Norway

Abstract

The roots of the Norwegian education system go back to 1739 and the “Ordinance governing country schools in Norway.” The ordinance was instigated against the backdrop of the unification of Norway and Denmark and the state pietism under the Danish-Norwegian King Christian VI. The introduction of compulsory confirmation in 1739 was intended to provide an adequate basis for a life in harmony with the pietistic Lutheranism. As a part of these efforts, the compulsory primary school (allmueskole) was created for everyone who had not secured any other form of education. Education became compulsory for all children from the age of 7–10 (12) covering at least 3 months per year. The major responsibility of the school was to provide religious and moral education; Christian religious education lessons and reading were mandatory. A central aspect of learning was a book that served as an explanation of the Small Catechism of Martin Luther. It comprised 757 short questions and the appropriate answers and was intended to be learnt by heart. The key focus on religion in schools up to the middle of the nineteenth century led to school being described as church school. In organizational terms, school was a mobile facility set up in local farmyards and teachers, who gradually became subject to a 6-month training and received board and lodging. For the more prosperous town population, there were also higher schools (børgerskole, latinskole) (Telhaug and Mediås 2003; Werler 2004).

We would like to thank our colleague Dr Hansjörg Hohr for carefully editing the manuscript.