Comparative perspectives on Education, Citizenship and Democracy in Norway

The course gives an introduction to the Norwegian educational system with a special emphasis on primary and secondary schooling. Central components are the Norwegian welfare state and Norwegian education policy, as well as Norwegian educational history. There is also an emphasis on education for democracy and citizenship, which is an area where Norwegian pupils score high on international measures. The course approaches these topics in a comparative perspective, and comparison with other countries helps students understand how school structures and school policies are associated with a social, cultural, historical and political context. The comparative perspective also gives students a better understanding of their home countries' educational structure and policies.

Knowledge

The candidate

• Should have knowledge about Norwegian values and culture, and how these are integrated into our welfare state and particularly in our educational system
• Should have knowledge about Norwegian educational history and policy in a comparative perspective, with a focus on the Norwegian unitary school tradition
• Should have knowledge of the key perspectives of democratic education, and the Norwegian experience with teaching democracy
• Should have knowledge of social science research methods and academic writing

Skills

The candidate

• Should be able to do comparative analyses based on empirical data and literature.
• Should be able to exercise critical judgement on the reliability and validity of relevant sources
• Should be able to work independently with academic and didactic issues
• Should be able to work independently with research and academic writing

General competence

The candidate

• Should be able to engage in and stimulate critical reflection among pupils
• Should be able to update themselves and reflect on their own teaching practice
• Should be able to work independently and with others to identify, analyze and solve problems related to teaching

Teaching is organized in weekly teaching sessions composed of lectures, in-class discussion, student presentations, tutoring, and small writing assignments. Students are expected to complete 2-3 small comparative writing assignments as class preparation. In addition, students are expected to write an individual 15-page research paper where they are exploring some aspect of education in Norway or their home country in a comparative perspective. The paper should have a specific research question, be written in academic style, and follow the standards for academic writing at NTNU.