History of Education and Educational Policy

The course provides a broad introduction to the Norwegian educational system's development, from class-based parallel schools to a 10-year compulsory comprehensive school for all and kindergarten as an integral part of the educational system. The course places particular emphasis on illuminating the school as the subject of an ongoing and historically contingent social debate and the political educational philosophy behind the reforms, both in terms of economic, political, democratic, cultural and social factors. The emphasis is on recent history and current educational policy issues. The Norwegian development will be further elucidated in a Nordic and international perspective.

The course is obligatory in order to achieve full specialization in education studies.

This course provides basic knowledge and understanding of:

• The Norwegian educational system's development and expansion.
• Education as the subject of a continuous political debate.
• Central and current educational policy issues.

Lectures and seminars. Mandatory written assignment. Guidelines and requirements for written assignment will be given at the beginning of the semester.