Ministry of Agriculture; and the various kinds of military schools are under the Ministry of Defense. A strong, state-controlled school system has been the norm during Norway’s relatively short existence as an autonomous national state. A 1998 Organization for Economical and Cultural Development (OECD) report determined Norway and Turkey to be the most centralized countries in the OECD area. The OECD report specifically expressed concern that these countries education systems erode religious freedom, and it highlighted the fact that most decisions in school matters are made at centralized, rather than local, administrative levels (OECD, 1998). It must be added that almost 100 percent of teachers receive training in state teacher training colleges. In general, research and evaluation in schools are initiated and financed by the state. Profits from the oil trade have made Norway a rich nation that can afford to fund an expensive system of school administrators, teachers, and special education programs. Although many countries would envy this situation, in Norway, the result is a large bureaucracy, with many regulations and central control. Today, the pressure from Norwegian parents for more liberal school laws and more alternative education possibilities is increasing and strong. More freedom in education is a "hot" national political issue. Consequently, the politics of education and public discussion have developed along the following lines: Family and school. The dissolution of the family (because of divorce and societal changes) has created new education challenges for schools, which are being asked to provide more direction in terms of acculturating and socializing Norwegian children. These areas once were the domain of parents, and many dislike schools assuming such control. Globalization. Large-scale migration, and increased levels of communication brought about by the Internet and advances in information technology, have increased the globalization of knowledge. The universal availability of knowledge--independent of ethnicity, culture, and nation--is closer than ever. Therefore, it appears questionable to center curriculum on a national culture; global knowledge would be more relevant. The Welfare State. Norway has achieved some success in using state education policies to remove gender differences and the disparities between rural and urban areas. It has not, however, been as successful in terms of removing the differences between social classes. In spite of modernization and a resulting higher level of education for the working class, economic and other social inequalities have expanded in recent years. It seems reasonable to handle social inequality in a more direct manner, and to direct education policies toward more clear-cut goals. The Multicultural Society. Large-scale migration and global mobility have affected nearly every country, including Norway (Darnell & Hoem, 1996). Issues of discrimination are bound to arise in countries where the state, the church, and education are closely entwined. In Norway, Muslims, atheists, and Christian groups want to protect their freedom by running their own schools, or by choosing home schooling. Maintaining religious education in schools mostly oriented to the Lutheran church, without the freedom of and full access to an alternative religious education, seems problematic. The Postmodern Situation. An open society calls for greater individual choice in education. Strong national control over education can impinge upon human rights and thwart knowledge acquisition. Freedom in choice of education needs to be encouraged. Norway does not have enough viable alternative educational opportunities to meet the demands of the future. The private school law should be changed to allow more possibilities for free schools and parental choice. Central issues in education will always challenge the balance between community rules and personal freedom (Bauman, 1997; Giddens, 1991; Habermas, 1995; MacIntyre, 1995). Without an effort toward preserving a sense of community, societies can fall apart. On the other hand, too much community, in terms of national control and administration, weakens the personal initiative to pursue knowledge. Modern countries often put too much faith in state control of education. On the other hand, without such control, education could collapse. Although large-scale private financial support of education may not be feasible, parents should retain the choice in deciding what type of school is best for their children. State support is necessary to finance education, to make and administer education regulations, and to set minimum education standards. After that point, however, good education is based on personal choice, local control, and open communication. Works Cited Bauman, Z. Postmodernity and its discontents. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press, 1997. Darnell, F., & Hoem, A. Taken to extremes --Education in the far north. Oslo - Boston: Scandinavian University Press, 1996. Giddens, A. Modernity and social identity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991. Habermas, J. ‘Struggles for recognition in the democratic constitutional state’. In A. Gutman (Ed.), Multiculturialism. Examining the politics of recognition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 107-147, 1995. Lauglo, J. ‘Populism and education in Norway’. In A. Tjeldvoll (Ed.), Education and the Scandinavian welfare state in Year 2000. New York: Garland, pp. 25-26, 1998. Laereplanen. (The national curriculum plan in Norway, 1997) MacIntyre, A. Communitarianism and its critics--D. Bell. Radical Philosophy, p. 70, 1995. UNESCO. Konvensjon: Overenskomst mot diskriminering i undervisning, 1960. United Nations. Convention for economical, social and cultural rights, and convention for civil and political rights, December 16, 1966. Vestre, S. E. Foreldrerett og brukerorientering. In D. Bredal (Ed.), Frihetens kar 1999. Oslo: Liberalt forskningsinstitutt, pp. 118-128, 1999. Read More