Municipal schools
must live up to the provisions in the Municipal Schools Act
(Folkeskoleloven). Among other things, this
means that schools are obligated to:
- Plan and execute instruction so that student needs for academic challenges are individually met and everyone is given the opportunity to exercise their skills and talents to the best of their ability.
- Prepare students to play an active part in public life in terms of influence, responsibility, rights, and obligations in a free and democratic society.
- Plan and execute instruction based on principles of intellectual liberty, equality, and democracy.
- Cooperate with parents concerning the academic and personal development of students.
What this means...
The core of
municipal schooling are the subjects of instruction. Instruction must be planned and executed in a
manner ensuring that student needs for academic challenges are
individually met and everyone is given the opportunity to exercise
their skills and talents to
the best of their ability. The
fact that children learn in different ways and at different paces,
and that children will have varying needs depending on form level.
The object of the
schooling is to offer students education and formation preparing them
for a role as active citizens in Danish society. The
goal is to ensure, to the furthest extent possible, that the children
will do well and have a meaningful life in a democratic society.
It is therefore important that the children, among
other things, learn to:
- Understand what it means to “play an active part in public life in terms of influence, responsibility, rights, and obligations in a free and democratic society.”
- Function in a community where intellectual liberty, equality, and democracy are core values.
- Familiarize themselves with Danish culture.
- Understand the culture of others.
The instruction must take as its starting point the individual background and current capabilities of students, so that they may develop in optimal fashion, both on an academic and a personal level.
Close cooperation between school and parents is critical, and helps ensure that children reap the highest possible benefits from instruction. Parent-teacher cooperation may help the school gain an insight into the interests and expertise of students, as well as get to know the conditions under which the individual student best learns and understands new challenges.
This knowledge can help teachers plan and execute class instruction. Furthermore, the parent-teacher cooperation gives parents the opportunity to gain insight into the everyday school lives of their children. It is therefore pivotal that schools strive to ensure parent participation in parent-teacher meetings, school-home consultations, and other activities they might invite parents to join in.
