MIED4100 – The Norwegian Education System in its Nordic Context

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

This course is divided into two parts.

Part 1:?The Norwegian Education System within its Nordic Context

To provide a general departure for studying children and youth from cultural comparative perspectives in the context of contemporary social change, the first part will introduce you to the Norwegian education system within its Nordic context. It aims to enable you to gain a thorough understanding of all the relevant components of the Norwegian education system. In addition, it will introduce you to the notion of ‘the Nordic model’, its historical and cultural context, how it affects Norwegian education, as well as how it relates to European and other educational models.

This first part will cover both formal and informal institutional practices in education and address questions about the ideas and ideals of democracy and the welfare state. It will discuss various related issues, such as inclusion and exclusion, gender roles, student involvement, the role of knowledge and expertise, and the historical and philosophical context of "A School for All".

Part 2: Introduction to Education and Social Change: Childhood and Youth Studies (ESCY)

In the second part, you will first be introduced to some main theoretical perspectives on contemporary social change. Then, childhood and youth studies will be introduced and discussed from historical, social change and cross-cultural perspectives. This part of the course discusses key issues, perspectives and policies related to children and young people’s life and education in our contemporary world.?It will enable you to examine how childhood and youth are conceptualized in the Nordic and Norwegian socio-cultural contexts, in relation to the European and global contexts. ?It will also facilitate a comparison of the Nordic models of education and childhood to other cultural perspectives and social-political models and practices related to children and youth in the world.

Learning outcome

The purpose of this two-part course is to provide you with a solid introduction into the Nordic education model with a special focus on the Norwegian education system, and to introduce you to ESCY as a research field.

Upon completion of the course, you should have acquired the following learning outcomes

Knowledge:

  • have a thorough understanding of the Norwegian education system in its Nordic cont