Overview of Education System
In Denmark, public primary and lower secondary schools are combined into one unified school called the Folkeskole. The Folkeskole Act, passed in 1993 with subsequent amendments, centrally regulates the Folkeskole. In the amendments, the Ministry of Education has established common goals and provisions concerning which subjects are taught at various levels and the competency objectives for these subjects, including guidelines for special points of attention in Danish and mathematics instruction. While the Ministry provides regulations concerning the leadership and organization of the school system, municipalities decide how local schools will function in practice within this framework.13
Every school must have a school board with representation from parents, teachers, and students. The school board makes recommendations regarding the local curricula based on national guidelines, and the municipal board grants final approval, which is binding for the school. Curricula including a description of grade programs must describe how instruction is organized in order to reach the national binding competency, as well as skills and knowledge objectives. The majority of municipalities in Denmark choose to have a common plan for all schools within a municipality. The municipal board is responsible for evaluating schoolsʼ academic levels in accordance with local and national goals by, among other things, submitting an annual quality report.
Reform of the Folkeskole
In 2014, the Folkeskole was reformed to include the Simplified Common Objectives (forenklede Fælles Mål), a set of national standards for goal-oriented teaching that relates to curricula.14 The aim of these competency, skills, and knowledge objectives is to shift focus from the content of the teaching to the learning outcome.
As part of the reform, tutoring and immersion in subjects and topics must be integrated into the school day, though it is up to schools to determine how to schedule these activities. The reform also includes supported teaching, an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that supports studentsʼ learning and personal skills by promoting various teaching methods, longer teaching sequences, and exercises (e.g., by involving kindergarten teachers or cooperating with cultural institutions). As supporting teaching does not involve a separate set of learning objectives, instruction is expected to comply with the Simplified Common Objectives.
Another result of the 2014 school reform was the Danish Ministry of Educationʼs establishment of a resource center for the Folkeskole that supports the Ministryʼs efforts to ensure that professional and educational development as well as practice are based on the most accurate information available. This applies to individual municipalities and schools, as well as policy decisions at the state and municipal levels. As of 2015, a new initiative requires schools to screen their studentsʼ well-being annually at all grades.15
Education in Denmark
Education is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. The Folkeskole consists of one compulsory year of preprimary education (Grade 0), six compulsory years of primary education (Grades 1 to 6), three compulsory years of lower secondary education (Grades 7 to 9), and one optional year of basic schooling (Grade 10). Typically, schools group students into a three level structure in which Grades 0 to 3 constitute the preparatory grades, Grades 4 to 6 constitute the intermediate stage, and Grades 7 to 10 constitute the final years of schooling. Students in Denmark progress automatically through grades; there is no streaming and retention is almost nonexistent.16 However, the Folkeskole Act allows students who have undergone individual assessment to skip or repeat a school year. Because grades are determined by age, students often have the same classmates in all subjects throughout all 10 years of compulsory schooling.
Education itself is compulsory in Denmark, not schooling. As long as certain requirements are met, students may be educated in public schools, private schools, or at home. Private independent schools are self-governing institutions that must meet the standards of public schools. During the 2014–2015 school year, 54 percent of students leaving Grade 9 attended the optional Grade 10 at the Folkeskole, a private independent school, or a continuation school.17,18 Continuation schools (efterskoler) are private boarding schools for Grades 8 to 10, and often emphasize social learning and special fields such as sports, music, theater, and nature.19 Private schools and continuation schools receive a substantial state subsidy based on the number of students enrolled per school year; parents pay the remaining fees.20 Of all students, 78 percent attend public schools, 16 percent attend private schools, 4 percent attend continuation schools, and 2 percent receive instruction through other educational options (e.g., special education schools, treatment centers, homeschooling).21 The numbers for the 2015–2016 school year indicate a small increase of students enrolled in private schools compared to 2011. After the completion of compulsory education, students can choose from a variety of youth education programs (e.g., preparatory study or professional qualification programs) that are academically and/or vocationally oriented.