Norway

Norway in a nutshell

(largely sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway)

Norway (Norwegian: Norge (bokmål) or Noreg (nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered by Sweden, Finland, and Russia, while the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands lie to its west across the North Sea.

Norway annexed Jan Mayen and was given the sovereignty over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard (under the Svalbard Treaty). The polar territories of Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land are external dependencies of the Kingdom of Norway, but not parts of Norway. None of these regions are covered in our analysis in this page.

Norway is now amongst the wealthiest countries in the world. It is the world's third largest oil exporter after Russia and Saudi Arabia and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of GDP. Norway has also rich resources of gas fields, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is a large exporter of seafood. Other main industries include food processing, shipbuilding, metals, chemicals, mining, fishing and pulp and paper products.

The population of Norway is just over 4.5 million, making it similar in population to many smaller European countries and regions (e.g. Scotland). Norway has a Scandinavian welfare system and the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation.

Norway was ranked highest of all countries in human development from 2001 to 2006, and came second in 2007 (to fellow Nordic country Iceland).

Norway is a member of the European Economic Area but not of the EU.

Norway's education policy

Education in Norway is mandatory for all children aged 6-16.

Ultimate responsibility for the education lies with the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. There is a useful web site for the Ministry - in English - at http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kd.html?id=586

Norway's education system

(largely sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Norway)

Schools

The school year in Norway runs from late August to mid June the following year. The Christmas holiday divides the Norwegian school year into two terms.

The Norwegian school system can be divided into three parts:

1. Elementary school (Barneskole, age 6-13)
2. Lower secondary school (Ungdomsskole, age 13-16)
3. Upper secondary school (Videregående skole, age 16-19).

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 almost always have to change school when they enter lower secondary school and upper secondary school, as most schools only offer one of the levels.

Elementary school (Barneskole, grades 1-7, age 6-13)

In the first year of elementary school, the students are mostly playing educational games and learning social behaviour. In grades 2 through 7, they are introduced to mathematics, English, Norwegian, science, religion, and gymnastics, complimented by geography, history, and social studies in the fifth grade. No grades (marks) are given at this level.

Lower secondary school (Ungdomsskole, grades 8-10, age 13-16)

When the students enter lower secondary school, at age 12 or 13, they begin getting grades (marks) for their work. The grades they get will determine whether they get accepted at their high school of choice or not. From the eighth grade, the students can choose one elective (valgfag). Typical subjects the students are offered are the languages German, French and Spanish as well as additional English or Norwegian studies. Before the educational reform starting August 2006, students could choose a practical elective instead of the languages.

Upper secondary school (Videregående skole, grades VG1-VG3, age 16-19)

Upper secondary school (akin to high school) is 3 years of optional schooling, although recent changes to society (few jobs available for the age group) and law (government required by law of 1994 to offer secondary schooling in one form or another to everyone between 16 and 18 who submit the application form) has made it largely unavoidable in practice.

Secondary education in Norway is primarily based on public schools, and is 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 upper secondary schools opened in the fall of 2005.

Since the introduction of the reform "Kunnskapsløftet" (knowledge promotion) in autumn 2006, a student will apply for a general education (studiespesialisering) or a vocational studies (yrkesfag) path. Inside these main paths there are many sub-paths to follow. The new reform makes mandatory the incorporation of IT into the schooling, indeed many counties (who are responsible for the public high schools) offer laptops to general studies students for free or for a small fee. Kunnskapsløftet also makes it harder to switch between electives that students take in the second and third year in the general studies path.

Students graduating general studies are called "Russ" in Norwegian.

Higher education

Higher education in Norway is offered by a range of seven universities, five specialised colleges, 25 university colleges as well as a range of private colleges. Education follows the Bologna process involving Bachelor (3 years), Master (2 years) and Doctor (4 years) degrees. Acceptance is offered after finishing upper secondary school with general study competence.

Public education is free, with an academic year with two semesters, from August to December and from January to June.

Norway's HEIs in the information society

Information society strategy

NKI Distance Education calls itself the leading distance education institution in Norway and the largest distance education institution in Northern Europe.

References

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