Teacher's Guide

Core values and principles for the school's practice

The objects clause expresses values that bring Norway together as a society.

1. The core values of education and training

The school shall build its practice on the values set out in the objects clause of the Education Act.

The objects clause expresses values that bring Norway together as a society. These values are the foundation of our democracy and are meant to help us live, learn and work together in a complex present and in the face of an unknown future. The common values build on Christian and humanist heritage and tradition. They are also expressed in different religions and beliefs, and they are rooted in human rights.

These values are the bedrock of the school’s activities. They must be made living and given meaning for each individual pupil within the school community through the transmission of knowledge and the development of attitudes and competence. The values shall shape the school’s and the teachers’ meeting with the pupils and with their homes. The best interests of the pupil shall always be a fundamental consideration. There will always be tensions between different interests and views. Teachers must therefore use their professional judgement so that each individual is taken care of as well as possible in their encounter with the community.

The Saami school shall make provision for pupils to receive education and training based on Saami values and on Saami language, culture and community life. The values in the objects clause are also Saami values and apply in the Saami school. In the Saami school it is important to have an all-Saami perspective and an indigenous-peoples perspective, and to emphasise tangible and intangible cultural heritage such as traditional knowledge, duodji/duodje/duedtie and kinship and family relations.

1.1 Human dignity

The school shall ensure that human dignity and the values that support it are made the basis for education and training and for the entire activity.

The objects clause builds on the inviolability of human dignity and on the principle that all people are of equal worth, regardless of what otherwise sets us apart. When teachers show care for the pupils and see each individual, human dignity is recognised as a fundamental value for the school and for society.

Human rights have their foundation in human dignity and are an important part of the basis of the rule of law. They build on universal values that apply to everyone whoever they are, wherever they come from and wherever they find themselves. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is part of human rights and gives children and young people special protection. Education and training must be in accordance with human rights, while at the same time the pupils shall acquire knowledge about human rights.

Equal worth and gender equality are values that have been won through history and that must still be safeguarded and reinforced. The school shall convey knowledge and promote attitudes that secure these values. All pupils shall be treated as of equal worth, and no pupil shall be subjected to discrimination. The pupils shall also be given equal opportunities so that they can make independent choices. The school shall take account of the diversity of pupils and make provision for everyone to experience belonging in school and society. We can all experience that we stand out and feel different. We therefore depend on differences being recognised and valued.

Human beings are vulnerable and fallible. Forgiveness, charity and solidarity are necessary for people to grow and develop. The individual’s personal conviction and conscience shall be taken seriously so that everyone can think, believe and express themselves freely. The pupils shall themselves contribute to safeguarding human dignity and reflect on how they can prevent it from being violated.

1.2 Identity and cultural diversity

The school shall give the pupils historical and cultural insight and a foundation, and help each pupil to preserve and develop their identity within an inclusive and diverse community.

Insight into our history and culture is important for the development of the pupils’ identity and creates belonging to society. The pupils shall come to know the values and traditions that help to bring the people of the country together. Christian and humanist heritage and tradition is an important part of the country’s overall cultural heritage and has played a central role in the development of our democracy. The Saami cultural heritage is part of the cultural heritage of Norway. Our common cultural heritage has developed through history and shall be managed by present and coming generations.

Common frames of reference are important for the individual’s belonging to society. This creates cohesion and anchors the individual’s identity in a larger community and in a historical context. A common frame gives and shall give room for diversity, and the pupils shall gain insight into how we live together with different perspectives, attitudes and views of life. The experiences the pupils gain in their encounter with different cultural expressions and traditions help to shape their identity. A good society is founded on an inclusive and diverse community.

Education and training shall ensure that the pupils become confident users of language, that they develop their linguistic identity, and that they can use language to think, create meaning, communicate and form bonds with others. Language gives us belonging and cultural awareness. In Norway, Norwegian and the Saami languages — Southern, Lule and Northern Saami — are of equal worth. Norwegian comprises the two equal written standards Bokmål and Nynorsk. Norwegian Sign Language is recognised as a full language in Norway. Knowledge of society’s linguistic diversity gives all pupils valuable insight into different forms of expression, ideas and traditions. All pupils shall experience that knowing several languages is a resource in school and in society.

Through education and training the pupils shall gain insight into the history, culture, community life and rights of the Saami indigenous people. The pupils shall learn about diversity and variation within Saami culture and community life.

Five ethnic groups with a centuries-long attachment to Norway have the status of national minorities in accordance with our international obligations: Jews, Kven/Norwegian Finns, Forest Finns, Roma and Romani people/Travellers. These ethnic groups have helped to shape the Norwegian cultural heritage, and education and training shall provide knowledge about these groups.

Throughout all ages, Norwegian society has been influenced by different currents and cultural traditions. At a time when the population is more diverse than ever, and when the world is becoming more closely connected, language skills and cultural understanding become ever more important. The school shall support the development of the individual’s identity, make the pupils secure in their own standpoint, while at the same time conveying the common values needed to meet and take part in diversity, and open doors to the world and the future.

1.3 Critical thinking and ethical awareness

The school shall help the pupils to become curious and to ask questions, to develop scientific and critical thinking and to act with ethical awareness.

Education and training shall give the pupils an understanding of critical and scientific thinking. Critical and scientific thinking means using reason in an inquiring and systematic way in the face of concrete practical challenges, phenomena, statements and forms of knowledge. Education and training shall create an understanding that the methods for investigating reality must be adapted to what we wish to study, and that the choice of method affects what we see.

If new insight is to emerge, established ideas must be examined and criticised with theories, methods, arguments, experiences and evidence. The pupils shall be able to assess different sources of knowledge and think critically about how knowledge is developed. They shall also be able to understand that their own experiences, standpoints and convictions may be incomplete or mistaken. Critical reflection presupposes knowledge, but at the same time gives room for uncertainty and unpredictability. Education and training must therefore seek a balance between respect for established knowledge and the exploratory and creative thinking required to develop new knowledge.

Ethical awareness is to weigh different considerations against one another and is necessary in order to be a reflective and responsible human being. Education and training shall develop the pupils’ ability to make ethical judgements and make them familiar with ethical issues.

Critical thinking and ethical awareness are both a precondition for and a part of learning in many different contexts, and help the pupils to develop good judgement. Practical occupational work and artistic work also require the ability to reflect and make assessments.

1.4 The joy of creating, engagement and the urge to explore

The school shall let the pupils unfold the joy of creating, engagement and the urge to explore, and let them gain experience of seeing possibilities and turning ideas into action.

Children and young people are curious and want to discover and create. In education and training the pupils shall be given rich opportunities to develop engagement and the urge to explore. The ability to ask questions, to explore and to experiment is important for deep learning. The school shall respect and nurture different ways of exploring and creating. The pupils shall learn and develop through sensing and thinking, aesthetic forms of expression and practical activities.

For the youngest children in school, play is necessary for well-being and development, but in education and training as a whole, play also gives opportunities for creative and meaningful learning.

Creative and inventive abilities help to enrich society. Cooperation inspires new thinking and entrepreneurship, so that new ideas can be turned into action. Pupils who learn about and through creative activity develop the ability to express themselves in different ways, and to solve problems and ask new questions.

Art and culture comprise many creative subject areas that affect both our physical surroundings and the development of society. Our aesthetic sense develops in the encounter with different cultural expressions, and they help to bring forward new perspectives. Expressions of art and culture also have significance for the individual’s personal development. Cultural experiences have a value in themselves, and the pupils shall experience a varied range of cultural expressions during their time at school.

In a larger perspective, creative learning processes are also a precondition for the pupils’ formation and identity development. The school shall value and stimulate the pupils’ thirst for knowledge and creative power, and the pupils shall be able to use their creative forces throughout their basic education and training.

1.5 Respect for nature and environmental awareness

The school shall help the pupils to develop a joy of nature, respect for nature and climate and environmental awareness.

The human being is part of nature and has a responsibility to manage it in a responsible way. Through education and training the pupils shall gain knowledge about and develop respect for nature. They shall experience nature and see it as a source of benefit, joy, health and learning. The pupils shall develop awareness of how the human way of life affects nature and the climate, and thereby also our societies. The school shall help the pupils to develop the will to look after the environment.

Children and young people shall handle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges, and our common future depends on coming generations looking after the planet. Global climate change, pollution and the loss of biological diversity are among the greatest environmental threats in the world. These challenges must be solved together. We need knowledge, ethical awareness and technological innovation in order to find solutions and make the necessary changes to our way of life to look after life on earth.

1.6 Democracy and participation

The school shall give the pupils the opportunity to participate and to learn what democracy means in practice.

Education and training shall promote support for democratic values and for democracy as a form of government. It shall give the pupils an understanding of the rules of the game of democracy and of the importance of keeping them in good order. To take part in society means to respect and support fundamental democratic values such as mutual respect, tolerance, the individual’s freedom of belief and expression, and free elections. Democratic values must be promoted through active participation throughout the whole course of education and training.

The school shall promote democratic values and attitudes as a counterweight to prejudice and discrimination. The school shall also create respect for the fact that people are different, and the pupils shall learn to resolve conflicts in a peaceful way.

A democratic society rests on the whole population having equal rights and opportunities to take part in decision-making processes. Protection of the minority is a decisive principle in a democratic state under the rule of law and in a democratic society. A democratic society also protects indigenous peoples and minorities. The indigenous-peoples perspective is part of the pupils’ education in democracy. All participants in the school community must develop awareness of both minority and majority perspectives and create room for cooperation, dialogue and the exchange of opinions. The work of cultivating diversity on the one hand and including the individual on the other requires a conscious set of values and the exercise of professional judgement.

The school shall be a place where children and young people experience democracy in practice. The pupils shall experience that they are listened to in the school day, that they have real influence, and that they can affect what concerns them. They shall gain experience of and practise different forms of democratic participation and involvement, both in the daily work in the subjects and through, for example, the pupil council and other consultative bodies. The dialogue between teacher and pupil, and between school and home, must be based on mutual respect. When the pupils’ voice is heard at school, they experience how they themselves can make their own conscious choices. Such experiences have a value here and now, and prepare the pupils to become responsible citizens.

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