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SPEECH EDUCATION IN NORWAY
by
FLO ELIZABETH BERRY DAVIS, B.A.
A THESIS
IN
SPEECH
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for
the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
August, 1973
flo. Ill
% l ' l^'ll
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I find it impossible to express fully my deep appreciation to
the many individuals whose help made this study an accomplishment. To
begin an attempt, though, I must thank Dr. Robert T. Oliver for providing
the interest, advice, and prodding challenge that prompted my pursuing
the subject to this extent. Dr. P. Merville Larson consistently lent me
research materials, guidance, and patient encouragement for this endeavor
as he did throughout my studies at Texas Tech University. Dr. Richard
Cheatham has lent his counsel and moral support. My good friend. Dr. Paul
Brownlow, gave many hours of his time in criticism and in proofreading.
Research information was graciously and unselfishly provided by many
Norwegian correspondents. Finally, members of my family cared for me
and suffered with me throughout this project. To these individuals I am
truly grateful.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
TABLE OF DIAGRAMS v
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Justification for the Study 1
Tools for the Study 1
Methods for the Study 3
II. CULTURAL MILIEU 4
Geographical Setting 4
Social Climate 7
Language Development 8
National Identity 13
Storytelling Heritage 17
Oratorical Legacy 19
Political Evolution 22
Contributions of Mass Communications 25
Overview of Educational System 27
III. PUBLIC SPEECH EDUCATION 32
Historical Perspective 33
Speech Offerings in Compulsory Education 33
Speech Curriculum in the Gymnasium 37
Teacher Training Institutions 39
Adult Education Curriculum 40
College and University Speech Training 43
iii
IV. SPEECH THERAPY. 46
Overview of Special Education Programs . 47
Diagnosis and Treatment of Special Students 48
Special Education Institutions 51
Training for Speech Therapy 52
Professional Activities 55
V. EDUCATIONAL THEATRE 57
Historical Perspective 57
Financing Current Drama Programs 62
State Traveling Theatre 64
Amateur Theatrical Activities 67
Training Institutions. . 68
VI. CONCLUSION 71
Summary, Conclusions, and Comparison 71
Recommendations for Further Study 76
LIST OF SOURCES CITED 78
APPENDIX
A. INFORMATION SOURCES 81
B. RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
NORWEGIAN SPEECH EDUCATION 86
iv
TABLE OF DIAGRAMS
Diagram Showing School System , 30
Diagram Showing the System of Teacher Training 39
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Justification for the Study
From the birth of rhetoric in Ancient Greece, the quality and
teaching of speech communication has either enriched or diminished national
cultures. Modem technology and communications systems have tended to
shrink our world from many divided nations into one global community.
Because all are part of the whole, our speech education status reflects
communication trends wherever they occur. Since people share more like
nesses than differences, an investigation of other national speech
communication programs enables us to discover more about ourselves and
our common needs; a survey of communication in any part of the world
serves to inform us of ourselves as an academic body. Therefore, it is
important, according to William S. Howell, that we as a discipline be
concerned with the dual questions: "What is happening in speech educa
tion around the world?" and "What needs shape the future study and
teaching of speech education?" It is hoped that this study will add
to the accumulated knowledge of international speech education and aid
in determining (1) the status of global speech education, and (2) the
needs and changes directing the focus of speech education for tomorrow.
Tools for the Study
In 1970 Fred Casmir and L. S. Harms edited a collection of reports
^William S. Howell, "Forward," International Studies of National Speech Education Systems, ed. by Fred Casmir and L. S. Harms (Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1970), p. iii.
concerning the current speech education systems of twelve countries.
International Studies of National Speech Education Systems. The Pacific
Speech Association co-operated in publishing this anthology in which two
Scandinavian countries, Finland and Sweden, are represented. P. Merville
Larson subsequently compiled research on the status of speech education
in Denmark. Norway, then, is the only Scandinavian country not repre
sented in these studies. A seminar course at Texas Tech University
conducted by visiting professor Robert T. Oliver, father of the Inter
national Communication Association, stimulated this writer to undertake
a study of Norwegian speech education. These previously mentioned
studies of speech education in other Scandinavian countries provided
necessary insight for evaluating the speech curriculum in Norway.
This study utilizes information concerning the status of the
Norwegian education system gathered from various sources. The following
writings provided general information about the educational system:
Education in Norway by Olav Nyhamar, Education of Children and Youth in
Norway by Helen Huus, and The System of Education in Norway by Olav Hove.
Specific information dealing with speech curriculum came from two books
by Ingeborg Lyche, Adult Education and Promoting the Arts in Norway,
and from correspondence with Joan Tindal Blindheim, Torleiv Kronen and
Einar Kristiansen, Arne Vanvik, Martin Kloster-Jensen, and E. Slaato.
Two mimeographed descriptions. The Norwegian National Graduate College
of Special Education and Special Education of the Handicapped in Norway,
and correspondence with Lorang Hansen and Alf Preuss, Johan SaebflJ, and
Aud Hovik supplied information about the speech therapy program.
Educational theatre material primarily came from an article by Eva Roine,
"The State Traveling Theatre," and from correspondence with Anne Midgaard,
Nils Braanaas, and V. Rafn. Three Norwegian students matriculating in
Texas, Janne Schirmer, Trudy and Harald Indresaeter, gave the author
additional information through personal interviews. Various other sources
dealing with Norwegian culture were consulted. Finally, the author has
compared the Norwegian speech education system in its social milieu with
that of the other Scandinavian countries and with that of the United
States.^
Methods for the Study
In order to examine fully the present state of Norwegian speech
education, to determine present and future speech education needs, and
to make valid recommendations for further studies, the author will attempt
to explore various aspects of the cultural milieu of Norway affecting
speech communication. Chapter II, therefore, will contain a discussion of
the influences of geography, history, social mores, and communication
heritages upon speech education in Norway as well as a description of
the educational system. Chapter III will attempt to outline the existing
speech curriculum in public education. An examination of the existing
speech therapy program and technical training for therapists will comprise
Chapter IV. A discussion of educational drama and theatrical training
will be covered in Chapter V, and the final chapter will summarize the
findings and recommend further studies in the area.
2 Exact bibliographical material for sources quoted is found in
final sections of the study. List of Sources Consulted and Appendix A.
CHAPTER II
CULTURAL MILIEU
Since the values and customs of a country determine the frame of
reference through which rhetoric is viewed, an understanding of these
mores is necessary for formulating an impression of that country's
speech heritage. It is to this end that this chapter is devoted. The
Norwegian attitude toward rhetoric and speech education is influenced by
at least three factors: geographical, historical, and cultural.
Geographical Setting
Norway is a long, narrow, lute-shaped country sharply carved by
towering mountains and plunging fjords. About 24 per cent of the land
is covered by rich forests; 72 per cent is covered by rivers, lakes,
glaciers, and mountains; and only 4 per cent of the land is arable.^
The land's fantastic system of mountain rivers and waterfalls provides
the means for inexpensive generation of tremendous electrical power.
Norway produces more electricity per inhabitant than any other country
in the world, and this power makes possible the industrial systems
that form the backbone of the economy while the merchant fleet imports
the raw materials so lacking in Norway.^ A lack of natural resources
turned Norwegian economy toward the sea, and Norway's major industries
are sea or fresh-water centered. Located in the Scandinavian cluster,
^As a comparison, 16 per cent of the land is arable in Japan. Norwegian Embassy Information Service, Norway in a Nutshell (Washington, D. C : Norwegian Embassy Information Service, n.d.), p. 1.
^Lars Langaker, Glimpses of Norway (Oslo: The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Villco, 1971), pp. 5-7.
about one-third of Norway lies north of the Arctic Circle, but the Gulf
Stream warms the climate beyond what might be expected so far north
and provides ice free harbors throughout the year. Norway has the
third largest merchant fleet in the world; as of 1969 only six countries
had a larger foreign trade per inhabitant than Norway. Ship building,
electrical smelting, electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical pro
cessing, wood and paper processing, and fishing and fish processing are
the major industries.^
This land which is Europe's fifth largest in total area is also
the most sparsely populated, having a total population just under 4
million, or only 30.9 inhabitants per square mile.^ There are only five
cities with a population of 50,000 or more: Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen,
Stavanger, and Kristiansand.^ Three-fourths of the population live
within ten miles of the sea with a heavy concentration located around
the Oslo Fjord.6 The population has grown slowly and consistently
despite the emigration to the United States shortly before and after the
turn of the century. Economic conditions have so improved and the country
is so prosperous that there has been virtually no emigration since World
War II. There is only one minority group in Norway, and this group is
the Lapp population of about 25,000 who live a somewhat migratory
3Nutshell, pp. 1-2.
^As a comparison, England at this time had about 891 inhabitants to the square mile.
^Nutshell, p. 2.
"Philip M. Burgess, Elite Images and Foreign Policy Outcomes (Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, n.d.), p. 13.
existence in the extreme north irrespective of national boundaries. The
small Jewish community in Norway was severely depleted during the German
occupation of World War II.7 Although Vikings inter-married with the
natives of other countries they met in their wanderings, the inhabitants
of Norway have remained racially pure to a remarkable degree, as have
other Scandinavian peoples. Nor only are the Norwegians a very homo
geneous group due to economics and to race, they are also united by their
common religion. Whether they are faithful practitioners or not, 95
per cent of the Norwegian population belongs to the State Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran. However, complete religious freedom exists
constitutionally in Norway.^
Geographical conditions have had an undeniable influence on the
economy; the social and cultural patterns of Norway, and even the edu
cational system have been largely shaped by the harsh topography and
the sometimes severe climatic conditions, also." The people, influenced
by the wild, rugged terrain, have developed a spirit of individualism
and co-operation. The Norwegian living on a remote farm, or gaard, tended
to develop a strong sense of self-reliance, and at the same time he
emulated the pioneer spirit of co-operative compassion toward neighbors.
The necessity of forming into community groups in order to achieve a
common goal has lead to a rather socialistic form of government. At
7James A. Storing, Norwegian Democracy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963), p. 4.
8 Ibid., pp. 4-5.
^Olav Nyhamar, Education in Norway (Oslo: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Frank Varding, Sarpsborg, 1969), p. 1.
the same time, the Norwegian has a healthy, outdoorsman respect for
personal privacy. As a self-sufficient people, they are proud. They
are highly patriotic; they love the intensely rugged natural beauty
of their country, and they are an interesting blend of cosmopolitan
and provincial folksiness.
Social Climate
Not only have the meterological climate and geographical
conditions shaped the culture, but history has also played its part.
Norway has a long, involved, complicated, fascinating history with
alternating periods of independence and domination. The Norwegian
spirit of independence and individualism reflects the influence of their
Viking ancestors, a fierce, vanquishing, marauding people. Their communal
sense is a condition of their being a part of the Scandinavian community
through sharing a common history, a common stock, a common basic language.
Their reticence is traceable to their long history of foreign domination
and to the isolation imposed by nature on the scattered homesteads.
From the old days, each individual gaard was an autonomous and self-
supporting unit. The oldest working male of the family was the undis
puted authority giving to the family group patriarchal governing and
what education or religious instruction he deemed necessary and was
capable of imparting.- ^
Although perhaps poor, the Norwegian peasants have always been
l^T. K. Derry, A Short History of Norway (London: Simeon Shand Ltd., 1957), p. 17.
8
freemen.• •'- The feudal system was never a part of the Norwegian culture,
and even when dominated by outside forces, Norwegians retained personal
freedom. Perhaps because Norway's constitutional monarchy is such a
young one, there has been no hereditary aristocracy,^2 a d the romantic
movement following independence tended to glorify the peasant's culture
and allowed him to achieve an "occupational emancipation" and to move
up Into the old bourgeois class.- ^ "Today there is very little class
difference, whether social or cultural."- ^
Norwegians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Europe.
Taxes are relatively high, but there is an excellent public education
system providing academic preparation and vocational training in almost
every conceivable field; there is virtually no unemployment; national
social programs provide every citizen with health and retirement insurance,
and life expectancy is the highest in the world, with 71 years expectancy
for men and 76 for women.I^
Language Development
In spite of their many homogenous elements, Norwegians are frag
mented by language groups and by factions which make it possible for
l^Langaker, Glimpses, p. 2.
^^Storing, Democracy, p. 4.
13peter A. Munch, A Study of Cultural Change (Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1956), pp. 50-51.
l^Langaker, Glimpses, p. 11.
ISibid., p. 3.
Oslo, a city smaller than Atlanta, Georgia, to support as many news
papers as New York.^^ Language has long played a strategic role in
Norwegian culture; the strong communal feeling inherent in the Norwegian
people may be traced in large part to the kinship shared among the
Scandinavian people manifested in their common "community of speech." '
Perhaps as long ago as 2000 B.C., "the tribes entering Norway could
have been identified as speakers of a distinctive Nordic language,
the branch of the Teutonic language group from which modem Swedish,
Danish, and Norwegian are all derived."-'-" Speakers of these languages
today are mutually comprehensible because of their similarities.- ^
Although the relationship among the Scandinavian countries is less intense
than nationalism and allegiance to the individual countries, it is still
stronger than any feeling which exists among Anglo-Saxons.
However, because Denmark had long ruled Norway, at the time of
Norway's independence in 1814, Danish known as riksmaal^Q spoken with a
distinctive Norwegian accent was the imposed official language of
Norway and was used by all officials, in legal documents, in the pulpit,
in the schools, in the press, and in literary works. With independence,
a strong surge of nationalism swept the land as a result of the newly
16ibid., pp. 5-19.
•^^Burgess, Images, p. 36.
•'•%)erry. History, p. 14.
l^Burgess, Images, p. 36.
^^Norway does not capitalize the names of her languages.
10
acquired freedom from outside domination. - One facet of this national
istic movement, along with an interest in the glorious Viking period of
old, in the Norwegian folklore, and in the peasant culture, was a move
ment promoting the use of landsmaal, the language directly descended from
Old Norse still in use in the rural areas of Norway.^^ Ivar Aasen, a
self-educated philologist, traveled throughout the countryside collect
ing and analyzing local dialects. Aasen's compiled grammar and dictionary
of the synthesis of dialects gained prominence and popularity as a
national language.^^ Simple literature appealing to the
masses was written in this tongue derived from dialects reverting to
medieval Norse, and from the 1850's nynorsk, the revised landsmaal, began
to establish itself as a strong rival to riksmaal as a medium of oral
expression, as a means of identification with the national peasant
culture, and even as a literary language.^^
Since 1880 riksmaal and nynorsk have both shared the distinction
of being Norway's dual official languages. Since 1917 landsmaal has
officially been known as nynorsk and riksmaal as boksmaal. Radio and
television broadcast programs in both language forms as well as in all
local dialects. Writers today often resort to local dialects, but
boksmaal remains the language chiefly used by the professional classes,
2lDerry, History, p. 171.
22Nyhamar, Education, p. 1.
2%erry, History, p. 171.
2^Philip Caraman, Norway (New York: Paul S. Eriksson, Inc., 1970), p. 18.
11
for translations from foreign languages, for at least 80 per cent of
original writing, and as a primary written language of about 75 per cent
25 of school students.
In the schools each pupil has a major language and a second
language; in the rural communities nynorsk is usually the major language
used by the students, while in towns the major language more often is
boksmaal. Both language forms have been revised several times, and not
only is there conflict between boksmaal and nynorsk, there is also con
flict over the use of the older or the newer forms of each language.
Elementary schools teach only one language form determined by a vote
of the school district involved. Both forms are studied in secondary
school. " A school instructor may teach one language form all day in
97
school and then go home to speak the other form with his family." ^ The
two languages are closely akin and mutually comprehensible with a com
plex musical phonology, yet they are different in vocabulary and partic
ularly in style and structure.2° Nynorsk is the purer of the two, and
attempts are made to keep foreign elements from its vocabulary. However, on
a great amount of variety and flexibility is tolerated in both languages.^^
Therefore, not only has urban culture had an influence on rural, but the
^^Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Vol. 16, p. 658.
26Helen Huus, Education of Children and Youth in Norway (Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Press, 1960), p. 80.
27Edward J. Linehan, "Norway: Land of the Generous Sea," National Geographic, July, 1971, p. 20.
28Munch, Change, pp. 44, 48.
29Encyclopaedia Brittanica, p. 558.
12
reverse also has been true in areas including the aesthetic and intellec
tual as well as language. The peasant class has earned a respected
30 position in Norwegian society, and nynorsk has worked hand-in-hand
with the education and tax systems as an egalitarian influence.
The linguistic picture was further confused with three major
spelling reforms since 1905 and with a promotion in 1938 of sammnorsk,
a blend of the two languages." - A common joke in Norway is that all
Norwegians speak at least four languages, three of which are Norwegian.
For years heated debates have waged in the parliamentary body, the
Storting, over the confused state of the national tongue. Many patriots
prefer not to be reminded by the use of boksmaal of the 400-year-long
subjugation of Norway to Denmark. Others, impatient with the slow
linguistic evolution in process, are crusading for the adoption of the
32 synthetic blend, sammnorsk, the language in which law now is written.
However, many fear that this adoption is a blow to the Norwegian culture.
Still others advocate that the entire problem with all its patriotic
implications could be solved by impartially adopting the internationally
used language, English, as the national speech. One of the main obstacles
in education reform is the language problem, and motivated students
present organized appeals to the Storting for the teaching of only one
33 official Norwegian language in the schools.
^^Munch, Change, pp. 50, 54.
31caraman, Norway, p. 18.
32Linehan, "Norway," p. 20.
33caraman, Norway, p. 18.
13
The great Norwegian poet, Henrik Wergeland, reflects on the
frustrations inherent in a fragmented national language of a population
as small as that of Norway.
Golden eagle, with a chain around his leg, and his wing broken, having for more than twenty years, since it was shot half dead, served as simple bound dog at a lonely farm, does not suffer the pain of the poor poet, bom in a small people pushed away in a comer of the world with a language that does not reach from its comer farther than the breath from his lips." ^
National Identity
Analyzing and describing valid national characteristics which
would explain the Norwegian attitudes toward rhetoric and speech train
ing is difficult, but according to leading authorities, the most fre
quently mentioned are two which are related: a certain amount of
innate insecurity and the drive for conformity. Ibsen observed that:
"The conformity is in its way exemplary. Everyone keeps in line and
stays in step."^^ Ibsen himself created a scandal by striking at this
conformity, but today some argue that conformity is even more wide
spread in Norway now than in Ibsen's day. The great overwhelming
majority of Norwegians share the following characteristics in common:
they revel in solitary outdoor activities such as sailing, hiking, and
skiing; they have at least a nominal membership in the State Lutheran
^^Ingeborg Lyche, Promoting the Arts in Norway (Oslo: Universitets-forlaget and Harald Lyche & Co., 1966), pp. 52, 53.
35caraman, Norway, p. 11.
14
Church; they belong to at least one other of the countless organizations
so prevalent in the society; they strive to do well in school and to
further educate themselves; they are well mannered; they are well read;
they are multi-lingual.3° Indeed, Norwegians are avid, intelligent
readers of quality literature, many times in a foreign language. More
busy, profitable bookstores flourish in two square blocks in Oslo than
in many entire American cities of the same size.3'
Despite their professed independence and individualism, Norwegians
conform to the mores of their society to a high degree and admit their
insecurity themselves. This national insecurity is manifested in a
critical attitude expressed in the street as well as in the newspaper.
In all fairness, the Norwegian tends to be more self-critical than
critical of people of other lands. This may be a genuine attempt to
correct inadequacies or perceived wrongs, or it may be a means of ego-
building. Norwegians also are slow to accept innovations in daily life,
38 and this conservative attitude extends into their social lives as well.-*
One criticism of the educational process expressed by educators, for
instance, is the fact that though the centrally administered educational
program is good, it is far too resistant to experimentation, adjustment,
and change; innovative programs and reform are too slow and too hard to
achieve.- ^ In general, the Norwegian appears an enigmatic paradox
36ibid., p. 17.
37storing, Democracy, pp. 5-19.
38lbid., pp. 8-9.
39HUUS, Education, p. 9.
15
possessing a naive folksiness while in fact he may be a cosmopolitan
dweller experienced in European travel and far better read than the
average citizen of other lands. He prides himself on his superficial
independence while maintaining a high degree of conformity; yet he may
politely refuse to participate in a group activity, such as a drill, in
which he sees no value.^" He may remain individually uncommitted and
unaligned while yet a member of numerous organizations. Charming though
possessing many inconsistencies, he is a warm, friendly, interesting
person, if somewhat shy; and according to Dr. Tom Andersen, Chief of
Male Therapy at Tromso's mental hospital: "We are overcontrolled; we
restrain our smiles and our anger. "-'-
The Norwegian is taught very early an active aversion to self-
aggrandizement. The supreme virtue cultivated by Norwegians is a humble
kindness and helpfulness towards others, while the supreme vice to be
avoided seems to be humiliating another person, and being themselves
humiliated seems to be an anxiety approaching obsession. ' This fear
of being hurt or rejected partially explains their shyness and with
drawal among strangers. "The Norwegian is friendly, but shy; anxious
to become acquainted with other people, but reluctant to take the first
step. In certain respects he feels confident and operates individually
^^Caraman, Norway, p. 15.
•••Linehan, "Norway," p. 32.
^2Harry Eckstein, Division and Cohesion in Democracy (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Inc., 1966), pp. 87-88.
16
and socially with care and dispatched."^^
Congruent with this behavior pattern is a general reluctance of
competition. The Norwegian competes actively but politely for top
positions professionally or in school, but the competition is subdued
and modified to avoid any pronounced self-seeking. For example, unlike
the United States, Norway has virtually no professional athletes except
as guides or instructors, and certainly no personality ctilts surround
highly paid athletic "stars." Rather, the Norwegian athletic teams or
individual participants enjoy their sport for the sake of participation
rather than performing fiercely and competitively to win or for personal
gain.^^ "Norwegians, by and large, value a different character."^^
Humility is more valued than aggressiveness, and as a result getting
students to assume leadership is somewhat difficult. A Norwegian teacher
remarked that: "The pupils respect those who are more articulate than
themselves and generally elect them to offices ±f_ they are modest and
appear to show that they are not interested in getting these positions."^"
Seeming to make almost a religion of modesty and playing down any talents
or successes of their own:
The Norwegian aversion to outdoing others comes out also in the absence of some of those personal characteristics that others
^^Storing, Democracy, p. 10.
^^Eckstein, Division, pp. 92-93.
^^ibid., p. 94.
^^David Rodnick, The Norwegians (Washington, D. C , Public Affairs Press, 1955), p. 37, as quoted in Eckstein, Division, pp. 99-100.
17
associate with individuals: sparkle and force in public speaking, mental daring and trap-setting in argument, satiric wit, and so on.^7
This inhibition also comes through in governmental positions where:
The great thing among parliamentarians, for example, is to appear to be a regular fellow: practical and common-sensical, well-versed in dull facts, rather inelegant, unimpressed, indeed embarrassed by success. One displays certain rustic graces such as quiet attentiveness, ami ability, a lack of cantankerousness, disrespect or disdain; but one also displays certain rustic clumsiness: a monotonous delivery, a bare style, a lack of "manners" (although not of courtesy).^8
Storytelling Heritage
Aside from their ancient cultural heritage of storytelling,
Norwegians lack significant oral traditions. Beginning as early as the
very settlement of the land, storytelling became a beloved Norse art
form matchless in type and quantity. The bard, cast into public life
through his services as journalist, politician, and historian as well as
entertainer and artist, ranked high on the social scale. Front line
observers of action, they preserved hundreds of years of national as well
as family history. From the settlement of the country, through the
Viking forays, through the small farm era, the oral retelling of the
Norse history before the fire on long winter nights, in the tribal and
later in the family circle, has been an honored and revered part of the
culture as well as being an invaluable record of history and source of
national pride. Vikings gathered in their long halls to talk and tell
tales of their adventures. The early kings kept beside them their
^^ibid., p. 99.
^^Ibid., p. 156.
18
favorite chroniclers who often exerted great influence on the kings. The
family saga long has held a place of importance in Norway and proved to
be quite valuable in the 13th century when a lawsuit was settled by
the storyteller's ability to recount a family pedigree through almost
three centuries, a feat not considered extraordinary.
About this same time Icelanders recorded the stories in literature;
the sagas are stories of Scandinavian heroes, and the eddas are collections
of prose and poetry concerning the pre-Christian Teutonic gods, myths
about which we would know little without this record. Told primarily
for pleasure and entertainment, these sagas existed after innumerable
recountings. The bards developed astounding repertoire and developed
their communicative skill to a fine art.
The saga man, too, was talking before a group, judging with their standards and hiding himself behind events. His aim, too, was truthful and direct communication, close to the spoken word, and his main interest the psychological analysis, the revelation of dramatic episodes which struck the imagination.^9
In addition to the sagas, a rich heritage of fairy tales involv
ing trolls and other mythical beings emerged. Only a few years after
the Norwegian independence, romantic interest revived in folk literature,
and inspired by reading the Grimm Brothers works, Bj^mstjem Bj^mson
compiled and printed a book entitled Norwegian Folk Tales. In one year
Bj^mson's work of twelve volumes sold 70,000 copies.^^ For Norwegians,
though, these collections are something more than a national treasure
^^Halvadan Koht and Sigmund Skard, The Voice of Norway (Morning-side Heights, New York: Columbia University Press, 1944), p. 145.
50ibid_., p. 282. This number would correspond to about a sales of 3 million in the United States.
19
and a source of pride. Careful choice of the language for these tales
supported the national drive toward universal use of landsmaal, the
language of the rural areas.51 The tales in their rustic idiom gave an
inq)etus to that movement.52 Regrettably, though, their codification
apparently has relegated them largely to written rather than oral
literature forms.
Oratorical Legacy
In spite of the lack of formal training, Scandinavians, especially
men, appear to have a genuine fluency on almost any occasion. If this
is indeed true, one postulated theory is that the cultural mores of the
people emphasize a liberality of upbringing and a tolerance toward
children and youth which tends to allow maturation without the develop
ment of a great amount of oral inhibition. Paradoxically, Scandinavian
women have a degree of passivity in spite of the fact that theoretically
they are among the most emancipated in the world.^3 Whatever the reason,
Norway has produced several orators patterened after Quintillian's "good
man speaking well" who are worthy of notice in their ability to speak
and to affect the milieu in which they lived, not withstanding their
lack of rhetorical training.
King Sverrir ( ? -1202) is one of the first creditable Norwegian
5lDerry, History, pp. 166-167.
52For further discussion of language problem see Chapter II, pp. 8-13.
5%.etter from Joan Tindale Blindheim, Engelskseksjonen, University of Oslo, 1970, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University,
20
orators about whom we know. Although a brilliant strategist and military
leader, he was also a shrewd politician who effectively utilized his
communication abilities to maintain command. Mirroring the national image
of modesty, he habitually jested in a depreciating vein about his own
abilities, and he refused to deal in idle boasting in favor of the
rhetoric of action. Yet when in conflict with his rival for the throne,
he personally dictated his own saga of victories in order to influence
public opinion in his favor. In a disagreement with the church bishops,
he composed a learned, persuasive pamphlet addressed to the people.
Identifying and utilizing motivational drives, he incited his men to
follow him successfully into battles. Sverrir was a man after Cicero's
exanq)le, too, for in the speeches extant, he appears a master polemical
orator and at the same time a master of sarcastic wit. Undoubtedly
influenced by great contemporary rulers such as England's Henry II, he
owed much of his success to his consummate natural oratorical ability.^
The first really great orator in Norwegian politics was Johan
Sverdrup, a lawyer by profession who entered the Storting in 1851 after
being elected to that post by a group of artisans and working men in
one of the smaller cities. As leader of the Left, Sverdrup remained for
a generation the leader of political progress, and he is considered the
greatest statesman of modem Norway. Sverdrup was the first man in
Norway to abandon his professional career to devote his life completely
to politics, an action which he deemed to be necessary in order to
maintain his leadership of a strong political party even though this
5^Koht and Skard, Voice, p. 23.
21
action meant a lifetime of financial insecurity. Possessing a fluency
and a gift for phrasing ideas into memorable, convincing speeches,
Sverdrup studied the public manner of Chatham and Lamartine. He developed
a similar pointed, precise manner of speaking which was an innovation in
Norway that proved to be highly successful. A magnetic figure, he
conquered his audiences and quickly became the idol of the peasant
masses. Sverdrup was ethically persuasive; although he was fully
cognizant of and had a healthy respect for compromise, political manuever-
ing, and party unity, he always operated on the basis of complete honesty
preferring to rely on his powers of logical perusasion rather than on
deception.55
Norway has had many great spokesmen. It is impossible to over
look the dramatic social rhetoric of Ibsen which has had such far reach
ing and long lasting effects. Camilla Collette was the leading advocate
for womens' rights a century ago. More recently, Trygve Lie served not
only Norway but the entire world as a great conciliatory statesman as
Secretary-General of the United Nations. However, two orators whose
names are inextricably linked with Norwegian democracy are Henrik
Wergeland5o and Bj^mstjeme Bj^mson. Highly revered poets and patriots,
both men verbalized a passionate interest in freedom, democracy, progress,
reform, public education, and adult education.57
55ibld., p. 82.
5owergeland's poetic comment on the Norwegian language problem is in Chapter II, p. 13.
^'kgnes Mathilde Wergeland, Leaders in Norway (Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, Inc., 1966), p. 51.
22
Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845) was an active public speaker. His
speeches expound the practical tenets of high ideals, and their language
reflect his poetic temperament. Wergeland, a warm-hearted spokesman for
religious tolerance, championed Jewish immigration to Norway and legislated
for religious freedom. 58
Bj^mstjem Bj^mson (1832-1910) has the honor of being Norway's
greatest modem orator; Bjj^mson loved to speak and did so at the
slightest opportunity. Bj^mson had:
a voice like an orchestra, combining the lofty pathos of the prophet, the versatility of the accomplished actor, and a terrifying power of suggestion; there was no stormy public meeting which he could not master by the mere impact of his personality.59
The traits which made him a great orator were: his great vocal capa
bilities; his charismatic leadership quality; his command of a collec
tive, retentive mind with a wide range of interests; his natural ability
to organize his thoughts; his innate ethical persuasive power; his skill
ful use of propaganda; his intuitive ability to analyze and to motivate
others; and his energetic and enthusiastic practice of his extraordinary
oratorical talents."
Political Evolution
Another area of culture usually involving rhetorical skills is
that of political life. Norway is a constitutional monarchy with the
58Koht and Skard, Voice, p. 56.
59ibid., p. 243.
60lbid., p. 243.
23
executive power vested in the king who exercises his power through a
cabinet and a prime minister. Influenced by the constitutions of the
United States and France, the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 provides
for separation of powers. The legislative power lies in the Storting,
whose 150 representatives are elected proportionally from twenty electoral
districts every four years. The judiciary power is vested in the Supreme
Court.^^
The "peasant paragraph" of the Constitution stipulates that
two-thirds of the Storting representatives come from the rural districts.
However, at the outset the peasants did not take full advantage of their
representative power. Untrained themselves for political life, they
tended to elect local officials and pastors to represent them in the
Storting. Too often the rural representatives were extremely conscious
of the social distance which set them apart from the more polished,
urban representatives. "They often found it difficult to take part in
the parliamentary debates, and they had to suffer irony and sarcasm for
clumsily phrased sentences."" Officials of the pre-independence period
and other middle class men continued in places of decision-making and
authority for several years. For instance, no peasant served in any
governmental post before 1884. In the Storting, the middle class still
held sway due to their superior education, their knowledge of parliamentary
^Nutshell, p. 1.
^^Ingrid Semmingsen, "The Dissolution of Estate Society in Norway," The Scandinavian Economic History Review, 1955, p. 187, as quoted in Munch, Change, p. 39.
24
affairs, and their experience; they exercised considerable influence
through the press and the pulpit.^^
The egalitarian power of the Norwegian educational and taxation
systems erased arbitrary class status levels with the resulting involve
ment of people from all backgrounds in the government. Today anyone
may aspire to a governmental post. Norwegians often serve long apprentice
ships to fit them for a place in the national government, first preparing
thoroughly in the public school and then working at the local government
level. The secondary school plays a very important part in this program
of preparation. Norwegians are joiners of organizations, as has been
previously discussed,"^ and in secondary education large numbers of
students join the many types of organizations which include counterparts
of the national parties and organizations. Here the student learns to
practice parliamentary law and engages in debates and discussions which
not only serve to train the student and give him experience in speaking
but also educate and inform him on national questions. After leaving
school, most aspirants to civil service begin working at the local level.
Indeed, most officials in high governmental positions have this back
ground, and about 90 per cent of all national politicians come from local
government background.65 To reiterate, neither the academic nor the
practical training for public service place any emphasis on a polished,
structured speaking style.
^^Derry, History, p. 152.
6^See Chapter II, National Identity, pp. 13-17.
65Eckstein, Division, pp. 164, 174.
25
Contribution of Mass Communications
Telecommunications have a special importance in Norway because of
the physical character of the country. Radio, television, telephone,
and telegraph are the monopoly of the Norwegian government. Telephone
and telegraph services are almost national, and in 1969, 1,036,023
telephones were in the country, about 1 instrument per 4 inhabitants.^^
The oral art form most consistently available to Norwegian homes
is broadcasting. Radio broadcasting began in 1923 in Norway, and since
1933 the Norwegian National Broadcasting Corporation has existed as a
public service."" The NBC has its headquarters in Oslo, but forty sub
stations exist which transmit national programs; some substations daily
transmit brief local programs as well."" Norwegian families pay a yearly
tax to operate their radio and television receivers. In 1969 with a
population of about 3,900,000, Norway had 171 radio transmitters, and
radio listeners' licenses totaled 1,152,156. Television transmitters
totaled 235, and 738,562 viewers licenses were issued. A license entitles
the holder to use any nimiber of sets in his home on his license.'^ The
primary function of the NBC is to inform and to educate. Since the
broadcasting industry is a public utility it has no commercials, and most
^^Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Vol. 16 (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1969), p. 657.
6^Nutshell, p. 2.
^^ngeborg Lyche, Adult Education in Norway (Oslo: Universitets-forlaget and Aas & Wahl boktrykkeri, 1964), p. 21.
^^Brittanica, p. 657.
70Nutshell, p. 2.
26
programs are educational. Perhaps since broadcasting is not a competitive
free enterprise, there is less stress on developing broadcasting tech
niques and speech skills to attract listeners, for there is no leaming
institution designated for teaching these skills. The NBC does provide
limited vocational training. -
The Cinema Act of 1913 gives municipalities the authority to
authorize movies, and most are municipally owned. The Norwegian Rural
Cinema is an interesting example of co-operation between the state, local
authorities, and voluntary groups. It is a joint-stock company owned
by the State Ministry of Church and Education, the Association of
Municipal Cinemas, the Municipal Film Centre, and a number of adult
education organizations. The company began its activities in the summer
of 1950 with a fleet of five buses touring North Norway, the location
where requests for film performances were most pressing. The Rural
Cinema shows entertainment films, newsreels, and children's films. The
company now operates 38 touring motor-van and 7 touring boats, and it
visits about 900 different locations per year. Each place visited by
the Rural Cinema has two performances about once every four weeks.
Performances take place in almost every conceivable type building, and
the activity is continuous throughout the year except in Finnmark,
where roads are impassable during the spring thaw. In 1948 the State
Film Centre was established to distribute films to vocational schools,
the armed forces, the merchant navy, and to the voluntary adult education
'^This is part of the Adult Education program discussed in Chapter III, p. 40.
27
organizations. The State Film Centre has a special section dealing with
filmstrips, and it produces strips to meet the needs of schools and
adult education organizations.'2
Overview of Education System
The growth of democratic forces in Norway since the middle 19th
century is reflected in social, cultural, economic, and educational
trends. It is a characteristic of Norwegian schools today that each
type of school is covered by special national legislation specifying
administrative regulations and instructions, and equal educational
opportunities are available to each child in the nation. This egali
tarian system replaced the Latin schools which existed before Norwegian
independence.
With the Norwegian aversion to public utterance it seems paradox
ical that the present public school system came into being because of an
oral need. The grammar school in Norway can be traced back for more
than 800 years to clerical seminaries founded about 1150. However,
the primary school did not begin until about 1739 when the Storting
passed the Confirmation Act decreeing that there should be a public
school in every parish in order to educate each child to a level suit
able for confirmation.^^ Gradually the curriculum expanded from classical
instruction to a wider curriculum more suited to the broadening needs
and interests of youths for the first time leaving the confines of
72Lyche, Adult Education, pp. 43-44, 50-52.
73ibid., p. 7.
28
the family gaard, or farm.'^ The curriculum did not include speech
instruction although an interest in speech correction developed at this
early date.^5
Norwegians believe the surest way to maintain a democracy is to
improve the national level of education.^^ Therefore, the State conducts
almost all education in Norway, which is free to pupils of all ages at
all levels. The maxim that the process of education never ends is
evidenced by the great interest in education beyond the compulsory level
throughout life. The State not only provides free education but also
awards a considerable number of scholarships, grants, and loans to
supplement living costs when necessary during the period of study.77
Norway is one of the most highly educated countries in the world, having
78 a literacy rate of 99 per cent.' Education in Norway is centralized in
that the Ministry of Church and Education has established certain guide
lines for most kinds of schools concerning classrooms, curriculum, the
number of students constituting a classload, equipment, the education
of teachers, and a host of other matters. Depending on the passage of
parliamentary laws by the Storting for changes, progress is slow but
^^Thomas D. Eliot, Arthur Hillman, and others, Norway's Families (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1960), p. 52.
75see Chapter IV for discussion of Special Therapy program.
76HUUS, Education, p. 218.
''Langaker, Glimpses, p. 10.
7°Nyhamar, Education, p. 2.
29
is also sound and steady.'^ The education system maintains standards
equitably throughout the entire country, and this insures a uniform,
stable school system which fits in well with the democratic ideal of
equal opportunity for all.^^
A few private educational institutions exist in Norway, but the
nuniber is steadily dwindling. 1 Those who matriculate in a privately
operated school may take the state matriculation examination in full,
both oral and written forms, in every subject.82 Privatisters, pupils
from private schools, have a much higher rate of failure, however, on
the matriculation examination.^^
Today compulsory education covers the ages from seven to sixteen.
The pupil matriculates in the primary school for six years and then
progresses to the comprehensive school for three years. The state
administers standardized exams at the end of each year of compulsory
education to determine the child's academic standing, and these exam
ination grades depend both on written work and on oral responses.
Completion of the comprehensive school is a requirement for admission
to all secondary schools, whether the gymnasium, which is the academically
oriented secondary school, the folk high schools, or any of the many
7^Huus, Education, p. 9.
"Nyhamar, Education, p. 4.
"•'-Olav Hove, The System of Education in Norway (Oslo: Royal Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education and Johan Grundt Tanum Forlag, 1968), p. 6.
°2Nyhamar, Education, p. 3.
S^Huus, Education, p. 93.
30
IS 14 IS U 17 18 t« Af« • •
Tocher*' training college 0«-year course)
Compulsory education
. ' ^
Rrimary school
Comprehensive schools
D CHIJO
Teachers training college (2-year course)
Gymnasium
Commercial gymnasium Secretarial course
Technical school
L Folk high school
State College tor Teachers
University Of Oslo
University of Bergen
Workshop school I I • • I
^ I—I I • I • I I 1 I J
Apprentice school _ State College-of Agnoulture
Technical trade schoot
Elementary technical school
School for arts and handicrafts
00041] Commercial school
State Institute of Technology
State College of Business Administration
and Economics
State Veterinary College
State College for Physical Education
School for housekeeping
Independent Theological College
School for home arts and crafts
Fishing trade schools
Seamen's schools
School for social worker*
00{]
Schools of » o
s of tOi
Hi ricuiture, forestry, ditrying
Diagram showlnlK the school aystem. 84
diverse vocational t ra in ing schools. Compulsory education has as i t s
aims: the equalizat ion of education across the nation, the enrichment
of soc ia l l i f e in that a l l students attend a common school easi ly
8%ove, System, p . 8.
31
accessible to all, the education of all pupils according to their
individual abilities and interests, and the strengthening of practical
or
and aesthetic skills. -
The strong current of democracy that swept over 19th century Norway
left in its wake an education system which gives evidence of the desire
for equal opportunities for all. Norwegians have a long history of oral
tradition. The modem Norwegian is skilled in languages, and it is the
rare citizen who does not speak three or more languages. Many forces,
not the least of which is geographical, have played upon the Norwegian
culture molding it as it is today, and an understanding of the Norwegian
attitude toward speech education requires an understanding of these
forces.
85 Nyhamar, Education, pp. 2-3.
CHAPTER III
SPEECH EDUCATION
Although language study classes utilize oral comminication, the
Norwegian schools never have paid any special attention to speech as
an independent subject. No organized speech instruction exists at any
level of public education. However, on all school levels, many teachers,
especially among the younger ones, have come to realize the immense
importance of speech education in a modem society. Therefore, they
do their utmost to find room in the crowded curriculum for some kind
of speech activity among their pupils. This applies first and foremost
to teachers of the Norwegian language who encourage their pupils to make
speeches to their classmates as well as to students of other classes on
subjects chosen either by themselves or by the teacher. This same
tendency is true in classes other than languages, especially in history and
geography. In most history classes one might say that it has become
compulsory for pupils to deliver each term at least one elev-foredrag, or
pupil's lecture. These lectures are of about fifteen to twenty minutes
duration, and according to the individual teacher as much importance is
placed on the way the lectures are delivered by the student as on the
contents and the composition of the lectures. Therefore, it is correct
to say that at least with some teachers speech instruction is a part of
the education process. There are no competitive speech activities.-
^Letter from Rektor Torleiv Kronen and Einar Kristiansen, Larvik Gymnasium, Larvik, Norway, June 27, 1971, to Beth Davis.
32
33
Historical Perspective
In view of the Norwegian attitude toward speech skills, it seems
that the present public school system came into being because of an oral
need. The grammar school in Norway can be traced back for more than 800
years to clerical seminaries founded about 1150. However, the primary
school did not begin until about 1739 when the Storting passed the Con
firmation Act decreeing that there should be a public school in every
parish in order to educate each child to a level suitable for confirma-
tion. Gradually the curriculum expanded from classical instruction to
a wider curriculum more suited to the broadening needs and interests of
youths for the first time leaving the confines of the family gaard.
The curriculum did not include speech instruction although an interest
in speech correction developed at this early date.^
Speech Offerings in Compulsory Education
The Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education has as an aim
the education of all pupils according to their individual abilities
and interests and the strengthening of practical and aesthetic skills.
Therefore, since a part of the important matriculation examination is
taken orally, it is somewhat disappointing to find that an examination
of the Norwegian curriculum offerings from the primary school through
the secondary schools through the colleges and universities reveals
^Lyche, Adult Education, p. 7.
^Eliot, Hillman, and others. Families, p. 52.
^A history of speech therapy and the current program is covered in Chapter IV.
34
practically no courses which could be thought of as rhetoric or speech.
There are courses in higher education in the related fields of voice
and diction, speech correction methods, logic, phonetics, linguistics,
general semantics, philosophy, and psychology. Each level of the school
system does incorporate elements of informal speech instruction.
Compulsory education includes the grades from one through nine
which are taught in two divisions, the primary school and the compre
hensive school. One of the stated aims of compulsory education is to
cultivate individual oral self-expression. However, according to
Dr. Arne Vanvik, Chairman of the University of Oslo Phonetics Department,
"In Norway there has been far more general interest in spelling than in
speaking. This is a consequence of our particular language feuds."^
The curriculum offerings available to the primary school student
include: Norwegian, English, arithmetic, history, civics, geography,
religion, natural science, home environment, home economics, writing,
drawing, handicrafts, music, singing, and physical education." Recita
tion is the most frequently used instructional method in the primary
school, and it usually consists of questions and answers from the previous
evening's homework. The study of English begins in the fifth grade, and
before leaving primary school students are able to converse to some
extent in English. In teaching reading, teachers tend to place more
emphasis upon rote leaming and upon such things as syntax and
^Letter from Dr. Arne Vanvik, Phonetics Department, University of Oslo, June 23, 1971 to Beth Davis. A discussion of the language feuds is located in Chapter II, pp. 8-13, of this study.
^Hove, System, pp. 9-10.
35
pronunciation than in the development of self-expression.^ For example,
again quoting Dr. Vanvik, "Teachers are not supposed to 'correct'
dialectal pronunciations in the rural districts, although in the larger
towns 'vulgar' pronunciations are being corrected. In our schools one
is generally more particular about a Received British pronunciation of
English than about Norwegian pronunciations."^ Teaching techniques
include dramatizations, storytelling, discussions, and group work to
help the students develop language skills. Obviously any kind of informal
speech training is entirely at the discretion of the individual teacher.^
The second level of compulsory education, the comprehensive
school, includes the grades from seven to nine. At present all students
in the seventh grade work together in all subjects: Norwegian, mathe
matics, religion, social studies, natural science, English, music,
physical education, creative arts, and domestic science with nutrition
and chemistry. The eighth grade marks the division of students into
two streams of study leading toward either academic or practical pursuits
of education. In the eighth grade pupils have the choice of adding to
their required subjects either two foreign language courses or instruction
in subjects such as Norwegian, physical training, art, and handicrafts.
In the ninth grade, the division becomes more pronounced as students
receive sixteen hours instruction per week in a basic required curriculum
^Huus, Education, pp. 40, 46-47.
%ietter from Dr. Vanvik. Received Br i t i sh pronunciation i s simply standard Br i t i sh pronunciation.
%uus . Education, pp. 40, 46-47.
36
with twenty hours in elective subjects. These electives direct the
student toward either further academic work or a specific trade. While
the study of English is compulsory in primary school, it is voluntarily
continued by almost every pupil in comprehensive school, German is
offered as an elective subject from the eighth grade upwards and is
taken by over 70 per cent of students.- ^
Basically the same teaching methods are used in the comprehen
sive school as those used in primary school. Speech training, given as
a part of instruction in the Norwegian language classes, aims at
teaching the correct use of the voice, clear and distinct articulation,
and correct pronunciation. In 1971 the Ministry of Church and Educa
tion introduced an innovative speech course for the last four years of
compulsory schooling entitled Class Council Work/Pupils' Council Work.
The general idea behind this subject is to teach the students to function in a democratic society by teaching them to co-operate and by teaching them the basic techniques called for in democratic life. Fluency and skill in speaking are of great value in this context and importance is attached to speech education.
The students are systematically trained to express themselves, to ask permission to speak, to be the speaker, to introduce the subject of discussion, to present their point of view, and to preside at a meeting. They are taught to speak distinctly and slowly and to pronounce the words clearly so that everybody can hear. The students are given to understand that it is not only what they say that matters, but also the way in which they say it.- -
This course, described by an official in the Ministry of Church and
l^Nyhamar, Education, pp. 2-3.
•'•- Letter from Slaatto, Secretariatet, Ministry of Church and Education, Oslo, March 24, 1972, to Beth Davis.
37
Education, is so new that officials and teachers have not been able
to evaluate its effectiveness.
Speech Curriculum In The Gymnasium
The gymnasium is a three-year college preparatory course termin
ated by the state-administered matriculation examination. All students
receive instruction in the following subjects with greater emphasis
placed upon his particular choice of study: Norwegian, English, German,
French, history, civics, geography, biology, chemistry with physiology,
mathematics, physical training, and singing.•'• One purpose stipulated
for teaching Norwegian in the gymnasium is to develop the student's
ability of self-expression. In the gymnasium, as in the primary and
comprehensive schools, language classes place greater eu^hasis on the
study of grammar, on form, and on syntax, but students also must
demonstrate their ability to explain orally as well as in writing what
they have read. In addition, they must show proper use of vocabulary,
pronunciation, rhythm, and "sentence melody." There is a growing
interest among language study classes in dramatics and in utilizing
13 drama to teach language.
At the close of the year the Council for Secondary Education
simultaneously administers the final matriculation examination through
out the country with identical written questions for all students.
Theoretically oral testing is possible in every subject, but usually
^^Nyhamar, Education, p. 3.
l%uus. Education, pp. 66-67, 79-81.
38
a pupil tests orally in only two subjects, oral grades in other subjects
being determined by daily performance throughout the year. Testing
administrators inform pupils forty-eight hours in advance in which two
subjects oral testing will be held. The State appoints a teacher from
another district to serve as adjudicator during the oral testing, but
the student's classroom teacher questions him in the designated subject
area. Because the colleges and universities are already overcrowded,
not all students desiring a higher education can be admitted; therefore,
a higji degree of competitiveness exists among students for high matricu
lation examination grades since entrance to the places of higher leaming
are awarded on the basis of these grades.•'-
Teaching methods in the gymnasium utilize rote leaming and
memorization of facts, modes of teaching whicii tend to avoid individ
ualized interpretations and to suppress unusual talents and idiosyn-
cracies, thereby molding pupils into a stereotyped citizen. Even
student organizations tend to be counterparts of the national party
organizations. These student organizations hold political discussions
and debates. Many schools have frequent debates on a regular basis,
with teachers as observers, in which students assume the roles of
national politicians or national political parties, all the while
observing the procedures of parliamentary discussion. Formal argu
mentation and debate techniques are not stressed, however.
•^Nyhamar, Education, pp. 3-4.
^Eckstein, Division, p. 4.
l^Refer to training for political career. Chapter II, p. 24.
40
Adult Education Curriculum
Several other admirable educational institutions deserve mention
as components of secondary education, and these collectively are adult
education. The Norwegian word for adult education, folkebpplysning, is
translated "popular enlightenment," and the aim is to enable people to
be discerning, judgmental, and appreciative of academic and aesthetic
values.- ^ In the past, voluntary organizations, with state support, have
led the way in providing adult education. However, in 1965 the Storting,
recognizing the importance of adult education, resolved that it should
20 be brought up to an equal footing with the public school system. Today,
under the supervision of the Ministry of Church and Education, adult
education utilizes the following methods to achieve its purpose: folk
academies; study circles; the Students' Adult Education Service; broad
casting; traveling art exhibitions, theatrical performances, libraries,
museums, and films. In a country with geographical and economic barriers
to education, correspondence courses, radio and television broadcasts,
the State Traveling Libraries, the State Traveling Theatre, the State
Traveling Art Gallery, the Norwegian Rural Cinema, and other such institu
tions bring educational opportunities to the people in an effort to
21 erase inequities. -
The adult education study circle is a popular method of study
l^Lyche, Adult Education, pp. 6, 10.
20Hove, System, p. 35.
2lThe State Traveling Theatre is described in more detail in Chapter V, and Chapter II, p. 26, discusses the Norwegian Rural Cinema.
41
today. The Socratic mode of leaming is used by discussion groups
dealing with current topics, by groups organized for the study of a
specific book, by groups engaged in correspondence courses, by classes
engaged in organized study, and others. The study group usually con
sists of a group of friends who gather for regular meetings for study
and discussion. Prerequisite for the group leader is not that he be
an authority on the discussion subject, but that he have the abilities
for leading the group in its discussions. These study circles use
filmstrips, recordings, and tape recorders. For instance, tape record
ings frequently are used by groups engaged in language study, and groups
may preface the discussion topic for the day with a taped introduction
of the subject at hand.
Realizing the importance of oral study methods, the Joint Com
mittee for Study Activity, a state subsidized co-operative body which
carries on adult education activities, arranges residential seminars
and courses to train study leaders, discussion leaders, and adult
educators. The Committee also prints circulars and other subject matter
for study groups, circulates the periodical. Study News, and teaches
publicity and public relations methods.
Broadcasting is described by the state as being a part of the
adult education program. The advent of broadcasting meant a new and
important means of public education in a country with widely scattered
settlements separated by jagged landscape and limited transportation.
In 1933 the Broadcasting Act transformed the existing private broadcasting
42
company into an independent public corporation.^2 Even in the farthest
reaches of the country, radio and television bring music, drama, lectures,
and current events within the grasp of every citizen. The Norwegian
Broadcasting Company in conjunction with the University of Oslo and with
specialized high schools, regularly broadcasts lecture courses, delivers
instruction in language study, creates study groups, and arranges
discussion groups. It also has the responsibility for giving practical
training in broadcasting and film-making.
Althougih the study circle and the discussion group are very pop
ular, the chief method of teaching in adult education seems to be the
traditional lecture method. Independent folk academies sometimes unite
in arranging tours for lectures. These lectures range in subject matter
from purely scientific to readings and interpretations of drama and poetry
to lectures on music with illustrative demonstrations. The Norwegian
Students' Adult Education Service also arranges lectures by teachers
from the University of Oslo. In a day of competition with radio and
television, the lecturer finds that he must employ new techniques to
hold the interest of his audience. Modem lectures in the folk academies
employ such audio-visual aids as films, filmstrips, slides, maps, and
recordings. Subject matter of lectures has changed, too, so that lectures
frequently treat the controversial questions which were once forbidden.
The folk academies consider one of their tasks to be that of creating
discussion, and often they will invite two introductory speakers with
^^For more details of the NBC organization, consult Chapter II, pp. 25-26.
43
opposing points of view to present their ideas as a preliminary to the
discussion topic of the day. -
Thus, the adult education program does not include speech as
an academic discipline, but it does stress the knowledge and use of
various speech techniques. As a result, through the rather extensive
use of study and discussion groups, the observation of lecturers, demon
strations of literary readings and dramatic performances, a degree of
speech instruction exists, if somewhat inductive in method.
College and University Speech Training
Theoretically, oral proficiency develops throughout the public
school system since oral matriculation examinations conclude every level
of study. Little organized training is available to aid the student
in effective oral presentation of material, and what the student does
receive depends largely on the initiative and background of his class
room teacher. This is true also on the university and college levels and
in pedagogical courses.
The philosophy that education should be open to all people re
sulted in the principle of open lectures upon the establishment of
the University of Oslo, and the majority of lecture attendants then
was not active students officially enrolled at the University. In
principle this open lecture policy still exists. Registration and
regular class attendance are not required for all courses. Although
23Lyche, Adult Education, pp. 13-14, 28, 56-65.
2^Ibid., p. 35.
44
regular lectures are scheduled, Norwegian students do not work on a
degree plan and receive credits for courses successfully completed as
in the United States; rather matriculation is based on a successful
completion of the examinations. Instruction by lecture is the major
method of teaching in the universities, but other forms of instruction
used include seminars and colloquia directed by a university instructor
and involving group discussions among the students.^^
Courses which are being taught on the university level that
specifically focus on the effective use of speech are general phonetics
and general linguistics. The only other subjects which consistantly
stress effective speaking are in the teaching of languages in which
pronunciation and intonation receive some emphasis. For instance,
English courses at the University of Oslo use a study of Dramatic Reading
stressing the correct employment of vocal qualities. Clubs organized
for students of English and French are extracurricular group activities
which give attention to speech training. These groups have as a primary
goal practicing communication in the second language concerned, and
they display a growing interest in dramatic activities in connection
with language study.
The University of Oslo does include a Linguistics Department in
the Liberal Arts Faculty, and the professional organization for persons
in this field is the Norwegian Linguistics Society. No professional
organization or journal exists for those interested in the general field
of speech, but there are organizations and journals for speech therapists
^^Hove, System, p. 45.
45
and for those interested In educational drama. The Learned Societies
organization in the field of humanities Is of some concern to professors
interested in the area of speech.26 The University of Bergen maintains
a well-equipped phonetics laboratory and is establishing a speech clinic
with plans for this clinic to be a department of its own within the
University, awarding degrees, perhaps. In Speech Communication. The
Phonetics Institute of Bergen University is conducting some research in
general phonemlcs, general phonetics, and general linguistics.27
26 Professional organizations and journals are listed in the
Appendix A. 27 Letters from Dr. Martin Kloster-Jensen, University of Bergen;
Dr. Arne Vanvik, University of Oslo; and Joan Tindal Blindheim, Engelskeseksjonen, University of Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 19 70.
CHAPTER IV
SPEECH THERAPY
In contrast to some more Johnny-come-lately state programs in
other countries, special education for the handicapped in Norway has
as long a history as that of the primary school. In passing the Confir
mation Act of 1739 the Storting not only decreed that each child should
receive an education sufficient for preparing him for church confir
mation but that the local schoolmaster should care for and give special
help to handicapped young people who were unable to accept confirmation.
The priest was to serve as diagnostician and the family of the handi
capped child was to finance the necessary special instruction.
Educational authorities did not establish the first schools
specifically for education of the maladjusted until the 1900's. In 1919
the first special public school for the treatment of speech difficulties
opened just outside Oslo at Granhaug. Prior to the establishment of
this special school quite a few local school authorities recognized
the need for special treatment of the handicapped and responded by
taking the initiative in starting special classes or groups for pupils
having speech disorders. Many of these same municipalities also
pioneered in other areas of special education.-
Today Norway has a well developed system of special education
-A description of the earlier era of Norwegian education is located in Chapter II, pp. 27-28.
^Special Education of the Handicapped in Norway, Mimeographed, n.d., pp. 1, 2.
46
47
of which speech therapy is one area. As with other educational programs,
the State authorizes its administration, facilities, methods, equipment,
and education for certification of therapists.
Overview of Special Education Programs
The speech therapy program is conducted on local, district, and
state levels. The state administers the standardized program for special
education under the supervision of the Office of Special Education, a
department of the Ministry of Church and Education.^ The Council for
Special Education is a consultation committee of seven members. Five
members represent the traditional branches of special education, one
member represents an authority on the medical and psychiatric facets of
the program, and one member represents research in special education.^
The aim of special education is to allow the students to develop
their abilities as far as possible.5 Perceiving sufficient need, a
community or group of communities may establish special schools of
various types with economic and administrative support from the state.
Since World War II, special education has experienced tremendous growth
in Norway as in other countries, and it is continuing to expand its
scope.
%uus. Education, p. 4.
^Special Education, p. 4.
%uus. Education, p. 61.
%ove. System, p. 13.
^Huus, Education, p. 5.
48
Several special education schools are scattered throughout
Norway and a great number of these special schools are boarding schools.
Day schools also exist in towns and in more heavily settled rural areas.^
Residential schools for children of very limited mental ability have
been deemed unnecessary and undesirable; therefore, a large number of
day schools have been established in an effort for mentally retarded
pupils to achieve their full potentialities. The Education Act of 1959
decreed that the local school board has the duty of providing an adjusted
curriculum to meet the individual needs of special students."
Diagnosing and Treating Special Students
An aim of the special education program is to reach and to
extend aid to all children with special difficulties. So far as
possible, in treating speech problems therapy is administered primarily
in speech therapy clinics in the municipal school setting by the speech
therapist working with individual cases or in groups. However, diag
nosticians refer more difficult cases to municipal speech and reading
centers or to the state special schools.- -'- Outside the larger cities.
%ove. System, p. 13.
^Special Education, p. 5.
-^^Huus, Education, p. 61.
• •'-Letters from: Lorang Hansen and Alf Preuss, Norwegian Graduate College of Special Education and the Special Education School for Speech Correction, Oslo; Johan Saeb«5, Skadalen Offentlige Skole for D^ve; and Aud Hovik, Spesialskolen for Taleheramede, Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
49
therapists conduct community therapy classes or groups.^^
In the public school, the speech therapist conducting screen
ing examinations or the school medical or psychology officials through
teacher referral identify speech and hearing difficulties and refer
students for therapy. Tools for determining need include audiometric
tests, speech tests, psychometric tests, and a general evaluation by
a psychologist or other specialist.
Norwegian therapists are trained in using modern equipment for
diagnosing and treating problems of exceptional students. Speech thera
pists are adept in using the following instruments: hearing aids,
class sets of hearing equipment, tape recorders, speech trainers,
mirrors, oscilloscopes, Faradic units, S-indicators, rhythm indica
tors, nasal indicators, vocal pitch indicators, and various types of
vibrators and massage apparatus.
Should the problem prove serious enough, the evaluating committee
refers the student to one of the special schools for speech correction
where a committee reviews each case before admission. A team consist
ing of pedagogues, a psychologist, an audiologist, and a medical
specialist determines what special training is required. The school
13 authorities are responsible for administering the desired program.
Quite frequently, children with other disabilities also have
language or speech disabilities and must be treated dually. One tech
nique increasing in recognized importance in all areas of therapy is
^^Special Education, p. 5.
l % a n s e n , P r e u s s , Saeb^i, and Hovik l e t t e r s
50
that of building self-concept and self-image. For instance, at the
school for maladjusted boys as in the other special education schools,
the most important aim is not to give the children as much knowledge
as possible but to develop their personalities. One way of accomplish
ing this aim and of strengthening the self-concept of these students
is to offer a curriculum well suited to their needs. The fact that
these exceptional children suffer their worst defeats among their school
mates makes it even more important that the students realize the sense
of achievement, success, and understanding from managing various selected
school subjects.-*- The school curriculum includes both theoretical and
practical subjects in which there is active stimulation of leaming by the
brain and the hand simultaneously. There is no set curriculimi, and each
child learns as much and as rapidly as he is able with class loads remaining
at a minimum to allow the teacher to give each student special attention.
Indeed, the entire staff consciously works to build positive, friendly,
polite attitudes in the pupils. Educators place importance on the fact
that students gain self-confidence and initiative in this individualized
program rather than knowledge or aptitudes. Most of these students
attend vocational schools for occupational training, and the number
able to make a living for themselves, again augmenting self-concept,
is increasing.-^^ The idea of reinforcing the successes of the student
•'- arie Pederson, "Where Subnormal Children Acquire Self-Confi-dence and Joy of Working" (Oslo: Ministry of Church and Education,
Directorate for Special Schools, 1955, mimeographed), as quoted in Huus,
Education, p. 60.
-'-^uus. Education, p. 60-61.
51
is used also in students' speech therapy.
Special Education Institutions
The Special Schools Act of 1951 provides for the establishment,
administration, and financing of special schools for the speech handi
capped, the deaf, the blind, the retarded, and the maladjusted. These
schools are: primary schools for children up to the age of thirteen,
combined primary and middle schools, and schools for children above the
age for compulsory schooling which extends only through the middle school
level.^° The following are special education divisions and their total
residential enrollments for 1966-67:
Special Education for the Blind and Vision Impaired.... 65 Special Education for the Physically Handicapped 100 Special Education for Speech Disorders (most cases are treated in the auxiliary education) 150
Special Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing 324 Special Education for the Mentally Retarded (IQ 50-70) .1493-'-
By 1957 three schools for children with speech difficulties were
in operation besides several schools for the deaf and hard of hearing
which also offer speech therapy. The Granhaug Public School for
Children and Youth with Speech Difficulties, the Special School for
Stammering at Halmrast, and the Stepperud Public School for Children
with Speech Difficulties dealt specifically with speech problems, and
the Stepperud school also accepted deaf-mutes or aphasic children. A
central institute was started in 1958 at Saethem near Oslo.- ° In 1970
•"• Hove, System, p. 13.
Special Education, p. 7.
Huus, Education, p. 61.
52
The Norwegian National Graduate College of Special Education listed the
following three state special schools for speech defectives: the Spesial
skolen for Talehemmede, Oslo, where all kinds of speech defectives are
treated; the Spesialskolen for Stamme, Skrukli, where stutterers get
therapy; and the Elton off. skole, Raufoss, where children with central
language defects get their schooling and therapy. At this time municipal
classes for speech defectives were almost non-existent since speech cases
were treated individually and in groups in school speech therapy clinics.
In addition to these schools for speech difficulties, in the State
Schools for the Deaf, special acoustic treatment is available for the
deaf, the hard of hearing, and speech defective pupils.•'• All these
schools are boarding schools, but pupils live outside the school if they
desire. Sciiool authorities retain students as long as the school adminis
tration deems additional therapy or instruction necessary. The staff is
available to help the pupils at all times and provides the pupils with
as nearly normal and personal an existence as possible. Many extra
curricular activities are available to the pupils; for example, there
are a school newspaper, a library, sports and dramatic activities, and
arranged tours.^^
Training for Speech Therapy
Norwegian speech therapists train and are certified at the
Norwegian National Graduate College of Special Education at Oslo.
•^^Letters from Hansen and Preuss, Saebji, and Hovik,
2^Huus, Education, p. 61.
53
Training in this institution is academically oriented with medical,
psychological, and social authorities delivering series of lectures
designed to equip the student with knowledge for practical applica
tion. The prerequisite for enrolling in this college is a certificate
from a teachers' training college or college of education or the
completion of university studies in education or psychology. The College
of Special Education program, then, builds upon this previous instruction.
A proficiency in reading English is also a requirement for admission
because the curriculum uses English and American textbooks to a great
extent. Many of the college staff have studied in the United States,
and much of the required reading for the speech therapy course is in
English: Van Riper, Speech Correction; Luper and Mulder, Stuttering
Therapy for Children; Travis, Handbook of Speech Pathology; Miller,
Language and Communication. The study of languages is not a part of
the curriculum of the College of Special Education.
This college offers two plans of study. Part One and Part Two,
each of one-year duration. Students must stand the matriculation exam
inations at the end of each part. Part One aims at giving a broad,
general introduction to the area of special education, and all students
follow the same plan of study. Teaching methods include lectures,
seminars, observations, and practice training at speech clinics and special
schools. Students attend lectures given in education, psychology,
psychiatry, psychology of exceptional children, and deviations demanding
special measures of diagnostic, didactic, or organizational treatment.
These lectures intend to give students a more extensive foundation on
which to base their special education studies. In Part One, students
54
participate in practice teaching at remedial reading centers and in
classes for slow learners. In addition they visit special classes,
special schools, and other institutions. Students who have successfully
completed Part One continue to Part Two or qualify for certain positions
of special education such as teaching remedial reading. At the close
of this course, Part One students have attended a total of about 450
forty-five minute lectures and seminars and have engaged in teaching
practice for about 120 forty-five minute periods, half of which are
spent at remedial reading centers and half in classes for slow leamers.
The second-year of study builds upon Part One and offers an area
of specialization. Students electing to specialize may choose from
five divisions of study:
1. therapists to treat language and speech disorders in educa
tional, medical, and social institutions.
2. teaching for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and/or central
language and speech disorders.
3. teaching of mentally retarded and brain-damaged children.
4. teaching of emotionally disturbed children.
5. teaching of the partially-sighted and the blind.
Each of the five areas of study includes about 450 forty-five minute
lecture and seminar periods and about 300 forty-five minute periods of
practical application practice. A knowledge of the methods and programs
of other countries is stressed. In the area of speech therapy, the
curriculum includes lectures in phonetics, lectures in experimental
phonetics, and phonetic transcription of abnormal speech by means of the
International Phonetic Alphabet. The instructors' continuous descriptive
55
evaluation and reliance on the graphic representation of IPA determine
correctness of oral usage. The primary emphasis in the study of voice
and diction is on anatomy and physiology of the vocal organs, pathologies
of the voice, and therapy for vocal hygiene.
Candidates for certification should have demonstrated construc
tive class participation, a mastery of individual instruction, and a
proficiency of teaching skills. Certification for speech therapists
or teachers of the deaf exists on only one level of competency.^^ From
1946 to 1961 certification was on the basis of a one-year course. The
few therapists certified prior to that time have a restricted certifi
cation. 22
Professional Activities
Very little original research appears to have been done in the
fields of speech and hearing therapy in Norway. The research undertaken
is primarily in the area of stuttering: "Stuttering in Dovm's Syndrome"
and"Stuttering in Mongoloid Children." Speech therapists tend to take
up developmental work on their own initiative. There has been some
researc:h on rhythm equipment; research equipment includes the spectrograph
and oscilloscope.
The University of Bergen maintains a well equipped phonetics
laboratory and is establishing a speech clinic with the purpose of
developing research and teaching in the field of speech therapy and
2J-The Norwegian National Graduate College of Special Education, mimeograph, n.d., pp. 1-2.
22HUUS, Education, pp. 60-61.
56
voice hygiene. The University plans for this Speech Clinic to be a
department of its own serving all other departments and anticipates
granting degrees in Speech Therapy or Speech Communication. As a
beginning step this speech clinic is examining and offering therapy
to all first year students of humanities at the University of Bergen.
The University of Bergen Phonetics Institute is conducting some research
in general phonemlcs, general phonetics, and general linguistics.
The Norwegian professional organization for speech therapists
is the Norsk Logopedlag. Teachers for the deaf and hard of hearing
have their own organization. Professional journals for speech therapy
are: Norsk Tidsskrift for Logopedi, the Norwegian journal, and Nordisk
Tidsskrift for Tale og Stemme, the Scandinavian journal.23
better from Hansen and Preuss.
CHAPTER V
EDUCATIONAL THEATRE
When serving as the Norwegian Minister of Church and Education,
Lars Moen said, "One cannot do anything more useful than go to the
theatre." This pronouncement seems to reflect the Norwegian attitude.
Their respected national leader, dramatist, and poet, Bj^mstjeme
Bj^mson, evidenced his belief that, "Dramatic art might be the strongest
national and cultural force in a country."2 Norway, a democracy striv
ing for a strong national identity, has wisely utilized drama by present
ing theatre to the people in a cohesive, educational promotion to enrich,
to enlighten, and to bind together a citizenry scattered throughout this
sparcely populated and difficult to traverse terrain.
In an effort to determine the Norwegian philosophy of educational
theatre, it is advantageous first to view Norwegian theatre from a
historical perspective. To evaluate and appreciate fully the contem
porary program we explore the state administered program, the financ
ing of the program, the extent and depth of it, and the facilities for
theatrical training.
A Historical Perspective
Norwegian drama enjoys an honored, inherent, historical position
in Norway's culture. It is a progeny of that ancient art of the Nordic
bard blended with a continental influence. No doubt some form of
^Lyche, Arts, p. 33.
2ldem.
57
58
unrecorded, primeval, religious ritual drama was performed in Norway as
with other aboriginal groups;3 and in later history Viking chieftans
and Old Norse kings had their court mimes, jesters, storytellers, and
entertainers;^ but the first known formal dramatic performance given in
the native tongue was presented in 1550.^ This drama was the product
of Absalon Pederson Beyer, a Norwegian bishop and poet who was no doubt
influenced by the educational effectiveness of the open air morality
plays he observed while a theology student in Germany.^
Despite these precedents Norway, being at the time a province of
the Danish Kingdom, has to share its first recognized dramatist with
Denmark. Ironically this native of Bergen, Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754),
often is called the Father of Danish Literature. Holberg wrote books
on many subjects, but he was most famous for theatrical comedies that
poke fun at Danish society. As a creative artist Holberg, a disciple of
Moliere, was more continental in approach than provincially Norwegian.
As a youth, he had seen traveling companies of German actors touring
Bergen; he attended English theatre while a student at Oxford; and he
\
saw Moliere s comedies in Paris.
About this time dramatic societies began playing an important
role in developing the drama culture of Norway. During the latter part
^Freda Lingstrom. This Is Norway (London: Gerald Howe LTD, 1933, p. 66.
^See discussion of Norwegian storytelling, Chapter II, pp. 17-19.
^By comparison the first English drama, Ralph Roister Doister, was written and performed in 1533.
^Lyche, Arts, p. 34.
59
of the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century, a great
interest in theatre existed among the upper middle class of Norway.
Culture at this time in Norway was an import from and heavily influenced
by Denmark since Norway was a province of that country. For example,
most Norwegians desiring to get a higher education, studied in Denmark.^
The Norwegian Society, a Norwegian literary group formed by Norwegian
students living in Copenhagen, wrote several musical presentations, some
of which were performed back in Bergen during the 1770's. These produc
tions laid the foundations for the first Dramatic Society of Bergen. In
the 1780's a dramatic society also began in the capital city of Christiania
(Oslo). These dedicated groups are credited with developing an interest
in live theatre among the Norwegian public; to maintain membership one
had to remain active either in an acting capacity or in a technical or
managerial position. Since Norwegian identity or influence was not strong,
the native culture, talents, and creativity were not popular. Dramatic
societies organized and active in Norwegian towns such as Oslo, Bergen,
Trondheim, and Stavanger presented plays in vogue and receiving acclaim
in Denmark.
In 1810 Peter Stromberg, a Swede, was granted a royal license
to open the first professional theatre in Christiania. By this time
Norway was no longer a part of Denmark; the Norwegian government was in
union with that of Sweden. Stromberg's theatre opened in 1827 in
Christiania with a seating capacity of 600. This theatre was so popular
'Raymond Lindgren, Norway-Sweden (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1959), p. 24.
60
that when it was destroyed by fire the citizens collected the funds to
rebuild it. Although this theatre had been built by a Swede in Norway,
it was still primarily Danish in flavor.
Bergen's first professional theatre, The Norwegian Theatre, was
built a few years later in 1850 by the famous Norwegian violinist, Ole
Bull. The aims of this theatre were twofold: to encourage native drama
and to promote the use of native actors speaking their native tongue.8
Henrik Ibsen, at 23 years of age, was employed as its director, and he
served in this position for five years to be replaced when he left
Bergen by his younger contemporary, Bj^mstjeme Bj^mson. Both Ibsen
and Bj^mson served as playwrights, directors, and occasional actors.
Their pens and their plays verbalized forceful, passionate demands for
social reform.9 Ibsen went on to Christiania to serve as director of the
Norwegian Theatre there until 1863 when it merged with the older Christi
ania Theatre and he retired to devote himself wholly to dramatic writing.
Ibsen, Bji^mson, and Edvard Grieg were seated in the front row when the
present National Theatre in Oslo opened in 1901.
After Norway gained its independence from Denmark in 1814 she
began striving diligently to develop a strong national identity. Al
though Norway had her first theatre in the one built in Oslo by Stromberg,
Norway still did not have a truly Norwegian drama; Stromberg's theatre
was Danish in fact, with Danish actors speaking their native accents in
"Brian Westerdale Downs, Modem Norwegian Literature, 1860-1918 (Cambridge, England: University Press, 1966), p. 134.
^Lingstrom, Norway, p. 68.
61
a repertoire based on that of the Royal Theatre of Copenhagen.^0 The
Bergen theatre of Bull, Ibsen, and Bj^mson was the first truly Norwegian
theatre in that its purpose was to encourage native drama of an exceptional
quality and to present it in the accents of the theatre patrons.- - This
theatre group stressed such distinct articulation of a studied Norwegian
dialect that at times the speech on the stage was unrealistic to scenes
portraying everyday life.l2 However, the resulting attention to clear
diction was so far-reaching that when the Oslo School of Drama opened in
1852, training finally emphasized clear and distinct articulation of the
everyday speech of cultivated Norwegian townfolk.-'- Stage speech gradually
shifted to the colloquial with a desire for realism. 1^
Through the rhetoric of the theatres of BjjJmson and Ibsen;
through the poetry and leadership of that passionate champion of freedom
and progress, Henrik Wergeland;^^ and through those strongly nationalistic
coii5)Ositions incorporating Norwegian folk melodies by Grieg, Norwegian
cultural and political consciousness was fostered and strengthened,
bringing with it a national pride that ultimately brought Norway to full
l^Downs, Literature, p. 133.
l^This occurred during the peasant movement and the movement to popularize the use of landsmaal. See Chapter II for information concerning the Nationalist movement and the language development.
•'•Lingstrom, Norway, p. 68.
•'- Downs, Literature, p. 135.
•^^Lingstrom, Norway, p. 68.
l ^e rge land ' s ab i l i t i e s as poet and legislator are discussed in Chapter I I , pp. 13 and 22.
62
independence from Sweden in 1905. In 1912 The Norwegian Theatre using
the nynorsk (New Norwegian) language form as its medium opened in Oslo
to show that this new language form built upon the Old Norse and the
country dialects also could be used as a mode of literary expression.
The theatre and its new oral medium soon won respect for the outstand
ing quality of performances.
Throughout the nineteenth century and for a time in the twenti
eth century, Norwegian theatres had to contend with very real financial
struggles. In 1928 the Storting finally approved state support for
three theatres: the National Theatre, The Norwegian Theatre in Oslo
and The National Scene in Bergen. Today five permanent theatres receive
state support: the three aforementioned, the Trondelag Theatre in
Trondheim, and the Rogaland in Stavanger. The Oslo New Theatre is a
non-profit company in which the municipality of Oslo owns a majority
of the shares.
Financing Current Drama Programs
Today the Norwegian government actively supports and underwrites
cultural activities in all aspects of art including drama. The meri
torious thinking behind this program, according to Ingeborg Lyche,
Director, Arts and Cultural Division of the Royal Norwegian Ministry
of Church and Education is:
that the basic element of artistic creation is the existence of "freedom" in which to create, and not only freedom in the negative sense, as the absence of legal or political restrictions.
•'- Unless otherwise noted, the material in this section is based on Lyche, Arts, pp. 34-36.
63
but the kind of liberty which really provides the mental and physical free environment which allows concentration on creation; . . . . Understanding has also grown among the general public of the fact that artists too should have a fair deal in a modem democratic society and a fair share in the increasing prosperity and rising living standards.1^
Norway realizes that the State can promote artistic quality in a number
of ways and endeavors: to provide the means for a good education for
artists of all kinds, to educate the general public to appreciate the
arts, and to develop art education as an integral part of adult educa
tion. ^
Many national councils, commissions, committees, and subsidies
exist to foster the performing arts programs in Norway. The Arts and
Cultural Division of the Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education
administers this program. Funds come from such diverse sources as a
sales tax on periodicals to the national football pool. In 1965 the
government subsidies to art were as follows in Norwegian kroner:
State scholarships and direct grants to artists.... 2,150,000 National Art Galleries 1,470,000 Pictorial Art (Artists' associations, exhibitions, voluntary art institutions, local art schools, artistic enrichment of public buildings) 970,000
Music 2,380,000 Opera and ballet 2,730,000 Theatres 9,392,000 National Academy of Opera and Drama 310,000 Norwegian Film Institute 176,000 Film production 4,523,000 Amateur art activities 185,000
24,286,100 kr.- ^
^^Ibid., p. 8.
l^Ibid., p. 9.
• Norwegian kroner has a value of $ .14 United States currency. The total sum cited is equivalent to about N. k4. 7.15 per cap. for the year 1965. Ibid., p. 16.
64
The State Traveling Theatre
Probably nowhere is the official philosophy of a state-supported
program for education of the people in art appreciation more evident
than in the very admirable State Traveling Theatre, the Riksteatret.
A large portion of the state art subsidy goes to this program, the only
theatre in Norway owned entirely by the State. Riksteatret was estab
lished in 1948 with a director and a governing board appointed by the
King in Council for a period of five years. Various companies previously
had attempted tours, but it was not until the creation of Riksteatret
that large numbers of citizenry have a regular opportunity of seeing
both modem and classic theatre performances of high standards written
by authors from a wide range of countries. The Riksteatret organizes
about twenty-five tours each year by using its own companies, arranging
tours for the companies of permanent theatres, and cooperating with
the Swedish Traveling Theatre in exchange tours. Some of these com
panies include only three or four people while others may include as
many as fifty people. Riksteatret performs regularly at about 230
locations all over Norway to an estimated 300,000 or more spectators
a year. Several productions are performed each year for children. In
addition to its regular tours, Riksteatret arranges special productions
to accommodate Norwegian sailors in foreign ports, Riksteatret gives a
large number of programs for social institutions, and the theatre also
arranges a special tour for the Lapp minority with a program suited to
their culture. Besides giving dramatic productions, Riksteatret also
65
sponsors readings or lectures by individuals.^^
The two main problems of Riksteatret are: the difficulties of
traveling and the lack of suitable premises for productions. The tours
must depend on buses and boats for transportation, the buses traveling
as far as possible and then the entire company, scenery, and costumes
transferring to boats for water transportation. Five touring buses
cover 40,000 miles a year, and in addition there are many more nautical
miles by boat. A typical bus is outfitted to accommodate sixteen people
including technicians, and the crew very carefully packs sets and
costumes in a specially constructed compartment at the back of the bus.
Each company must take everything needed for its repertoire; nothing
can be left to chance in the outer regions served by the Riksteatret.
Necessary equipment for the tour sometimes includes a mobile switch
board, twenty or twenty-five spotlights, complete sets of curtains and
borders packed into the back compartment. The versatile cast, during
rehearsals, must adapt its production to whatever staging facilities
are available at each locality.
The second problem, that of suitable locations for theatre, is
augumented by careful planning for the future. Most of the new com
munity centers, for instance, which have been built in the past twenty
years include stage and dressing room accommodations. Riksteatret
employs its own theatre architect who is available to municipalities
and organizations for consultations, planning and approval of projected
20Letter from Anne Midgaard, State Traveling Theatre, Oslo, April 6, 1972, to Beth Davis.
66
plans. According to regulations governing their building, no community
center is built today that cannot function also as a theatre to be
shared by amateur groups as well as the state actors, and the Riksteatret
architect must approve plans for all stages. In addition, every Norwegian
architect receives a booklet, "How to Rig a Stage," written by Karl Eilert
Wiik, an authority with long experience both as a theatrical administra
tor and as an active worker in theatre. "
Townspeople are able to make a choice of the play they would
rather see from among the selections in the Riksteatret repertoire.
Serious productions such as Diary of Anne Frank and Hamlet are among the
most popular with audiences drawing almost 100 per cent attendance. One
of the most ambitious, most successful productions ever attempted by
Riksteatret was a simplified Peer Gynt on a portable revolving stage.
That this production received such enthusiastic response indicates the
success of the government program to sponsor dramatic productions to
educate its people in an aesthetic appreciation for the performing arts.
Each year the theatre plays to an average eighty per cent capacity, and
there is a constant cry for longer stops and more performances by the
22 groups.^^
Riksteatret educates also by co-operating with the Adult Educa
tion program and by stimulating and assisting local amateur acting
groups. Occasionally the actors address groups; the director of a Folk
2lLyche, Arts, pp. 37-38.
22Eva Roine, "The State Travelling Theatre," World Theatre: Theatre in Norway (special edition, n.d.), pp. 41-54.
67
Academy may arrange a discussion meeting after a Rikstreatret performance
in which the actors and the audience talk about various aspects of the
performance and the problems involved in a production. Although local
acting groups do exist, regional theatre cannot mature with too much
community dependency on the State Traveling Theatre; the Riksteatret
accepts its responsibility to coach the local groups in the skills
necessary to produce quality drama, thereby reducing its own future
traveling responsibilities.
Amateur Theatrical Activities
Believing that artists are not special types of human beings
but that every human being contains within himself a special type of
artist, Norwegian organizations attempt to encourage amateur activity in
the arts. The Norwegian League of Youth has shown the greatest amount
of interest in amateur dramatic endeavors. Two other enthusiastic
members of the Joint Committee for Amateur Theatrical Work are tVie
Workers' Educational Association and the Norwegian Amateur Dramatic
Association. Ten separate organizations comprise this Committee for
Amateur Theatrical Work, and the committee arranges from eight to ten
State subsidized residential theatre study courses of from one to two
weeks duration each year throughout the country. The Committee also
publishes a catalogue of plays suitable for amateur productions. "^ The
National League of Theatre in School has about 1200 members, most of
^Lyche, Arts, pp. 46-48.
2^Lyche, Arts, p. 39, and Lyche, Adult Education, p. 69.
68
whom are teachers, and it publishes a quarterly journal. Drama, which
recently became a Scandinavian journal covering educational drama develop-
2S
ments. "
A co-operative theatre association, the Haalogaland Theatre Guild,
was organized in 1963 in the three northernmost counties of Norway to
encourage amateur theatrical activities. A qualified theatre instructor
travels from one amateur group to another instructing and directing the
adult education organizations, the amateur drama clubs, and the amateur
municipal groups that make up the association. State support is provided
for this non-professional activity. The State budget for theatres in
1965 in Norwegian kroner was: The National Theatre (approx.) 2,177,500 The Norwegian Theatre (approx.) 1,965,000 The National Scene (approx.) 1,091,700 Trondelag Theatre (approx.) 826,000 Rogland Theatre (approx.) 628,000 State Traveling Theatre 2,315,800 Haalogaland Theatre Association 110,000 To adult education organizations promoting theatre interest 100,000
Nordic Theatre Cooperation 56,000 Amateur theatre activities 34,000 Two scholarships for theatre producers 25,000
TOTAL 9,392,100 26
Training Institutions
As early as 1836 the Storting granted fellowships to Norwegian
artists to enable them to study abroad.27 With Norwegian independence
25Letter from Nils Braanaas, editor of Drama, and Chairman, National League of Theatre in Schools, Oslo, May 8, 1972, to Beth Davis.
26Lyche, Arts, pp. 39-40.
27ibid., p. 25.
69
came the desire to build a strong national educational system relevant
to the needs of the people. Slowly technical schools started to meet
various needs, including those of training artists. As early as 1852
a School of Drama began in Christiania which placed emphasis on train
ing actors using everyday Norwegian dialects.2° At present the Phonetics
Institute, University of Bergen, is co-operating in planning a Theatre
School in Bergen, but the State Theatre School of Oslo, established in
1953, appears to be the only school in Norway which at present is giving
training to actors. The Ministry of Church and Education appoints a
director for the State Theatre School for a three-year duration. Appli
cants must be seventeen years of age before applying for admission to
the school and should have earned a certificate from the comprehensive
school, which goes through the ninth grade. Speech education, voice
training, make-up, costuming, acting improvization, dancing, fencing,
29 and history of the theatre are among the courses taught. After the
first two years of instruction, the student spends one year in practical
training at a professional theatre, returning to the school for the
third year of instruction. During this third year of training, students
travel abroad for a study tour to London and to European theatre capitals.
Only twelve new students are admitted per year, and students must pass
an entrance examination before admittance. Tuition to this school is
free, and the students may apply for loans and scholarships to the State
2^ingstrom, Norway, p. 68.
2^Letter from V. Rafn, State Theatre School, Oslo, April 20,
1972, to Beth Davis.
70
Loan Fund for Students for living expenses. In addition to the regular
students, the Theatre School also has a few tewporary students already
employed by theatres. The State Theatre School also has the responsi
bility for providing a two-year training course for opera singers. A
maximum of seven young singers selected by a special committee study at
the Theatre School.^^
While the State Theatre School gives training in acting and in
31 opera performing, no school exists for technical training in theatre.
Plans for such an establishment wait for available funds. The School,
in connection with the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, also gives
training in film making and in broadcasting, and a study is being made
32 for the establishment of a training school for film artists as well.
-^\yche. Arts, pp. 54-56.
3lRoine, "Theatre," p. 54.
32Letter from Rafn.
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
Having examined the influences upon national speech education in
Norway and the existing programs of public speech curriculum, speech
therapy, and educational drama, the writer will attempt to make eval
uations and recommendations based upon the results. This chapter shall,
therefore, summarize the findings of the preceding chapters, advance
conclusions concerning the nature of speech education in Norway, and
suggest further studies that might be made in this area.
Summary, Conclusions, and Comparison
It has been established that there are at least three important
factors which have shaped the speech educational process: the geo
graphical influences, the cultural heritage, and the resulting national
personality characteristics. The people are homogenous by reason of
race, religion, and egalitarian institutions. Norwegians are proud,
patriotic, and respectful of personal privacy.
At least two conflicts are inherent in the society which might
affect a program of speech education, and these are: (1) the conflict
of nationalism as opposed to a strong Scandinavian communal relation
ship and the necessary dependency upon international commerce, and
(2) the conflict of intense independent individualism with an emphasis
on personal privacy as opposed to the drive to conform and to participate
in well organized cooperative ventures. Attitudes toward speech activ
ities are shaped largely by an innate national insecurity as reflected
in a critical attitude, a conservative attitude, and the need to conform
71
72
unobtrusively to the crowd. The national drive to conform is manifested
in the need to do things (ski, belong to the Lutheran Church) because
these are the things being done by others, in the tendency toward non-
competitiveness, and in an aversion to attention-seeking which affects
an informal, unstudied speaking style and a lack of aggressiveness.
The most distinctive Norwegian oral tradition is that of story
telling. Speech education in Norway owes an enormous debt of gratitude
to the myths of the trolls and mountain gods and the legends of the
Norse Vikings for the preservation of an oral cultural tradition in
this society. Keeping in mind the strong national pride, future research
may indicate that storytelling festivals with events in myths, fairy
tales, sagas, and eddas might be a good place to begin implementing
the speech curriculimi in the primary and comprehensive schools. These
festivals might perhaps be held in connection with the Norwegian
Independence Celebrations held May 17. Since Norwegian literature is
taught in language classes, oral interpretation and dramatizations of
these Old Norse and Viking tales might prove to be another way of
creating interest in speech activities. Further research may validate
the assumption that emphasizing the oratorical heritage of Norway by
teaching an awareness of the speaking styles and the oratorical influence
of Norwegian leaders such as Sverrir, Sverdrup, and Bj^mson may create
an interest in rhetoric.
Oral reports in class, oral matriculation examinations, and the
use of parliamentary procedure and informal discussions and debates in
school organizations are at present the basic types of speech education
prevalent in the public schools of Norway. Speech training depends
73
largely on the predisposition of the individual classroom teacher, and in
some language classes teachers do emphasize drama and oral interpretation
of literature. Since the existing program depends entirely upon the
discretion and initiative of the individual teacher, further study may
bear out the tendency to believe that all teacher training institutions
would do well to implement their current curriculum with at least one
required fundamental survey speech course. This course might be designed
not only to aid the prospective teacher in becoming a more skilled
communicator himself but also to introduce him to the different areas
of speech education and to make him more discerning, aware, and involved
in communication activities.
The one new innovative course introduced recently in the lower
schools is the Class Council Work/Pupils* Council Work course which
places an emphasis on fluency and skill in speaking as a component to
living in a democratic society. Since some educators already are aware
of the need for further speech education, perhaps their interest coupled
with the educational experience gained by Norwegians matriculating in
foreign schools may stimulate interest in speech courses throughout the
school system and motivate the writing of course textbooks in the native
languages.
Because of the tendency to conform, to avoid attracting attention,
and to produce regimented, prototyped models of Norwegian young people,
and because of the high collective interest in parliamentary procedure
and discussion in the organized bodies in the Norwegian culture, dis
cussion methods courses and parliamentary procedure courses are being
taught rather informally. The folk academies accept as their
74
responsibility the stimulation of discussion groups. In adult education,
too, the use of study circles is widespread, and research may indicate
a need for courses in discussion methods and in small group communication
which might provide an excellent launching place for an entire curriculum
in speech activities. The well developed system of trade and technical
schools offers training for almost every conceivable vocation in society,
but a lack of training in oral communication skills is conspicuous.
Almost all professions treated in the colleges and universities involve
oral communication, also, but at present no speech training is offered
at any level with the exception of those areas offered in secondary
schools, speech therapy, and linguistics and phonetics.
The Norwegian speech therapy program appears to be superior to
those of the other Scandinavian countries in having a well-defined,
comprehensive program of study for the preparation and certification
of therapists balancing theory and supervised practice. Obviously
the state is making a supreme attempt to provide therapy for all students
needing it, a desirable goal, as well as providing the therapy in the
local school situation so far as possible. Although presently the
field of speech correction is following the programs advanced by the
United States and Britain, much shared Scandinavian interest exists in
this as well as in related subjects. It is interesting to note that
little original research has been attempted up to this time, practical
application being stressed. However, with the growing interest in
special education and the growth of new departments in the universities,
the field of research may grow. This may be a new dimension of speech
therapy in Norway.
75
Concerning theatre, Sweden's Riksteatret. a model of efficiency
and organization, has established a Scandinavian lead; but the Norwegians
have an active, successful program of traveling theatre which brings
live drama experiences to many throughout the nation. Research tends
to indicate that this element of educational theatre needs to be
iiiq)lemented with a school for theatre technicians and with training of
drama teachers for drama courses to be added to the public school system
curriculum.^
The curriculum of Norwegian schools is already overcrowded with
academic studies, and students are pressured to achieve in the academic
areas covered in the matriculation examinations or to hurry through
technical training into a paying job. Yet students are demanding more
opportunities for higher education, and they also are demanding changes
in curriculum relevant to the needs of today's society. Therefore,
further research may recommend that timing is right for a change in the
speecii education program in Norway. As a Norwegian gjminasiimi teacher
commented:
The Norwegian schools are just now in a kind of "melting pot," and so many new theories are introduced, so many new methods adopted that it is very difficult to say exactly what our schools of tomorrow will be like. I have a feeling that "speech education" may be an important item in the curriculum in five or ten years.2
Because all students are required to give oral reports and to stand
oral matriculation examinations throughout the public school system.
^Roine, "Theatre," p. 43.
2Letter from Rektor Kronen and Einar Kristiansen, Larvik Gymnasium, June 27, 1971.
76
a speech program should serve to strengthen the existing program by
teaching better organization methods, thinking extemporaneously, experi
encing practice in maintaining poise and self-control while speaking
before an audience, and developing self-expression.
Recommendations for Further Study
An attempt to make an evaluative study of speech education in
another country may seem presumptuous. This writer is aware of the
severe limitations placed upon the study and has attempted to relay
research findings as fully and objectively as possible. This study
has by no means exhausted the subject, and a number of interesting
possibilities for future investigation present themselves.
1. Further study of Norwegian speech education as it develops
might be undertaken by those able to travel to that country.
2. A follow-up study of anticipated curriculum changes over
a period of time with resulting modifications in attitudes, effective
ness and style is an interesting possibility.
3. An investigation of the co-operation inter-culturally with
in the Nordic Council is also an area to be explored.
4. The State Traveling Theatre program is such an apparently
efficient one, a personal investigation and evaluation of it compared,
perhaps, with other Scandinavian programs is inviting.
5. Since Norwegian speech therapists are just now becoming
interested in research, continued attention to this area of speech
curriculum bears pursuing.
6. Finally, the speech education practices of many countries
77
remain to be researched and reported. With speech education programs
of many countries remaining unexplored, knowledge of the history and
scope of our discipline internationally continues to be incomplete.
LIST OF SOURCES CITED
Books
Burgess, Philip M. Elite Images and Foreign Policy Outcomes. Columbus Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, 1967.
Caraman, Philip. Norway. New York: Paul S. Eriksson, Inc., 1970.
Casmir, Fred and Harms, L. S. International Studies of National Speech Education Systems. Minneapolis, Minn.: Burgess Publishing Company, 1970.
Derry, T. K. A Short History of Norway. London: Simeon Shand, 1957.
Downs, Brian Westerdale. Modem Norwegian Literature, 1860-1918. Cambridge, England: University Press, 1966.
Eckstein, Harry. Division and Cohesion in Democracy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Inc., 1966.
Eliot, Thomas D.; Hillman, Arthur; and others. Norway's Families. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1960.
Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Vol. 16 . Chicago: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Inc., 1969.
Hove, Olav. The System of Education in Norway. Oslo: Royal Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education and Johan Grundt Tanxmi Forlag, 1968.
Huus, Helen. Education of Children and Youth In Norway. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1960.
Koht, Halvadan and Skard, Sigmund. The Voice of Norway. Momingside Heights, New York: Columbia University Press, 1944.
Langaker, Lars. Glimpses of Norway. Oslo: The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Villco, 1971.
Lingstrom, Freda. This Is Norway. London: Gerald Howe, LTD., 1933.
Lindgren, Raymond. Norway-Sweden. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1959.
Lyche, Ingeborg. Adult Education in Norway. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget and Aas & Wahl boktrykkeri, 1964.
Lyche, Ingeborg. Promoting the Arts in Norway. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget and Harald Lyche & Co., 1966.
78
79
Munch, Peter A. A Study of Cultural Change. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1956.
Norway in a Nutshell. Washington, D. C : Norwegian Embassy Information Service, n.d.
Nyhamar, Olav. Education in Norway. Oslo: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Frank Varding, Sarpsborg, 1969.
Storing, James A. Norwegian Democracy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963.
Wergeland, Agnes Mathilde. Leaders in Norway. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, Inc., 1966.
Periodicals
Linehan, Edward J. "Norway: Land of the Generous Sea." National Geographic, July, 1971, pp. 1-43.
Roine, Eva. "The State Travelling Theatre." World Theatre, special edition on Norway, n.d., pp. 41-59.
Unpublished
The Norwegian National Graduate College of Special Education.
Special Education of the Handicapped in Norway.
Letters
Blindheim, Joan Tindal. Engelskesksjones, University of Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
Braahaas, Nils. Editor of Drama and Chairman of Landslaget Teater i Skolen, Oslo, to Beth Davis, May 8, 1972.
Hansen, Lorang. Headmaster, Norwegian Graduate College of Special Education, Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
Hovik, Aud. Spesialskolen for Talehemmede, Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
Kloster-Jensen, Martin. Chairman, Fonetisk Institutt, Bergen, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
80
Kronen, Thorleif, Rector, and Einar Kristiansen, Larvik Gymnasium, Larvik, to Beth Davis, June 27, 1971.
Midgaard, Anne. State Traveling Theatre, Oslo, to Beth Davis, April 6, 1972.
Preuss, Alf. School for Special Education, Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
Rafn, V. Statens Teaterskole, Oslo, to Beth Davis, April 20, 1972.
Saeb^, Johan. Skadalen Offentlige Skole for D^ve, Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970.
Slaato, E. State Council for Compulsory Education, Oslo, to Beth Davis, March 24, 1972.
Vanvik, Arne. Phonetics Department, University of Oslo, to P. Merville Larson, Texas Tech University, 1970, and to Beth Davis, June 23, 1971.
Interviews
Indresaeter, Trudy and Harald. Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas
Schirmer, Janne. Larvik, Norway.
APPENDIX A
INFORMATION SOURCES
University
Professor Dr. Martin Kloster-Jensen, Chairman Fonetisk Institutt N-5001 Bergen Norway
Dr. Arne Vanvik Phonetics Department University of Oslo Blindem, Oslo 3 Norway
Joan Tindal Blindheim Engelskseksjonen University of Oslo Postboks 1003 Blindem, Oslo 3 Norway
Anne Sederquist Phonetics Department University of Bergen Bergen Norway
Schools
Rektor Thorleif Kronen Larvik gymnasium Ahlefeldtsget 6 3250 Larvik Norway
Einar Kristiansen Svaleveien 14 3250 Larvik Norway
S. Kloster-Jensen Gudbrandsdalens gymnasium 2640 Vinstra Norway
81
82
Kjell Haave Bergen Katedralskole Bergen Norway
Rektor Nansenskolen Lillehammer Norway
Speech Therapy
Headmaster Lorang Hansen Norwegian Graduate College of Special Education Bredtvet Oslo 9 Norway
Alf Preuss, M. A. School for Special Education Kampen skole Normannsgt. 57 Oslo 6 Norway
Aud Hovik Spesialskolen for Talehemmede Avd. Granhaug Fagerh^yv 15 Oslo Norway
Johan Saeb^ Skadalen Offentlige Skole for D^ve Vettaskolien Oslo 3 Norway
Agnete Malm Rikshospitalet Bamekl inikken Universitetsklinikk, Oslo Norway
D^veskolen Skaadalsveien 33 Vettakollen, Oslo 3 Norway
Head Mistress Mrs. Huffman Volkslokka Bamehage Uelandsgate 78 Oslo 4 Norway
Theatre
V. Rafn Statens Teaterskole Nj ardh alien S^rkedalsveien, 106 Oslo 3 Norway
Anne Midgaard State Traveling Theatre Sorkedalsvn, 106 Oslo 6 Norway
Nils Braahaas, Editor of Drama Chairman Landslaget Teater i Skolen Akersgaten 73 A Oslo 1 Norway
State Organizations
The Royal Ministry of Church and Education Karl Johansgate Oslo-dep. Norway
Nordic Cultural Co-operation Copenhagen Denmark
Royal Norwegian Embassy Information Service 3401 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D. C. USA
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Ministry of Church and Education Oslo Norway
Theatre
84
The National Theatre Oslo
State Traveling Theatre Oslo
The National Scene Bergen
Trondelag Theatre Trondheim
State Theatre School Njardhallen, Smestad, Oslo
Norwegian Theatre Union Bj. BjjSmsons pi. 1, Oslo 3
Norwegian Association of Theatre Managers
Stortingsgt. 15, Oslo 1
Norwegian Association of Theatre Producers
Kirkeveien 113, Oslo 3
The Norwegian Theatre Oslo
Oslo New Theatre Oslo
Rogaland Theatre Stavanger
Haalogaland Theatre Guild Tromso
Theatre in the Classroom Skippergt 7, Oslo 1
Norwegian Actors' Association Kirkegt. 34, Oslo 1
Norwegian Association of Theatre and Music Critics
Fr. Nansens pi. 6, Oslo 1
State Theatre Council Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
Joint Committee for Amateur Theatrical Work Workers' Educational Association Norwegian Amateur Dramatic Association Norwegian League of Youth
Arts and Culture Division Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
Films
Norwegian Film Ltd. Kirkeveien 59, Oslo
Norwegian Rural Cinema Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
State Film Centre Schwenzensgt. 6, Oslo 1
Norwegian Film Institute Kingosgt. 22, Oslo 4
State Committee on Film Production Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
Norwegian Association of Film Artists
Fr. Nansens pi. 6, Oslo 1
85
State Committee on Film Production State Committee for Films for Children State Board for Educational and School Films Arts and Culture Division Ministry of Church and Education, Oslo
Department of Cultural Affairs Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
Norwegian Cultural Council Ministry of Church and Education Oslo
Festivals
Bergen Intemational Festival Stiklestad Festival Bergen Verdal Norway Norway
Speech Therapists Association
Norsk Logopedlag
Linguistics Association
Norwegian Linguistics Society
Humanities Association
Learned Societies
Journals
Norsk Tidsskrift for Logopedi (Speech Therapy)
Nordisk Tidsskrift for Tale og Stemme (Scandinavian Speech Therapy)
Drama (National League of Theatre in School)
Study News (Joint Committee for Study Activity)
APPENDIX B
RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE NORWEGIAN SPEECH EDUCATION
1. What is there in the way of organized speech instruction in the lower schools of Norway? ' '''
2. What is there in the nature of organized speech instruction in the middle schools of Norway?
3. What is there in the nature of organized speech instruction in the secondary schools of Norway?
4. What, if any, form of speech instruction, public address, or related courses are required in secondary schools?
5. Is speech instruction a part of the language program? If so, please explain in what way. '
6. Please check which of the following speech activities would be covered in a fundamentals of speech course in Norway.
Voice and Diction Oral Interpretation of Prose and Poetry
Debate Organization Persuasion Listening Library, Research
Choral Speaking Discussion
Public Speaking Story Telling Acting Parliamentary Procedure
Others
7. If more than one course of speech instruction is offered in secondary schools, please list them.
86
87
8. Does your country have a universally adopted speech text book? If so, please give the title and author. __^^__
What book do you use?
9. Where may I be able to obtain a course of study outline for speech courses offered in your public schools?
10. What secondary school competitive speech activities have you?
11. Is theatre training and performing a part of the speech curriculum or an extracurricular activity?
12. How is a director for theatre activity chosen, and does he receive extra compensations for this duty?
13. If speaking contests are held in Norway, are they held in your native tongue, in English, in another language?
14. What provisions are made for speech therapy in Norway?
15. How do speech therapists receive their training?
16. What emphasis is there on having a teacher trained in speech to supervise speech activities in school?
17. May one obtain a degree in speech or speech courses in the universities or colleges in Norway?
Where?
88
18. How is the use of persuasive speaking encouraged in Norway?
19. Is there a political emphasis to the speech program in Norway?
How?
20. What requirement is there in the teacher certification program on the university level for speech training? _ ^
21. What do you see as the relationship of speech education to the total educational system? _ _ ^
22. In what ways is the need for speech education different in Norway from special needs in other countries? __^
23. Is regional speech dialect a particular speech problem in your country? Why? What is being done about this?
24. Is training in persuasive speaking encouraged in Norway?
How?
25. What, in your opinion, is the underlying aim of a course in speech education?
26. What do you see as the relationship of speech education to the total educational system?
27. How does the "average" Norwegian look upon speech education?
Does ,he like the word speech? Does he feel there is a need for speech training?
89
28. What are the stated aims and purposes of speech education courses in your schools? •
29. Are you satisfied with the current status of speech training in Norway, or in what ways would you like to see the program expanded or changed?
30. Please include a list of speech teachers (public or private), outstanding Norwegian speakers, professional organizations or journals, governmental educational controlling offices that I might be able to contact for further information.
