The educational system of Denmark

Title

Language

English

Source

Life without principle

Year

1968

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

H A reading of this article gives one some basis for comparison between education in Denmark and that in the Philippines. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF DENMARK In common with other countries in Europe since World War II, the educa tional system of Denmark has undergone developments and changes in structure and functions. This is clearly evi dent, even though Denmark, like England, has been re garded as a “land of tradi tion.” Apparently, the need to modify their school system, in an era of socioeconomic transformation, was convinc ing to a majority of the Danish leaders and citizens. In looking at Danish edu cation as a unit, one is conscious of a number of salient developments ' and trends. A visitor from a democratic-oriented country is at once conscious of the drive toward democracy in Danish school and society. A sincere effort is made to secure for each individual, to the limits of his capacity, the most thorough and repre sentative type of schooling which will enable him to function happily and satisfac torily within his community and nation. Past barriers to social, economic, and educa tional advancement have given way to practices which facilitate mobility and flexibi lity. All this appears to be to the good and in tune with the current thinking on the extension of educational op portunity. At the same time, it is not proper to overlook the possibility of contraction in some sectors on the edu cational front. One Danish secondary school teacher has expressed anxiety about “the intellectual elite among the pupils, whose needs have not been considered so much in the new school structure.” A teacher shortage exists in Denmark, reflecting to some 20 Panorama evtent the enrolment expan sion resulting from higher birth rates and increasing educational opportuni ties. The Government re ported in 1962 that the “short age of teachers has been a serious problem in the Pri mary School for several years.” There has also been a shortage of school buildings. Even the new construction did not satisfy all the require ments for adequate space. As admitted in a recent Govern ment report “... the need for new premises for instruction in the primary schools is still very great.” Another question which of ten arises in Denmark is whe ther centralization of school administration is desirable. In a coup try with a new or unestablished educational tra dition, there is often less ob jection to centralized school planning, direction, and con trol. On die other hand, Den mark and the other Scandina vian nations have already proved an interest and com petency in educational mat ters. This leads thoughtful educators to whether a high ly centralized system is in deed necessary. They be lieve that a certain degree of leeway and flexibility should be granted to local authori ties in the administration of school affairs. To some ex tent, education on the local level already enjoys freedom without losing sight of the broad ^national purposes. The central Ministry of Education in Copenhagen plays an overwhelming role, even if benevolent, in the determina tion of educational policy. Visitors to Denmark may be surprised to learn that the school-leaving age is 14. Many Danish educators and citizens are concerned about this and have recommended the transformation of the up per elementary grades to in crease their holding power for students. Materials and activities appealing to the in terest and needs of the non bookish youngsters have been added to the content of grades 8 and 9. Vigorous planning is now taking place to make grade 10 a meaning ful experience to many pu pils. The teaching in grades 8-10 “... must arouse the in terest of the pupils and be of purpose to them, but it June 1968 21 must also enlarge their elem entary knowledge of the sub jects inside the primary school curriculum. The teach ers must enlarge their inti mate knowledge of the tools, the types of work, and the fields of studies necessary for further training.” To make the upper grades attractive to pupils, the school authori ties have obtained the coope ration of trade and industry. This has resulted in an in crease in the number of stu dents who stay beyond the school-leaving age, since they receive the type of training which makes them accept able to employers in the of fice and in the factory. One might have expected that Denmark would raise the Compulsory school age to 15 year's after World War II, as Fngland did in 1947, but the Danish bill proposed in April 1955 met with little suc cess. It is noteworthy that this bill brought about an agreement between the So cial Democrats and the teachers organizations, but even this unusual concession did not effect its passage. Al though this proposal was considered “an important event in the history of Danish education,” it failed not only because of the customary re luctance on the part of the agricultural party and rural interests, but because of the opposition on political grounds. As a result, the new school law of 1958 was a compromise, and the school-leaving age in Den mark remained at 14. This is not to say that _the Danes are not sufficiently articulate about the need of extended compulsory educa tion. Many are aware that Denmark lags behind the re quired schooling in other Scandinavian countries and in Western Europe. Some, indeed, have expressed opi nions that the upper age limit of compulsory attend ance might be extended to 15 in 1970, and to 16 in 1975, and that “about 70 percent of all persons aged 17 will be in school by 1980.” But to one Scandinavian educator the entire situation seems ironic: “In the land of ‘free schools/ resistance to compulsion in education beyond the purely childhood years was very strong in certain quarters.” 22 Panorama Tf extended education is not now e compulsory, this does not mean that young Danes necessarily suffer from a shortage of school oppor tunities. For one thing, they may attend school voluntarily after the maximum compulso ry age of 14, and many do. For another, the new offer ings under the 1958 elemen tary school act have attracted young persons to school to develop their potentialities in occupations and semiprofes sions. Thus, grades 8 and 9, and eventually grade 10, will serve as extensions of the school system, even if atten dance remains voluntary. However, unless a law is en acted with a higher specific n<re limit, it is not likelv that Denmark will achieve the goal’ of hhving 70 percent of its 17-year-olds in school by 1980. It is well to note also the growing enrollments in se condary education, even in the gymnasium. According to one experienced educator, writing 1961, “it is expected that the number of pupils in the gvmnasium will'double within the next decade, both because of the high birth rate in the 1940’s and because a higher percentage of the young people desire a post primary education.” Preceding pages point out that apart from professional schools in engineering, agri culture, and other fields, Den mark has only two universi ties at Copenhagen and Aarhus. It took well over four centuries to open a sec ond Danish university, but a notably shorter time for the authorization of a third higher institution. The law of June 16, 1962, for the es tablishment of a Medical Faculty at Odense, was fol lowed by a proposal to set up a complete “third univer sity” there, and finally by the law of 1964, for establishing a fullfledged university at Odense. One major strength in Danish education has been the success in the teaching of foreign languages. The lin guistic excellence in Den mark has had a long tradi tion. Basmus Rask in the 19th and Holger Pedersen in the 20th century have exerted an international influence in developing linguistic science. The name of Otto Jespersen June 1968 is also honored universally for his authoritative presenta tion of English grammar. The general impression of visitors is that foreign lang uages, especially English, present no obstacles to the Danish people. There are few countries where a foreigner who does not know the native language can feel at home as rapidly as in Den mark, because of the linguis tic facility of tradesmen, em ployees, public functionaries, and others. It is noteworthy that the schools of Denmark help young people to learn the Norwegian and Swedish lan guages and literatures in or der to unify Scandinavia cul turally and economically. The ability to. use the Scandina vian, languages makes it pos sible for the Danes to join the Norwegians and Swedes in international conferences and in frequent interchange of visits. This confidence of the Danes in their own lin guistic flexibility and com petence was one factor in the decision to introduce the study of Russian as an alter native to French on all levels of education. The achievement of excellence in Russian studies will de pend, of course; on an ade quate supply of good teach ers. Since the study of Rus sian began in 1963 on a sys tematic scale, -it is too early to assess the results. The policy of the Danish Government for the linguistic minorities in the cpuntry is likewise interesting. Faeroese and Greenlandic are official languages, along with Danish, in the Faeroe Islands and Greenland. South Jutland, in proximity to the border of West Germany, is a small German-speaking communi ty. Denmark’s practice is not only to allow the teaching of the minority language, but also to furnish public support for the German schools. In this respect, the Government is fulfilling its policy of pro viding financial aid to all private, nonprofit schools which are set up to meet par ticular linguistic, religious, or pedagogical needs. By thus encouraging the minor ity schools, the school system of Denmark differs from those of Sweden and Norway, which permit minority 24 Panorama schools but do not promise public aid. By virtue of its geographi cal position, economic expe rience, and cultural tradition, Denmark has been commit ted for a long time to educa tional and intellectual coope ration with other Scandina vian peoples in coordinating their educational efforts, clearing up misunderstand ings in textbooks, and ex changing persons and ideas. Denmark has also been ac tive in the cultural projects of the United Nations, UNES CO, and other international bodies. For example, Den mark has been a founder member of the extended .pro gram of technical aid of the United Nations since 1949, and its contribution to this program “has been for many years the largest per capita of all member countries and still is.” In putting the 1958 educa tion act into operation, guide lines for the teaching of his tory in the elementary school stressed the values of equal ity of peoples, the global na ture of the past, and interna tional cooperation. In 1961, the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with UNESCO, inaugurated a 4-year project for a better understanding of Oriental cultures (e.g., Indo nesian and Philippine) on all levels of education — elem entary, secondary, and high er, including professional teacher training. Future syl labuses and textbooks will likely contain more material than heretofore on the cul tures of the East. — Prof. William W. Brickman, in Denmark's Education System and Problems. June 1968 25

pages

20-25

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