What are the key educational issues of importance to policy makers in Norway?
Goals: to give the children opportunities for general education, personal development, knowledge and skills (Stortingsmelding 30).
The ministry defines such skills as: to be able to express themselves
orally, to be able to read, to be able to express themselves in writing, to be able to do mathematics and to use digital tools (Stortingsmelding 30).
The government wants to:
Strengthen the co-educational school. Every human is unique and should therefore meet a school which is meaningful and which takes care of the pupil’s individual qualifications.
To develop the pupil’s social skills, learning skills, and motivation.
To create a common understanding of the items above by promoting an easily accessible document in the form of “The Learning Poster”.
The Minister of Education promotes a broad view of knowledge (for more see here):
Knowledge is skills, facts, research, but knowledge is also a lot more:
Knowledge is refinement; critical thinking, analytical abilities and reflection.
Knowledge is competence in working together with others towards common goals, ability to participate in a society built on democracy and solidarity.
Knowledge is the ability for constant acquirement of new knowledge through encountering and managing new challenges throughout the whole life.
The government requires a strong public school, and a school that gives everyone the same digital and technological opportunities, a school where the pupils are at the centre of attention, and that facilitates their use of digital artefacts as well as their critical use of information. Pedagogy, organisation and technology are three key issues .
From a governmental perspective, there is a certain belief in, and clear demands regarding the use of ICT in teaching in higher education. The Parliamentary report no. 27 (2000-2001), by the Department for Church, Research and Educational affairs (now FUD), which is the basis for the “Quality reform”, states that:
"ICTs are instruments that support learning. International research documents that use of ICT in education leads to new forms of learning and evaluation, new forms of organisation and cooperation, and new roles for students and teachers. The use of ICT also has positive effects on quality development of learning environments. Research indicates that ICT increases student motivation and concentration on learning, which in turn affect achievements. A well considered use of the new technologies has become a prerequisite for the institutions of higher education’s ability to create relevant, updated and flexible learning environments." (Parliamentary report no. 27 (2000-2001), p. 17, our translation.)
Furthermore, the Document for the Strategic Plans of Action for the area of ICT and Learning from 2003-2005, FUD makes explicit the need to
include ICT at all levels of education, and major strategic goals point out that "[...] ICT technology will give shape to new forms of learning, and the
role of teachers will change accordingly".
How do policy makers contribute to Norway's technology enhanced learning agenda?
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