how to make a good school even better

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an improvemeno he sandards in heDanish public school1

How o make a good

school even beer

December 2012


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1 Public school here comprises municipal primary and lower secondary educaion (Danish: Folkeskole).

an improvemeno he sandards in heDanish public school1

How o make a good

school even beer


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5How to make a good school even better an improvement of the standards in the Danish public school

ConensAn even beer public school vision and challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

An overall i mprovemen o he public school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

An inegraed and acive school day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Improved proessional developmen and inegraion o k nowledge o good eaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Clear objecives or he developmen o he public school and increased local independence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

A collecive ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53


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Denmark has a good public school sysem or primar y and

lower secondary educaion. We mus, however, coninu-

ously develop and raise he sandards i n he public school

in order o ur her improve i.

I is he governmens ambiion o ensure ha our ch ildren

become he bes educaed generaion in he hisory o

Denmark.

All ch ildren in he public school mus benei rom good

eaching ha enables he opimal developmen o he in-

dividual chi lds opporuniies and academic poenial. And

he public school mus lay he educaional oundaion or

95 percen o all young people being qualied o complee

upper secondary educaion.

Thereore, Denmark needs o improve he qualiy o he

public school in order or all children o increase heir com-

peence levels.

By naure children are enhusiasic learners who are nau-

rally cur ious abou lie. This we mus encourage hrough-

ou heir years o schooling.

Vision or an even beer public school

I is he govern mens vision o have a public school ha

challenges all children o reach heir ull poenial. A public

school ha provides children wih he bes academic quali-

caions possible, and which gives hem he bes background

or compleing secondar y educaion and do well in lie. T he

oucome o he eaching shou ld no depend on where you

live or who your parens are.

The public school mus also encourage he developmen

o he ch ildrens personal a nd social compeences, and i

mus each hem o become dedicaed ciizens in an acive

democracy. I should be exciing o go o school. The public

school mus be a school adaped o modern children , a

school ha makes hem hrive and enjoy learning. The

eachers mus be oered raini ng and u rher educaion

o become highly qualied in he subjecs hey each, a ndhey mus always apply he mos recognized eaching

mehods. As a proession, eachers should enjoy respec

and rus.

All children enjoy learning and eachers enjoy eaching.

This i s our approach o developing he public school.

The oundaion or learning is laid already in he rs years

o childhood. The day care aciliies mus simulae chil-

drens naura l desire o learn a nd by encouraging playing

and learning aciviies a smooh ran siion o he public

school should be made.

Challenges:The children do no learn sucienlyin school

We can be proud o our public school. For nearly 200 years

i has been an imporan d river in he developmen o he

Danish societ.

Bu he Danish public school is also acing signican chal-

lenges: Many sudens do no bene sucienly rom heirschooling.

The vas majorit o children do well in school. They can,

however, improve even urher. And i is necessary ha

hey do. Societ in general, he labour marke and he glo-

balising world coninuously demand more rom all o us.

Many ch ildren ace problems in he public school. Nearly

one suden in six leaves school wihou havi ng acquired

An even beer public school

vision and challenges

The main academic chal lenges o he public school

Too many sudens are poor readers: 5 per cen o sudens leav-

ing compulsory educaion have no obained reading l ieracy.

Few sudens are good readers: Only 5 per cen are assessed o

qualiy as s rong readers

Many sudens have Mahs problems: 7 per cen o he sudens

are assessed no o have uncional Mah s compeences.

Many sudens have limied naural science skills: 7 per cen o

he sudens are assessed no o ha ve uncional compeences in

naural science.

Many eachers nd i dicul o approach individualized learn-

ing ha a kes dierences in he academic levels o sudens ino

accoun.

Source OECD (200): PISA 2009 Resuls: Wha Sudens Know and CanDo: Suden Perormance in Reading, Mahemaics and Science (vol.I),EVA (20): Individualized learning as a leading pedagogical principle.


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8 How to make a good school even better an improvement of the standards in the Danish public school

sucien reading skills. One suden in six has no obained

he mos basic skills in M ahs. This means ha in every

single class an average o hree o our sudens end up no

acquiring he qualicaions needed when leaving he public

school. And children whose pa rens have lile educaionperorm poorly compared o children o parens wih ur-

her and higher educaion.

I is ar rom being saisacory ha so ma ny children and

young people lack skills in basic subjecs like Danish and

Mahs. Th is lack becomes a barrier or acquiring skil ls in

oher school subjecs. I becomes a barrier or compleing

an upper secondary educaion. And i becomes a barrier or

dealing wih he ma ny diverse aspecs o lie in he work

place and everyday lie in general.

There are children who acquire new knowledge very as.

They mus also be challenged in he public school in order

or hem o reach heir ul l poenial. Today his does no

happen o a sucien exen. Doing well is conagious and

challenging he academically gied sudens o excel will

bene all sudens.

In is curren orm, he public school sees oher challenges

oo. I is hard o keep he ch ildren moivaed and ineresed

hroughou heir enire schooling.

In many classrooms noise and disracion disurb he each-ing. These are problems ha may infuence he childrens

well-being in school as well as heir academic resuls.

Thereore, i is crucial o he governmen ha he public

school will see an improvemen. I should, however, be an

improvemen based on he areas where he public school

perorms well, like in preparing sudens or lie as modern

ciizens who pa ricipae in democraic processes.

Areas where he Danish public school perorms well

Denmark is in he op end o an inernaional review ha exam-

ines how school sysems and schools and eachers hroughou

he world prepare sudens or heir uure lives as ciizens.

Danish sudens are good a undersanding and paricipaing in

democraic processes.

Boh sudens and eachers experience a good debaing culure

and a good social climae in he school. In an inernaional

review Denmark lies in he op end when i comes o aciliaing

a debae culure.

Teachers generally earn a high degree o rus rom parens.

Teachers belong o one o he proessio ns wih he highes

degree o credibilit.

Source The Deparmen o Educa ion (200): ICC 2009, Mai n iner-naional resuls, Gallup/Local Governmen Denmark (2007): Resulsrom Gallup survey conduced or Local Governmen Denmark in 2007,Radius/Epinion (202): Credibilit survey 202


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How to make a good school even better an improvement of the standards in the Danish public school

In he pas en years he public school has aken several

seps in he righ direcion. A number o changes o The

Public School Ac have been made. Focus on eaching he

younges sudens has been increased, and he posiive

eec has been promp.

However, in order or our ch ildren o become he bes edu-

caed generaion in he hisory o Denma rk, a signican

and al l-round improvemen o he public school is needed.

I should be an improvemen where we do hings in a new

and beer way raher han ju s do more o he same hing.

And aer such a reorm he public school should be le in

peace o implemen he new iniiaives and make hem

work wihou coninuously being orced o inroduce new

and exensive rules and regulaions.

Only by improving he sa ndards o he public school can

we ensure ha a ll children acquire he mos basic academic

skills and ha al l children reach heir ull poenial o an

even higher degree.

Many people conribue o he developmen o he public

school. Teachers make a valuable conribu ion hrough

heir high proessional qualicaions and enhusiasm.

They are a he very cenre o developing a beer public

school.

Many parens ake an acive par and ineres in heir chil -

drens educaion and conribue enhusia sically o school

relaed aciviies. The local gover nmens are very ocu sed

on he qualit sandards o he schools in heir municipali-

ies. And Parliamen has agreed on a reorm ha will raise

he academic levels o he eacher educaion programs a nd

make hem more aracive.

An overal l qualit improvemen o he public school requires

conribuions rom al l sakeholders: Sudens, parens, each-

ers, oher pedagogical sa, principals, local governmens

and Parliamen. Only join responsibilit and ownership will

creae he desired resuls.

I is he governmens wish o esablish an on-going dialogue

wih relevan par ies relaed o he public school. This is o

ensure ha all sakeholders ake par in he developmen o

he public school.

All children mus improveheir academic qualicaions

I is he inenion o he governmen o rai se he qualit

sandard s o he public school or he bene o all children:The children who do well, bu who can urher improve; he

children who have a hard ime in school and who do no now

obain sucien skil ls o complee upper secondary educa-

ion. And he children who perorm very well and who need

exra challenges.

The academic skills o young people improve year by year

in he world around us. And Danish societ also has increas-

ingly high expecaions regarding educaion o good qualit.

The public school mus mach developmens in he world

around us and in Denmark. And i mus do more han ha.

The modern public school mus prepare our children a nd

young people or he demands o he world o omorrow.

An overall improvemen

o he public school

Three clear objecives or

he developmen o he Public school

The Public school mus challenge all sudens o reach heir ull

poenial

The Public school mus lower he signicance o social back-

ground on academic resuls

Trus in he school and suden well-being mus be enhanced

hrough respec or proessional knowledge and pracice in he

public school.


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An overall improvemen

The governmen wil l improve he qualit o he public school

hrough a number o dieren iniiaives:

An academic qual it improvemen and a more

exciing and acive school day or he children

The children mus spend more ime ogeher wih heir

eachers and hey mus receive more and beer qua lit

eaching in Danish, Mahs and oher subjecs.

The children should experience a school wih an inspi-

raional amosphere where hey as somehing new

par icipae in ineresing acivit lessons ogeher wih

heir eachers and oher pedagogical sa. The acivit

lessons serve he purpose o ur hering he academic

disciplines as well as encouraging play, exercise and

homework assisance.

The children mus exper ience an inegraed and acive

school day which means a 30 hour week rom pre-school

o orm level 3, a 35 hour week or orm levels 4 o 6 and

a 37 hour week or orm levels 7 o 9.

Locally, i should be possible o pracice co-eaching in

he lower orm levels and in classes wih specia l needs.

This w ill enable closer conac beween children andaduls.

Proessional developmen or eachers,

oher pedagogical sa and school principals

Teachers, oher pedagogical sa and school principals

mus signicanly improve and srenghen heir pro-

essional developmen. Teachers mus be even beer

qualied han i s he case oday. I is he governmens

objecive ha by 2020 all s udens in he public school

should be augh by eachers who have main subjec

qualicaions (par o eacher educaion programme,

equiva len o approx. 50 ECTS poins) i n all he subjecs

hey each, or who have obained equivalen qualica-

ions rom coninui ng eaching educaion. The objecive

o obaining ul l main subjec qualicaion sandards

mus be included in he Danish Public School Ac. The

governmen will a llocae DKK 000 million or he years

204 o 2020 o improve he proessional levels o each-

ers and oher pedagogical sa in he public school.

The eachers mus have improved access o inorm aion

regarding which eaching mehods h a have proven

mos ecien, in order or hem o provide modern, h ighqualit eaching.

Clear objecives and increased local inuence

Everyone eachers and oher pedagogical sa , su-

dens, school principals, local governmens ec. mus

work in accordance wih clear naional objecives or

he Public school. This is o ensure ha all paries pull in

he same direcion and joinly conribue o he develop-

men o he Public school year by year.

The municipaliies and he schools mus be allowed o

independenly plan he daily eaching and he acivi-

ies in he schools.

An overall i mprovemen o he public school

more and beer qualit eaching

The governmen wans o improve he academic sandards o he

public school hrough more and beer qualit eaching.

More eaching means more lessons in Danish, Ma hs, English, Prac -

ical/creaive subjecs, Naural sciences/echnology and elecives.

Modern, beer qualit eaching means:

Inroducing new acivit lessons ha suppor and supplemen

he eaching and add variaion and exciemen o he school day

Developmen o new eaching mehods and ools

Improved local possibiliies or co-eaching

Increased use o IT and digial learning

Enhanced proessional developmen should be made available

o eachers and oher pedagogical sa in he Public school

Increased ocus on leadership and proessional developmen

iniiaives or school principals

More research projecs in pedagogy and eaching mehods

should be made available o eachers and school principals

A new eam o educaional consulans who should advise he

municipaliies and he schools on qualit developmen

Clear objecives or he developmen o he public school

Simplicaion o rules and regulaions o allow increased inde-

pendence or municipaliies and schools


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Main elemens in he governmens proposal or an overall improvemen o he public school

An inegraed and acive school day wih more ime or improved eaching and aciviies

The children mus ex perience inegraed and acive schooling. Thi s means a 30 hour week or pre-school class

o orm level 3, a 35 hour week or orm levels 4 o 6 and a 37 hour week or orm levels 7 o 9.

More classes and improved qualit eaching in Danish and Mahs.

Acivit lessons wih eachers and oher pedagogical sa should add variet and exciemen o he school day.

The acivit lessons mus suppor he academic curriculum as well as al low ime or play, exercise and homework

assisance.

All children mus do some kind o exercise every day.

Improved local possibiliies or co-eaching in he lower orm levels and in classes wih special needs.

Beer qualiy eaching in subjecs oher han Danish and Mahs

English rom orm level .

More classes and improved eaching in Pr acical/creaive subjecs and Naural sc iences/echnology subjecs.

Elecives rom orm level 7.

Oher improvemens o qualit and he social school climae


Involvemen o sudens and parens a nd increased ocus on hrivi ng sudens and he social school climae.

Increased ocus on ran siion o upper secondary educaion in he nal years o compulsor y schooling.

Inclusion a public school wih room or everyone.

Improved proessional developmen and inegraion o knowledge o good eaching

Proessional developmen possibiliies should be made available o eachers and oher pedagogical sa. I is he

governmens objecive ha by 2020 a ll sudens in he public school should be augh by eachers who have main

subjec qualicaions in all he subjecs hey each. The governmen plans o allocae DKK 000 million or he

years 204 o 2020 o rai se he proessional sandard s o eachers and oher pedagogical sa in he public school.

Improved career pahs or eachers.

Governmenal allocaion o DKK 60 million rom 203-205 or proessional developmen o leaders in he publicschool.

Enha nced research in he elds o pedagogy and eaching mehods o be made available o eachers and leaders.

Team o educaional consulans o suppor he ocus on qualit in he public school.

New school council or child learning.

Clear objecives or he developmen o he public school and increased local independence

Three clear naional objecives or he developmen o he public school.

Simplicaion o rules and regulaions o allow increased independence or municipaliies and schools.


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Inegraed and acive school days haimprove he qualit o he school

Increasingly inegraed school days mean ha schooling

rom pre-school class o he end o orm level 9 will resulin longer school days allowing more classes and improved

qualit eaching. And new acivit lessons o ensure exci-

ing and varied school days. The exended school day should

be seen in he ligh o children spending shorer hours in

aer school clubs or leisure-ime care acili ies a school.

This i s one o he cornersones in he improvemen o he

public school: By ranserring ime and aciviies rom

aer school clubs and leisure-ime care aciliies o acual

schooling, he children will experience an increasingly

inegraed and exciing school day.

In h is way we achieve several posiive hings in one go:

The children will experience a school where hey ge

more lessons and new acivit lessons. The acivit les -

sons serve he pu rpose o supporing a nd supplemen-

ing he eaching by providing aciviies h a aciliae

academic achievemen. They could be pracical pro-

jecs based on academic hemes; hey could be pracice,

play-andlearn aciviies and homework assisance.

Such a combinaion o eaching a nd relaed aciviies

will urher he childrens academic developmen.

During heir school day he children will have more ime

or physical exercise. Apar rom boosing he childrens

healh and heir physical developmen, i wil l aciliae

learning and conribue o increased concenraion and

less noise in class.

The children will ge more ime o work wih group

projecs and hemes ha may ur her heir general

social and personal developmen. And he children wi ll

enhance heir cooperaive and social skills or heir

own uure bene.

An inegraed school day wi h combined eaching a nd ac-

ivit lessons wi ll mean ha he school day becomes variedand exciing. Thi s may increase he number o hriving

children and i will urher heir moivaion o learn.

In addiion o his, children who do no already uilize he

leisure-ime care aciliies a school will also be par o he

new acivit lessons in school. This w ill resul in a higher

degree o inclusion o e.g. children rom a non-Danish eh-

nical background.

A he end o he school day here wi ll sill be plent o ime

or leisure and spors acivi ies. From pre-school classes up

o orm level 3, he school day will tpically end a 2 pm. For

children in or m levels 4 o 6 i will end a 3 pm. And or he

oldes children he school day will end around 3.30 pm.


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An inegraed school dayor Jasmin in orm level

An exampleJasmin is a suden in orm level 1. When she wakes up on Monday

morning, she is excied abou going o school. This Monday i is her

urn o ell abou wha she has experienced during he weekend.

Every Monday morning all or m level 1 sudens gaher or he rs

hal hour o school. They sing and hey ake i in ur ns o ell abou

heir experiences. Aer morning assembly Jasmin has a Mahs

class where he ocus is on addiion.

Jasmins eacher is good a making learning un. Today hey have a lo

o muli-coloured bricks which hey use o pracice sums. Beore lunchJasmin has a Danish class. A he momen riendship is he overall

heme in boh Danish and English classes and in orm ime (klassens id).

In he Danish lesson he sudens are going o wrie down words and

senences which hey hink illusrae wha is means o be a good riend.

They begin by working ogeher on ideniying cerain words ha he

eacher can copy ono he ineracive board in he classroom. The each-

er hen saves all he words on he compuer in order or he sudens o

be able o access hem on heir compuers a home. Aerwards heyhave o pracice wriing ull senences.

The sudens have a long lunch break wih plent o ime o ea heir

lunch and o play ouside. The older sudens organise dieren games

in he school yard (Legeparulje). All children mus choose a game

where hey exercise. Jasmin chooses Kongelber (a ag and chase

school yard game) ogeher wih some o he oher girls rom her class.

Aer lunch he Danish lesson coninues and Jasmin becomes par o a

group ha has o work ogeher on a small play o illusrae hree di-eren words abou riendship.

Beore Jasmins school day is over, she has an acivit class where all

sudens rom he lower orm levels are divided ino groups ha en-

gage in dieren aciviies. In he beginning o orm level 1 Jasmin had

some challenges combining leers and sounds. Thereore, she aends

an acivit class every Monday wih oher sudens acing similar read-

ing challenges. In his way, she can improve her reading skills wihou

missing ou on he Danish classes. She also hinks ha i is nice o ge o

know some o he oher sudens beer. Jasmins parens can already

ell ha she is making progress when hey read wih her in he evenings.


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The eachers bring inspiraion o he school and make he

children wa n o learn. Thereore, eachers and sudens

mus spend more ime ogeher a school. The sudens

mus experience an inegraed and acive school day lled

wih excii ng aciviies ha enhance he qualiy o he

eaching and bring lie o he cla ss room.

I is a maer o more ime a s well as beer qua lit. I is a new

way o organising schooling.

The governmen suggess ha children ge an inegraed

and acive school day wih more lessons, improved qualit

eaching and more ime or dieren aciviies. In his way he

sudens will experience an acive and modern school day.

The governmen suggess h a a tpical school week

should consis o

30 hours or pre-school class o orm level o 3

35 hours or orm levels 4-6

37 hours or orm levels 7-9 .

This i s equivalen o an average school day o 6, 7 a nd 7.4

hours respecively (including breaks).

The inegraed school day oers he possibilit o having

more lessons in Dan ish, Mah s and oher subjecs oo,

which wi ll lead o an improvemen o he sudens aca-

demic skills.

The governmen suggess ha abou one h o he ex ra

ime in school is spen on more eaching. Th is wil l mean an

ex ra 800 lessons over he span o en years o schooling

compared o wha is he case oday.

The suggesion enables schools o increase he number o

lessons rom orm level o 9 like his:

lesson per week in orm levels o 3

3 lessons per week in orm levels 4 o 6

4 lessons per week in orm level 7

2 lessons per week in orm levels 8 o 9.

Today mos schools have organ ised he working year o be

200 school days. This i s no going o be changed.

The exra hours are mean o srenghen he eaching

qualit in Danish and Mahs in paricular by allocaing ex-

ra hours o hese subjecs. However, srenghen ing o heeaching qualit in he Pracical/creaive subjecs is a lso

needed, as is also he case or Naural sciences/echnology,

English and elecives.

An inegraed and acive school

day wih more ime or improvedqualit eaching and aciviies

Inegraed and acive school days wih more ime

or improved qualit eaching and aciviies

1. More lessons and improved qualit eaching in

Danish and Mahs.

2. Acivit lessons wih eachers and oher pedagogi-

cal sa shou ld add variet and exciemen o he

school day. The acivit lessons mus suppor he

academic curriculum as well as a llow ime or play,

exercise and homework assisance. Every child

mus do some kind o exercise every day

3. Improved local possibiliies or co-eaching in he

lower orm levels and in classes wih specia l needs.

4. Beer qualit eaching in subjecs oher han ha

Danish and Mahs

English rom orm level .

More lessons and improved qualit in

Pracical/ creaive subjecs and Naural

sciences/echnology subjecs.

Elecives rom orm level 7.

5. Oher improvemens o qualit and he social

school climae

Increased use o i and digial learning.

Involvemen o sudens and parens a nd

increased ocus on hriving sudens and

he social climae.

Increased ocus on ran siion o upper

secondary educaion in he nal years o

compulsory schooling. Inclusion a Public school wih room or

everyone.


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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Pre-school Form level 1 Form level 2 Form level 3 Form level 4 Form level 5 Form level 6 Form level 7 Form level 8 Form level 9

Pre-school class (Brnehaveklasse)Form level 1 (1.klasse) etc.

Current, recommendednumber of lessons

Activi lessons

A quali improvement of the Public school: More lessons and more time for activi

Noe The gure shows he number o lessons in he inegraed school day inclusive breaks. The oal number o lessons in he char is based on he curren,recommended number o lessons, exra lessons and he new acivit lessons.

A qualit improvemen o he Public school:

More lessons per school week or more educaion and more ac iviies

Pre- Form Form Form Form Form Form Form Form Form

school level 1 level 2 level 3 level 4 level 5 level 6 level 7 level 8 level 9

Number o lessons* per week

beore improv emen 8.3 2. 2.8 24.5 24.5 25.4 25.7 26.6 30.3 28.4

Number o lessons* per week

aer improvemen 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 35.0 35.0 35.0 37.0 37.0 37.0

Exra lessons o 60 minuer .7 8.9 8.2 5.5 0.5 9.6 9.3 0.4 6.8 8.6

The exra ime should be spen on

Addiional lessons o 45 minues** 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 2 2

Acivit lesson o 45 minues** 12.7 8.7 8.0 5.0 8.4 7.4 7.2 7.4 5.4 7.4

*Lessons o 60 minues calcul aed inclusive o breaks. The number o lessons per week i s calculaed based on he recommended number o lessons.

** The exra ime or ordinary lessons and acivit lessons is calculaed as lessons o 45 minues exclusive o breaks.


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In order o renew he public school he governmen sug-

gess ha he majorit o he exended, inegraed school

day is spen on acivit lessons. Lessons ha dier rom

he sandard, academic lessons, bu which supplemen he

eaching hrough a number o exciing aciviies o urher

he sudens academic, personal a nd social compeencies

and heir general well-being.


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1. Improved eaching and morelessons in Danish and Mahs

Danish a nd Mahs are he wo basic subjecs augh in he

public school. They are he pre-requisie or sudens per-orming well in oher subjecs. And high compeence levels

in Danish and Mahs are crucial or he sudens abilit o

laer complee an upper secondary educaion and o do well

in he labour marke and societ in general.

More eaching in Danish and Mahs

In recen years he qualit o he eaching in Dani sh and

Mahs ha s been srenghened in he lower orm levels,

par ly due o more lessons being allocaed. This has had a

signi can eec. Now he ime has come or srengheni ng

o he eaching in Dan ish and Mahs in he remaining orm

levels in order o mainain and urher develop he achieved

resuls, and by making sure ha all sudens improve.

As a consequence o his, he governmen suggess ha

all sudens in orm levels 4-9 ge: one exr a Danish lesson per week o make a oal o

7 lessons a week

one exr a Mahs lesson per week o make a oal o

5 lessons a week

This means ha 60 per cen o he exra ime or classroom

eaching wil l be allocaed o hese wo basic subjecs.

Improved eaching in Danish and Mahs

Apar rom increasing he number o lessons in Danish and

Mahs, he overall qualit o he eaching mus be srengh-

ened. I is he governmens objecive ha all ch ildren

mus be able o read, wrie and use basic a rihmeic when

hey ni sh orm level 2. This academic ocus mus be clear

hroughou heir schooling.

We hereore need more specic academic objecives or

which skills, compeences and mehods he sudens mus

acquire in Danish a nd Mahs a each orm level.

The eaching in Danish a nd Mahs mus be improved

by oering proessional developmen and qualicaion

programmes o eachers. The objecive is ha eachers

mus have main subjec qualicaions in al l he subjecs

hey each.

Sudens mus paricipae more acively in class. Many

sudens need o ge a eel o hings, o ac ually ouch

hings o learn and undersand. To improve he qualit

o he lessons in Danish and Mahs, he governmen

plans o allocae resources or a hree-year rial period o

be spen on a projec aimed a developing new eaching

mehods in Danish and Mahs ha challenge all children.

One o he aims will be o inegrae IT in he eaching o a

higher degree han is he case oday. And by leing he

higher orm levels use hei r Mahs compeences or solv-

ing pracical asks, such as privae nancial managemen.

All or he purpose o making he subjecs seem more

relevan or he sudens.

We need o develop new ools or mapping s uden quali-

caions in Danish and Mahs such as ess o ideniy dys-

lexia and numlexia. A new eam o educaional consulansmus ensure ha he resuls o he projec are coninuously

communicaed o he municipaliies and schools.

Progress in Danish and Mahs in he lower orm levels

In recen years sudens in lower primary school have signicanly

improved heir reading skills. Today sudens in or m level 3 read as

well as hey used o do in orm level 4. And heir reading resuls are

now much higher han he European average.

Danish sudens in or m level 4 are esimaed o have improved

heir skills in Ma hs equivalen o an enire orm level compared o

orm level 4 in 995. This is he resul o he inernaional review

TIMSS which is based on assessing he compeence levels o orm

level 4 sudens in Mahs and Naural science in 37 counries and

regions.

However, when looking ino he Danish sudens academic level

in orm levels 4 o 6 a nd 7 o 9, we do no see a si milarly posiive

developmen. All in a ll, he Danish s udens academic level in

Danish and Mah s when leaving he public school is abou average

compared o he oher OECD counries. This has been he case or

he pas en years.

The Chairma nship o he School Council wries in is 20 repor

ha considering he ac ha Da nish sudens on average have be-

er educaed parens compared o sudens in he OECD counr ies in

general, hen he Danish sudens peror m below he OECD average

in reading and Mahs. T hereore, here is a need o srenghen he

eors made regarding orm levels 4 o 9.

Source Progress in Inernaional Reading Lieracy Sudy (PIRLS)

2006. Trends in Inernaional Mahemaics and Science Sudy(TIMMS ) 2007. Programme or Inernaional Suden Assessmen(PISA) 2009.


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2. Acivit lessons mus resul inacive school days wih improvedqualit eaching

I is he governmens wish o make school days exciing,varied and inspiring.

Thereore, he governmen suggess ha sudens should

be inroduced o a new tpe o lessons, he so-ca lled aciv-

it lessons. The orm and conen o he acivit lessons are

inended o revialize he public school and in fuence he

way sudens exper ience he individual school day.

The primar y conens o he acivit lesson are:

Act ivi tie s that supp ort and s upple ment cl assroom

teaching in order o aci liae academic achievemen.

Ex amples could be pracical projecs based on academic

hemes, exercises and homework assisance. In he

lower orm levels playing and learning aciviies will be

inroduced.

Exercise o urher suden healh, well-being and con-

cenraion. All s udens mus exercise every day.

Aciviies o ur her generalstudentdevelopment

including social and persona l developmen. Exa mples

could be ocus on developing suden co-operaion skills.

In he higher orm levels company visis a nd visis oupper secondary schools could be arranged in order o

prepare sudens or heir pos-compulsory educaion.

The governmen suggess h a he inegraed school day

should inroduce he sudens o many new acivit les-

sons. Around 3 acivit lessons a week in pre-school class

and ve o ni ne acivit lessons a week in or m levels o 9.

The inegraed school day will tpically end a 2 pm or

pre-school class a nd up o orm level 3. For sudens in orm

levels 4 o 6 i wil l end a 3 pm. And or he oldes sudens

he school day will end around 3.30 pm. In h is way, here

will s ill be plent o ime or spors and leisure aciviies a

he end o he school day.

The schools mus ensure ha he qualit o he acivit

lessons remains high and ha he acivit lessons o a high

exen refec and inerac wih class room eaching.

The governmen suggess ha he municipaliies and he

schools ge maximum independence o plan he acivit

lessons or purposes hey nd relevan in relaion o local

condiions. However, all schools mus oer homeworkassisance as par o heir aciviy lesson programme.

Furhermore, schools are obliged o ensure ha sudens

Suggesions or he use o acivit lessons

as a par o he inegraed school day:

Acivit lessons mus be seen as an ex ension o he academic cur-

riculum. They may be used o give sudens ime o pracice and

rehearse wha hey have learned in class. The acivit lessons may

also be used or practical projects where sudens work on applying

heory o pracice. E xamples could be sudens who produce shor

lm clips ha explain Mahs o heir classmaes or sudens who

consruc a small greenhouse.

In he lower orm levels acivit lessons may be used or playing

and learning aciviies. The lessons may also be used or homework

help where sudens are oered assisance wih dicul calcula-ions. Homework help could also be specic eaching projecs or

sudens wih problems in relaion o reading, spelling or Mahs.

The acivit lessons also oer he opporunit o bring theworld

outsidetheschool ino he classroom. This makes sudens apply

heir knowledge rom he dieren subjecs hey have been augh

o real lie pracice siuaions. This could be in he orm o an

oudoor school where he sudens collec edible ingrediens rom

naure or a meal hey w ill laer prepare in home economics. Or

hey may visi an auo repair shop where hey are given pracical

asks.

Exercise

An obvious way o using he acivit lessons will be or dailyexercise. Aciviies could be radiional physicalactivities such

as a morning run, ball games ec. Or hey could be aciviies ha

suppor he sudens academicachievementsuch as he games

Leer Bale Word Feud and Word Dar, or i could be drama-

isaions o hisorical evens ec.

The school may also choose o cooperae wi h local spors clubs,

or example by inviing a local rainer o be a gues rainer in a

paricular spors discipline.

The general developmen o he children

The acivit lessons may a lso be used o suppor he general

developmen o he sudens. In such lessons work on inernal

class relaions, bullying and thesocialclimate in he school and inhe classroom could be inroduced. Relevan aciviies could be

suden mediaing and oher suden o suden aciviies.

Progressappraisals beween adul and suden regarding he su-

dens personal, social and academic developmen may also ake

place in he acivit lessons. In he higher orm levels he acivit

lessons may be used or work on he sudens readinessorurther

education. Menor arrangemens bew een higher orm level su-

dens and sudens rom pos-compulsory educaion insiuions

may also be esablished.

The sudens may visi companies and urher educaion insiu-

ions, and hey may prepa re or adul lie by being inroduced o

pracical, real lie problems. Examples could be consideraionsregarding how o plan amily budges, undersanding how insur-

ance policies work, how o pay bills ec.


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25/56


ge physical exercise every day. This could eiher be as par

o he acivit lesson programme or in oher ways. Physical

exercise will urher suden healh and physical develop-

men as well as suppor ocus and concenraion in class.

The governmen encourages even closer co-operaionbeween schools and local spors clubs.

The schools mus ake adva nage o whaever ormaion

and grouping o classes bes he dieren tpes o acivi -

ies. The acivit lessons could be planned across classes

and orm levels. The lengh o he acivit lessons could

vary rom en minues o a ull school day depending on

he plan ned acivit.

The aciviy lessons may be planned and execued by

eachers, oher pedagogical sa or sa w ih oher tpes

o qualicaions. E.g. he oher pedagogical sa may have

a par icular role in connecion wih work on suden rela-

ions, s udens all-round developmen and physical e xer-

cise. In his way new and valuable compeences will be pu

ino acion during he school day. And ogeher wih he

eachers he oher pedagogical sa may assis in creaing

he ramework or a harmonious school lie.

I is he responsibiliy o he individual municipaliy o

decide how his co-operaion is going o be organi sed. I

may depend on which prole he local council nds should

characerise he acivit lessons a each orm level.

In order o suppor he qualit o he acivit lessons, a

developmen projec will be iniiaed. The purpose is o

provide he schools wih relevan inormaion on how he

acivit lessons may be used o bes suppor he learning,

moivaion and well-being o he s udens.


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3. Improved local opporuniiesor co-eaching

The governmen suggess ha he municipaliies havehe possibilit o allowi ng schools o decrease he number

o acivit lessons or up o one year in one or more cases,

provided ha he schools in reurn increase he number

o co-eaching classes, paricularly wha concerns Danish

and Mahs.

The exempion possibil iies apply o he lower orm levels

(pre-school cla ss and orm levels o 3) only. For orm lev-

els 4 o 9 special condiions are required or exempion.

Exempion may be given o he lower orm levels in cases

where i is esimaed ha ullli ng academic objecives

and aciliai ng he well-being, general developmen and

progress o he sudens are bes obained by inroducingco-eaching raher han longer school days. For higher

orm level s co-eaching should only be an opion i special

condiions require so.

Co-eaching may be praciced by using eaching as sis-

ans. In his way oher pedagogical sa or oher pro-

essional sa members engage in insrucion asks in

co-operaion w ih he eacher. This makes i possible o

ake beer care o he individual suden. The sudens

ge shorer school days, bu obain closer conac wih a

proessional adul.


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4. Srenghening English, Pracical/Creaive subjecs, Naural sciences/echnology and elecives

More classes and improved eaching in he core subjecsDanish and Mahs orm he basis or all children reaching

heir ull poenial. However, improving he qualit sand-

ards o a number o o her subjecs is needed oo.

The governmen suggess ha he recommended number

o lessons is increased or he subjecs lised below:

English will be inroduced in orm levels and 2

(One lesson per week)

Cera in Pracica l/Creaive subjecs in orm levels 3 o 6

will ge one exra lesson per week. The Pracical/Creaive

subjecs including Design, wood and mealwork, design,

music, visual ars home economics and physical educaion.

Naural sciences/echnology in orm levels 4 and 5will ge one ex ra lesson a week.

Elecives will be inroduced already in orm level 7

(Two lessons per week)

English in orm level

In order o manage i n a global world and o say updaed

on he inerne, i ha s become more imporan h an ever

o maser English. The sooner children sar learning a

oreign language he beer hey will maser i.

A qualit improvemen o he Public school: The exra lessons when disr ibued on orm levels and subjecs

Subjec Improvemen Form Form Form Form Form Form Form Form Form

level 1 level 2 level 3 level 4 level 5 level 6 level 7 level 8 level 9

Exr a lessons 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 2 2

DanishBeore 0 9 6 6 6 6 6 6

Aer 0 9 7 7 7 7 7 7

MahsBeore 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4

Aer 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Naural sciences/Tech.Beore 2 2 2 2 - - -

Aer 2 3 3 2 - - -

EnglishBeore - - 2 2 3 3 3 3 3

Aer 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 3

ElecivesBeore - - - - - - - 2 2

Aer - - - - - - 2 2 2

Pracical/Creaive subj.*Beore 3 6 6 9 9 8 5 2 2

Aer 3 6 7 9 9 9 5 2 2

Noe The ime is calcu laed as lessons o 45 minues exc lusive o breaks. The cur ren number o lessons (beore) reer o he recommended number o

lessons. The char only includes he subjecs ha will undergo a change in he number o lessons. Adding up he lessons will hereore no ge a sum

equivalen o he oal number o lessons per week.* Pracical/creaive subjecs include: Design, wood and mealwork, visual ars, music, home economics and physical educaion.

Sources Execui ve order or he number o lessons in he public school or he school years 2006/ 7 o 200/ and consecuive years.


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And mos children a lready ge inroduced o English rom

a very early age, and hey are very moivaed o learn he

language.

Thereore, he governmen suggess ha al l eaching inEnglish wh ich oday sars i n orm level 3 is moved or-

ward by recommending one English lesson per week in

orm levels and 2.

The governmen also suggess ha inernaionalisaion

in he public school is srenghened by allowing he mu-

nicipaliies o inroduce inernaional programmes and

inernaional primary and lower secondary schools.

Improved eaching and more lessons inhe Pracical/creaive subjecs

The pracical/creaive subjecs mus play a par hrough-

ou he schooling in order o suppor he academic devel-

opmen and he oher subjecs in he Public school. The

pracical/creaive subjecs mus clariy how sudens can

apply knowledge obained rom oher subjecs o pracical

and usable producs. And he subjecs mus encourage

sudens o develop heir creaivit.

The governmen suggess ha he recommended number

o lessons or pracical/creaive subjecs (including design,wood and mealwork, visua l ars , music, home economics

and physical educaion) is increased by one lesson a week

in orm levels 3 and 6.

Furhermore, he governmen wans o conver design,

wood and mealwork ino one new subjec Cras a nd

design.

To conribue o increasing he qualit o he pracical/

creaive subjecs as well as he oher subjecs in he public

school, a number o experimens w ill be inroduced o

disclose he eecs o pracice based learning boh i n

relaion o Danish and Mahs a nd in order o suppor

oher subjecs such as he pracical/creaive subjecs.

Improved eaching and more lessons innaural sciences/echnology

Naural science subjecs give he sudens va luable and

useul k nowledge abou naure and he environmen andhow anima l and human bodies work. Technology gives

insigh ino he uncion o machines and robos. Naural

science subjecs play an imporan role in he ormaive

developmen o sudens. Boh wih regard o man aging

everyday lie and urher educaion. Wheher you wan

o become a docor, en engineer or a mechan ic, a builder

or a social and healh care worker, you need knowledge o

naural sciences.

Thereore, he governmen suggess ha he recommended

number o lessons in naural sciences/echnology in orm

levels 4 and 5 is o be increased rom wo o hree lessons

a week. On op o h a a number o acivit lessons may be

used or combining naural science classes wih play acivi-

ies and excursions o companies and science enerain-

men parks or chi ldren and young people.

Elecives rom orm level 7

Elecives conribue o giving sudens in sigh ino new

subjecs and how o pracise dieren elds o ineres.

A he same i me hey may conribue o keeping he su-dens moivaed and ineresed in learning new hi ngs.

Today sudens in orm levels 8 and 9 have he opion o a

leas wo elecives a week, e.g. media, French, wood and

meal work, home economics and auo mechanics.

The governmen suggess h a elecives are inroduced in

orm level 7. We recommend wo lessons a week or elecives

and h a hey become compulsory.

The governmen also suggess ha he municipaliies are

given he opporunit o oer more elecives han is he

case oday. Such elecives could be asronomy, meal and

echnology workshops and layou o websies. The elec-

ives may also be organised in caegories where he overall

subjec could be languages, na ural sciences, echnology

or innovaion.


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An inegraed school dayor Mahias in orm level 4

An exampleMahias is a suden in or m level 4 and he acively paricipaes in

class. Mahias is paricularly pleased o experience ha wha he

learns in school can acually be used in real lie. An example is when

his class combines he subjecs Mahs and Cras and Design o

calculae and consruc a compos conainer or he school yard.

In his way wha he learned in his Mahs class makes sense,

Mahias hinks.

Today is Wednesday, bu no an ordinary Wednesday. Twice a monh

he orm level 4 sudens have oudoor school. This means ha heenire school day is spen oudoors. The school day begins when Sren

heir eacher in Naural sciences and echnology ells he sudens

abou how many edible hings are acually available in he Danish

naure. Aerwards he sudens are divided ino groups ha have

o collec ingrediens or a meal. They go o he woods and hey may

also visi he schools kichen garden.

They walk o he woods and back again. T hey oen do ha in order

o ge some resh air and exercise. When hey ge back o he school,hey have o make a bonire and cook dinner in pos over he ire.

Their home economics eacher provides some exra ingrediens. All

he green wase rom he plans he sudens have colleced has o be

placed in he compos conainer. Laer he sudens have o examine

wha happens during he composing process. While hey ea hey alk

abou he origins o he ood hey keep in heir rerigeraors a home.

Aer dinner hey have a break and hen Mahias and his riends have

a Mahs class in he woods. They have o es dieren simple meh-

ods o esimae he heigh o ree and hey have o work ou a smar

mehod o coun all he rees in he wood.


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5. Oher improvemens o qualitand he social climae

The governmen suggess a number o iniiaives ha mayconribue o he improvemen o he public school:


The use o IT will srenghen he sudens academic

qualicaions and prepare hem or he uure demand s

o educaion and job opporuni ies. The use o IT is also

inended o aciliae increased ocus on planni ng eaching

and enabling more ecien uilisaion o resources in he

public school.

To advance he use o IT in he public school, he govern-

men has allocaed a sum o DKK 500 million rom 202 o

205. The money should primar ily be spen on increasing

he use o IT and ensuring beer use o digial ools in he

public school.

As a par o he common public secor digiali saion sra-

egy, he governmen has made an agreemen wih Local

Governmen Denmark (LGDK, The ineres group and

member auhoriy o Danish municipaliies) ha he

municipaliies mus provide he inras rucure neededowards 204. This i ncludes a sable wireless nework

wih su cien capacit and compuer access or sudens

who canno bring heir ow n compuers.

However, increased and qualied use o IT in he classroom

also requires ha IT is no considered as an isolaed discipline,

bu is ully inegraed in he eaching process. Thereore, he

governmen wans o ensure ha digial qualicaions and

digial cla ssroom suppor are inegraed in all subjecs and

aciviies in he public school.

During he coming years, he governmen will ensure he

increased use o IT in connecion wih he nal examin a-

ions. An exa mple o his could be auo-correcing wrien

digial es s in seleced subjecs.

Suden and parenal involvemen andincreased ocus on hriving sudens

To sreng hen he involvemen o parens and sudens in

he developmen o he school, he new eam o educaional

consulan s mus communicae good pracice or howparens and sudens may conr ibue o he developmen

o he public school and suppor an inegraed school day.

Ex amples could be specic mehods and ools or organis-ing he work o school boards a nd parenal involvemen

and special ocus areas regard ing how o posiively engage

vulnerable amilies in he educaion o heir children.

Suden abilit o acively conribue in class a nd o assis

in he process o creaing a sound learning environmen in

school mus be aciliaed by communicaing knowledge

and ex perience on how o engage sudens in he plann ing

and execuion o eaching and social aciviies and by

enabling he eachers o use ineresing eaching mehods.

Moreover, he join responsibilit o sudens or heir r iends

and heir muual learning will increase by srenghening

suden o suden aciviies, menor arrangemens and

suden counseling.

Quie classrooms, good r iendships and a good school

environmen are a prerequisie or he sudens abilit and

desire o learn. Similarly, hese qualiies are indi spensable

or eachers providing good educaion.

The governmen suggess ha an improved hriving o

sudens in he public school becomes one o he key peror-mance ind icaors or he public school. We also see monior-

ing suden well-being and developmen in he indiv idual

schools as a key elemen in he qualit developmen process

underaken by schools and local governmens. Furher-

more, he schools mus receive advice on how o work wih

learning environmens and wha makes sudens hrive in

order o minimise disrupive noise and suppor he social

and academic developmen o he sudens.

Parenal and s uden involvemen

Parens who acively paricipae in heir childs learning process

and who backup he school play a signican role in suden learn-

ing and academic achievemen.

The acive involvemen o sudens will inuence heir moivaion,

well-being and bene o he eaching . Suden o suden home-

work cas where sudens work in pairs and assis riends who are

academically challenged have proven ecien. They srenghen

he sudens social and academic compeences and conribue ogeing sudens o hrive in school.


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Increased ocus on he ransiion opos-compulsory educaion in he nalyears o public school

I is he govern mens objecive ha 95 per cen o a ll youngpeople complee a leas one pos-compulsor y educaion.

Denmark is a k nowledge and producion sociey and we

need young people who have acquired eiher a vocaiona l

or oher upper secondary educaion in order o oer a variet

o compeences.

To reach his goal, he sudens in he public school mus be

beer prepared or heir pos-compulsory educaion boh

in relaion o heir choice o educaion and heir abilit o

complee i. This requires a ar more ocused eor on work-

ing wih suden readiness or urher educaion in order or

all sudens o be considered ready by he end o orm level 9.

The governmen suggess h a more weigh is pu on clear,

objecive crieria or wha i akes o be considered ready

or ur her educaion. Moreover, he govern men suggess

ha sudens are assessed or u rher educaion readinessby he end o orm level 8. Thi s would enable eachers and

suden counselors in he Youh Educaion Guidance and

Counselling o sysemaically ake care o sudens who risk

no being considered ready or educaion, and who hereore

need o ur her develop heir personal, social or academic

compeencies. In he process o srenghening he sudens

readiness or urher educaion and heir knowledge o he

job m ark e, he govern men e ncou rages u sin g ac iviy

lessons or providing inormaion on urher and vocaional

educaion, as well as inormaion on he job marke.

The Advanced Leaving Ex amina ion o he public school

mus refec ha orm level 9 no only mark s he end o he

public school, bu also he sar o u rher educaion. The

examinaions infuence how he eaching is organised and

how hard he sudens work wih he di eren subjecs.


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35/56


Thereore, he governmen suggess ha he nal examina-

ions ge a ocus ha resembles real lie and a modern orma

which includes he use o IT, group ess and inerdiscipli-

nar y ess as well as projec and produc oriened ess.

The governmen suggess ha he nal examinaions are

renamed Form level 9 examinaions in order o sress ha

hey do no represen he end o an educaional progra mme.

The exr a number o lessons in he inegraed school day

also allows more ime or co-operaion wih pos-compulsory

educaion insiuions and local businesses paricularly

in he higher orm levels.

Acivit lessons a hese levels may be used or prepara -

ion o he sudens ur her educaion. E xamples could

be visis o vocaional schools, upper secondary schools

and businesses. Or i cou ld be menor programmes where

sudens rom pos-compulsory educaion schools share

experiences wih sudens rom he public school, or i

could be shor erm work experience.

The governmens suggesion or improving he public

school is aimed a all sudens rom pre-school class o

orm level 9, and i mus ensure h a more sudens leave

orm level 9 wih sucien qualicaions o complee a

pos-compulsory educaion. In connecion wih he 95 per

cen objecive and a uure proposal or a fexible educa -ion programme, he governmen will ocus on he ransi-

ion process rom he public school o pos-compulsory

educaion and success raes or compleion.

Inclusion a public school wih roomor everyone

I is a core value in he public school ha al l children a re

invied o be par o he communit.

The governmen has made an agreemen wih all Danish

municipaliies ha more sudens mus be included in

ordinary class room eaching.

The inegraed school day will provide a ramework or

organising he school day in a way ha challenges sudens

who have srong academic compeencies and hose who

do no. The school day will allow all sudens he necessary

suppor while also mainaini ng a close relaionship wih

riends. There wi ll, however, sill be special educaion pro-

grammes or children whose needs canno be me wihin

he ramework o he inegraed school day in a mainsreamschool class.

Inclusion a ransi ion o he public school

The public school segregaes ar oo many s udens rom main-

sream classroom eaching. In recen years he number o sudens

who have been reerred o special needs educaion has increasedconsiderably. The coss o special needs programmes have buil up,

and according o he mos recen overview i a mouns o 30 per cen

o he oal coss o he public school. This developmen should be

seen in he ligh o he ac ha here is no documenaion o prove

ha sudens who have been segregaed or special needs schools

and special needs classes obain beer academic resuls han hey

would have done in he public school. A ll children mus increase

heir poenial hrough inclusion; by srenghening he qua lit o

he eaching in general and by providing suppor or he individual

suden ogeher wih his riends.

In order o mee his challenge, a number o iniiaives have been

underaken o suppor he reorganisaion process in he munici-

paliies:

New legislation regarding the inclusive public school. The govern-

men has conduced a change in he legislaion concerning

increased inclusion wih a new demarcaion o he special needs

programme ha provides a more exible ramework or he

schools when hey plan inclusive eaching iniiaives.

Follow up on the transition to increased inclusion. The governmen

and Local Governmen Denmark have agreed ha by 2 05 he

number o sudens who will be included in mainsream class-

room eaching mus be increased rom 94.4 per cen o 96 .0 per

cen o he oal number o sudens in he public school. They

have also agreed ha he sudens academic qualicaions and

heir well-being mus be mainained or urher srenghened.

Development o inclusion initiatives. The governmen has esab-lished a naional eam o advisors on how o implemen inclusion

in day care aciliies, schools and leisure ime care aciliies. The

eam has o assis he municipaliies in preparing a holisic and

proessional ransiion ino inclusion.

The National Resource Centre or Inclusion and Special Needs Edu-

cation. The governmen has esablished a new resource cenre

or inclusion and special needs educaion in order o suppor a nd

qualiy he ransiion ino increased inclusion in he municipali-

ies. In his way k nowledge abou inclusion will be made avail-

able o he dieren proessionals relaed o he public school.

Inormation and attitude campaigns or parents and students. The

governmen suppors wo campaigns ha a re inended o sar alocal dialogue abou how o guaranee ha we ge a n academi-

cally srong public school or everyone.

The ollow-up group or Inclusion. The Miniser or Children and

Educaion has esablished a ollow-up group or inclusion in he

public school ha mus ensure ha he key sakeholders sup-

por and discu ss he objecives or an inclusive public school.

The fnancial resources allocated or academically challenged

students and special needs students. In connecion wih he rae

adjusmen pool agreemen or 202, resources have been al-

locaed or he developmen o new tpes o digial learn ing and

pedagogical insrumens or pracicing inclusion. And o urher

he use o IT based ools o srenghen diereniaed eaching.


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An inegraed school dayor Frederik in orm level 8

An exampleFrederik, who is a suden in orm level 8, ges he bes sar o he day

i he ges a proper meal. He hereore appreciaes he schools break-

as service or he sudens in orm levels 7 o 9. He also appreciaes he

opporunit o have a say regarding some o he subjecs on his ime-

able. He has chosen an innovaion heme wih elecives ha include

design, producion and branding/markeing. Frederik has become

increasingly ineresed in he Danish classes aer undersanding he

signicance o soryelling in relaion o a produc.

Today is Thursday and he school day will end wih Frederik visiinghe local commercial upper secondary school which has a menor-

ing arrangemen wih his school. Bu beore ha he has classes in

Physics/chemisry, Biology and Mahs. For he ime being he classes

are augh as an inerdisciplinary subjec on healh and alcohol. The

sudens have o calculae weigh, volume and alcohol percenage in

dieren drinks. T hey have o discuss how alcohol is absorbed by he

body and dierences in male and emale meabolism. They also have

o calculae he impac o reacion imes in relaion o sopping dis-

ances. And nally hey have o iniiae ermenaive processes whichhey can laer check or daa o be processed on heir compuers.

Beore Frederik goes o visi he commercial upper secondary school,

he paricipaes in a homework help class. During his class he alks

briefy wih his class eacher. A monh ago he received an assessmen

o his readiness or urher educaion. A ha ime he was old ha he

needed o ake a more independen approach in relaion o his home

work and working mehods. His class eacher has a suggesion or how

hey can work ogeher o ensure ha Frederik undergoes a posiive

academic developmen in order or him o become ready or an upper

secondary educaion in due ime. Frederik cycles o he college or

commercial upper secondary educaion. The disance adds poins

o his score in he schools cycling compeiion where all sudens com-

pee on who rides mos kilomeers. All resuls are colleced digially

and orm levels 7 o 9 (10) a he school are in urns responsible or

producing he weekly saisics. He is going back o his school aer he

visi. He plays on he school eam in baskeball. They pracice every

Tuesday and Thursday aer school hours. I is grea ha hey have a

new coach who is acually a Firs Team player in he local club.


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Teachers and school principals are he moivaors in he

public school. Highly compeen eachers and school prin-

cipals have vial i nfuence on suden resuls.

Thereore, he developmen o he public school mus rely on

a high degree o academic qualicaions among he schools

proessional sa. T hey mus have he bes possible educa-

ional background a nd high compeence levels in order o

each sudens and lead he public school.

The eachers, oher pedagogical sa andhe school principals are responsible orhe improvemen o he public school

The governmens proposal or an improvemen o he

public school aims a increasing he sudens academic

qualicaions.

The 45,000 eachers who work in he public school hold he

key o he success o a general improvemen. The eachers

qualicaions and heir enhusiasm are crucial or providing

good qualit eaching or he sudens. A he same ime,

close co-operaion beween eachers and oher pedagogical

sa will creae an increased ocus on suden developmen,

he qualit o paren-eacher relaions and improved pos-

sibiliies or inclusion o all sudens.

The principals in he public school also play an imporan par

in he process o improving he public school. They mus show

direcions or he school and demonsrae pedagogical leader-

ship o suppor he work o heir eachers. A nd hey mus

aciliae a school climae characerised by hriving sudens

and sa and close parenal co-operaion. The improvemen

o he public school also means ewer regulaions, more local

independence and hus a more exensive leadership role o

underake.

As a consequence o his, he governmen wi ll inroduce a

number o iniiaives o ra ise he compeence levels o he

eachers, oher pedagogical sa and principals.

Improved proessional

developmen and inegraiono knowledge o good eaching

Improved proessional developmen and

inegraion o knowledge o good eaching

1. Improved proessional developmen o eachers and

oher pedagogical sa. I is he governmens objec-ive ha by 2020 all sudens in he public school

should be augh by eachers who have main subject

qualicaions. The governmen will allocae DKK

000 million or he years 204 o 2020 o improve

he proessional sandards o eachers and oher

pedagogical sa in he public school.

2. Improved career pahs or eachers.

3. Governmenal allocaion o DKK 60 mill ion rom

203 o 205 or proessional developmen o lead-ers in he public school.

4. Enha nced research in he elds o pedagogy and

eaching mehods o be made ava ilable o eachers

and leaders.

5. Team o educaional consula ns o suppor he

ocus on qualit i n he public school.

6. New school council or child learn ing.


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1. Improved proessional developmenor eachers and oher pedagogical sa

As a par o he general improvemen o he public school,

he governmen inends o inensiy he curren eorsmade o increase he proessional developmen o eachers

and oher pedagogical sa.

I is he govern mens ambiion ha eachers obain

main subjec quali icaions in all subjecs hey each.

Teachers who have in-deph k nowledge o heir subjecs

provide beer qualit eaching boh pedagog ically and

academically.

Thereore, i is he governmens objecive ha by 2020 a ll

sudens in he public school should be augh by eachers

who have eiher obained main subjec qualicaions rom

heir eacher educaion, or who have obained similar

qualicaions rom relevan proessional developmen

educaion.

The ambiion o only have eachers wih main subjec quali-

caions o each all subjecs mus be included in The Public

School Ac. I should comprise all subjecs and orm levels and

i should be implemened a he level o each municipalit.

The governmen will discuss specic operaionalisaion and

implemenaion issues regarding ull main subjec qualica-

ion sandards wih Local Governmen Denmark (KL) in con-necion wih he planned negoiaions on local governmen

nancing or 204.

Wih his objecive, he governmen highlighs he signi-

cance o he eachers academic qualicaions and coninuous

proessional developmen in relaion o successul suden

learning. And he governmen wans i o be a sysemaic

ocus area or schools and municipaliies.

A he same ime, he govern men plans o conribue a

undi ng o DKK 000 million in he period 204 o 2020

o op up he curren municipal budges or proessional

developmen o eachers and oher pedagog ical sa. The

sae will a llocae DKK 600 mil lion or he period 202-204

and DKK 400 million or he period 207-2020. The unds

mus supplemen he municipal nancing or rai sing he

compeence levels o eachers and oher pedagog ical sa

in he public school.

In he governmen discussions w ih Local Governmen

Denmark (KL) on main subjec qualicaion sandards in

all schools, i ssues such as collecive ollow-up on he objec-

ive and plan ning o ocused compeence improvemenswill be addressed. And so will he possibilit o municipali-

ies aking a fexible approach o reach he objecive in case

o specic local challenges.

As a basi s or he compeence improvemens, he govern-

men and Local Governmen Denmark (KL) will map andanaly se he curren level o proessional developmen in

he municipaliies and prepare a saus or he main subjec

qualicaion sandards. The analysis mus also elucidae he

opporuniies or argeing he proessional developmen o

eachers by aking a saring poin in he eachers key com-

peencies, new orms o learning in he public school and he

need or IT suppor o aciliae learning in he public school.

Reorm o eacher educaion

On June 202, he governmen agreed wih The Liberal Par t o Denmark,The Conservaive Peoples Part and The Dani sh Peoples Part ha a

new eacher educaion programme should be developed. The objecive

is o develop an aracive educaion w ih a srong academic prole ha

maches he needs o he public school. The inenion is h a eachers

only each subjecs in which hey have obained specic eaching quali-

caions. In his way s udens will primarily be augh by eachers who

have high academic qualicaions in he subjecs hey each.

Some main elemens in he reorm a re:

The qualicaion sandards or suden eachers and academic sa

a eacher educaion colleges mus be raised.

The curren deail regulaion regarding which disciplines suden

eachers mus cover should be replaced by specic goals or which

qualicaions suden eachers mus acquire. The purpose is o en-

sure ha he eacher educaion programmes rema in exible enough

o coninuously adap o he subjecs augh in he public school

wihou depending on legislaive amendmens.

As a norm, he suden eachers mus acquire eaching qualica-

ions in hree subjecs, one o which mus be Danish or Mahs. T he

objecive is ha eachers in he public school only each he subjecs

in which hey have acquired eaching qualicaions.

The eachers basic academic qualicaions mus be improved

signicanly.

The eachers mus increase heir compeence levels regarding he

inegraed use o IT as a pedagogical ool.

The public school mus play a more signican role in eacher educa-

ion programmes. Teaching pracice mus be assessed by grading

and he nal exa minaion projecs o he proessional bachelorprogramme mus o a higher degree reec aspecs o pracical

relevance.

A new model or admission o eacher educaion programmes will be

inroduced. I will be based on cenrally agreed admission crieria in

combinaion wih inerviews

The uiion a eacher educaion programmes mus o a higher de-

gree be based on pracice relevan and ev idence-based knowledge.

Reorm o he Bachelor programme in Social Educaion on is way

The Social Educaion s udy programme mus be updaed in order o

urher improve he qualicaions o socia l educaors (he pedagogical

sa reerred o in his ex) and hus increase heir skills in suppori ng

playing and learning aciviies or children a all levels: From nursery

and kindergaren o he public school and afer school care aciliies,

where dieren pedagogical proessions mus inerac.


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2. Beer career pahs or eachers

We mus reain highly skilled eachers in he public school

and we mus nd beer a using heir dieren compeences.

To enable his, he governmen suggess ha he public

school should oer ineresing career pahs or eachers who

wish o urher develop heir proessional poenial. The public

school mus provide an up-o-dae working environ men

wih good opporuniies or developmen. The developmen

o he qualit sandards in he public school is closely con-

neced o increased ocus on he eaching proession being

considered an ineresing career pah. A he same ime,

dieren career opporuniies in he public school should

be developed and made visible.

Consequenly, he governmen plans o invie Local Govern-

men Denmark (KL) and The Danish Union o Teachers oco-operae on a soluion or improved career pahs in he

public school.

Improved career pahs could mean ha eachers who have

acquired a paricularly high level o compeence wihin a cer-

ain area, uncion as beacons, supervisors and co-operaion

parners or educaional consulans o a higher degree han

is he case oday. The governmen also wishes o incorporae

he bes eachers in he new eam o educaional consulans

in order o suppor he qualit improvemen o he public

school a naional level.


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3. More proessional developmenor school principals

The pracical i mplemenaion o he qualit i mprovemen

o he public school will be a huge ask or he school princi-pals and he municipaliies.

The inegraed school day is o be seen as a new way o or-

ganising schooling and i will mean a considerable change

o he roles o municipaliies and school principals .

A successul implemenaion o he improved qualit sand-

ards in he public school will depend on o which degree he

local governmens and he school principals manage o lead

change, and o make he mos o he new ramework and

opporuniies. All experience ells us ha successul change

processes require unambiguous and compeen leadership.

In is 202 repor, he Chairmanship or he School Council

recommends ha school principals o an increased exen

ocus on improving he qualit o he eaching as a pa r o

heir pedagogical leadership ask. This includes proessional

co-operaion beween members o sa a he school. And

requires ha he school principal should presen objecives

and a clear direcion or he didacic and pedagogical work

and or he relevan compeence developmen o he s a.

The governmen recommends allocaing a urher DKK 60million rom 203 o 205 or he proessional compeence

developmen o leaders in he public school a nd municipal

managers a like. The ocus o he proessional developmen

should be on pedagogical managemen and he acual im-

plemenaion o he i niiaives o i ncrease he proessional

sandards in he public school.

The compeence developmen mus be di reced owards:

The exac managemen asks and challenges relaed o

he plann ing o an i negraed school day.

Srenghening o he pedagogical leadership o he

school principals

An upgrade o school principals and municipal manag-

ers o enable hem o navigae hrough objecives and

evaluaions and o use he proessional developmen o

eachers and oher pedagogical sa o reach he school

objecives.


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4. Improved research inpedagogical heory, praciceand in eaching mehods

The governmen has allocaed DKK 320 million annuallyrom 203 o 205 or an evidence-based developmen o

Academy Program mes and Proessional BAs, including

eacher educaion and social educaion programmes. DKK

268 million mus be allocaed or he universit colleges in

order o enhance he proessional developmen o eachers

and oher pedagogical sa and hus improve he eaching

in he public school.

Through exra unding, he universit colleges will ge

a new and more speciic role and beer opporu niies

or acquiring knowledge relaed o he public school. In

co-operaion wih primar y and lower secondary schools

and universiies, he universit colleges mus develop and

communicae he tpe o knowledge ha is necessary i n

order o mee he challenges o he public school. And a

closer dialogue mus be esablished beween he universit

colleges and he schools a s beneciaries o new knowledge.

A new orum w ill be esablished o ensure a n improved e-

ec and coordin aion o developmen and research ac ivi-

ies relaed o all educaion, including he public school.

5. A new eam oeducaional consulans

The governmen recommends ha a naional eam o 40educaional consulans be esablished. The eam members

should have he role o advisors on qualit developmen or

he individual municipaliies and heir schools. Among oh-

ers, he eam should be composed o he bes eachers and

school principals. The educaional consulans mus en-

gage in dialogue wih he man agemen eams and assis in

disribuing knowledge o he bes eaching mehods, ools

and knowledge, in order o inspire he eachers in schools o

do more o he hings h a work.

The educaional consulans mus prov ide advice ha

is adaped o he needs o he indiv idual schools. Schools

which ace serious cha llenges may need specic advice

and assisance o re-esablish qualit, while he mos suc-

cessul schools may need advice on cerain ocus areas,

such as enh anced co-operaion among eachers.

The eam o learning consu lans mus be esablished

by merging and exending he curren educaion adviser

scheme, he Bilingual Task Force and he Inclusion

Developmen programme in he Minis ry o Chi ldren

and Educaion.

6. New council or child learning

There is a need o ake a coheren approach o chi ld learn-

ing rom bir h o he age o 6. The day care acili ies mus

simulae he childrens desire o learn and we mus ensure

a coheren ransiion rom day care aciliies o primary

and lower- secondary educaion.

The governmen recommends ha he cu rren School

Council should be exended wih represenaives rom he

day care aciliies and ha i is renamed Council or Child

Learning.

The acual implemenaion is crucial or

an improvemen o he public school

When implemeni ng new ools and insr umens hrou gh new legis-

laion, a major challenge is ofen o ge hings o change in real lie.

I is no unusual ha considerable ransormaion processes may

ace pracical diculies in real lie ha delay or even preven

change execuion. Such obsacles could also mean ha imporan

measures o increase qualit sandards do no have maxi mum

impac.

Thereore, i is very impora n no solely o ocus on he legislaionor he qualit improvemen insrumens in connecion wih he im-

plemenaion o a new pracice in he public school. Increased ocus

on sucienly preparing he people responsible or he execuion

o change is needed oo. Tha is why an improvemen o he public

school mus be aciliaed by consulancy and counseling provided

among ohers by he new eam o educaional consulans.


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The Danish public school represens a powerul Da nish

radiion or local auonomy. The governmen inends o

carry on his radiion.

Imposing regulaory measures on he municipaliies and

he schools on how o plan he developmen, is no wha

makes a good primar y and lower-secondary school. I is

crucial, however, ha all primary and lower secondary

schools ensure ha sudens acquire he righ quali ca-

ions and ha hey hrive in school.

Thereore, we should ocus less on deailed regulaion and

process managemen, bu more on objecives and resuls.

The governmen inends o presen a ew, naional objec-

ives and allow he municipaliies and schools more inde-

pendence o ulll hem.

We mus have rus i n he public school.

1. Three clear naional objecives orhe developmen o he public school

There is a need or a ew, explici objecives ha can se a

clear, collecive direcion and a h igh level o ambiion or

everyone in heir common eor s o develop he qualit

sandards in he public school.

Inernaional experience shows ha school sysems which

se a ew, explici developmen objecives, bes improve

heir resuls. Th is is due o he ac ha clear objecives

creae a common plaorm and direcion or he work on

qualit improvemen a all levels.

In is repor or 202, The Chairmanship or he School Council

recommends ha a ew, clear and ambiious poliical develop-

men objecives should be dened. Objecives which may be

commonly shared by he enire public school. The Chairman-

ship also recommends ha coninuous ollow up should be

inroduced in order o measure progress in relaion o meeing

he objecives.

The recommendaions rom The Chairmanship o he

School Council are o some exen based on posiive experi-

ence rom Onario in Canada, where considerably improved

resuls have been achieved by sei ng a ew, clear, naional

objecives or he public school combined wih key peror-

mance indicaors.

The governmen suggess h ree naional objecives:

The public school mus challenge all sudens o reach

heir ull poenial

The public school mus decrease he sign icance o

social background in relaion o academic achievemen

The public school should enjoy ru s and respec, and

he social school climae and he well-being o sudens

and sa shou ld be srenghened hrough respec or

proessional knowledge and pracice

The hree objecives refec he governmens overall vi-

sion or he public school.

The objecives are in li ne wih he objecives or New Nordic

School (o be explained in he ollowing pages), and hey have

been discussed wih he parnersh ip or he public school.

The h ree naional objecives a re inended o complemen

he governmens ambiion ha 95 per cen o a ll young

people should complee upper-secondary educaion.

Naional objecives se a clear direcion and a high, common

level o ambiion or he developmen o he public school.

Clear objecives or he develop-

men o he public school andincreased local independence

Clear objecives or he developmen o he public

school and increased local i ndependence

1. Three clear naional objecives or he developmen

o he public school.

2. Simplicaion o rules and regulaions and increased

how to make a good school even better

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