Education in Denmark is compulsory ( da, undervisningspligt) for children below the age of 15 or 16, even though it is not compulsory to attend '' Folkeskole'' ("public school"). The school years up to the age of fifteen/sixteen are known as ''Folkeskole'', since any education has to match the level offered there. About 82% of young people take further education in addition to this. Government-funded education is usually free of charge and open to all. Denmark has a tradition of

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

s and about 15.6% of all children at basic school level attend private schools, which are supported by a voucher system. The

Education Index An Education index is a component of the Human Development Index published every year by the United Nations Development Programme. Alongside the Economical indicators and Life Expectancy Index, it helps measure the educational attainment, GNI ...

, published with the UN's

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, w ...

in 2008, based on data from 2013, lists Denmark as 0.873, amongst the highest in the world, beneath Australia, Finland and New Zealand.

Literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

in Denmark is approximately 99% for both men and women.

History

The Danish education system has its origin in the cathedral- and monastery schools established by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and seven of the schools established in the 12th and 13th centuries still exist today. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, which was officially implemented in 1536, the schools were taken over by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. Their main purpose was to prepare the students for

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

studies by teaching them to read, write and speak

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. Popular elementary education was at that time still very primitive, but in 1721, 240 ''

rytterskoler {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2012 A rytterskole (English: ''rider school'' or ''cavalry school'') was a type of school erected in Denmark in the years 1721–1727 for the education of common children. The schools were located in 12 cavalry districts es ...

'' ("cavalry schools") were established throughout the kingdom. Moreover, the religious movement of

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...

, spreading in the 18th century, required some level of

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

, thereby promoting the need for public education. The philanthropic thoughts of such people as

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

also helped spur developments in education open to all children. In 1809, the old Clergyman's School was transformed in accordance with the spirit of the time into a

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

Civil Servant's School which was to "foster true humanity" through immersion in the ancient

and

cultures combined with some teaching of natural science and modern languages. Throughout the 19th century (and even up until today), the Danish education system was especially influenced by the ideas of clergyman, politician and poet N. F. S. Grundtvig, who advocated inspiring methods of teaching and the foundation of

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule; ...

s. In 1871, the scientific and technical development of the 19th century led to a division of the

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

into two lines: the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

s and the mathematics-science line. This division was the backbone of the structure of the Gymnasium (i.e. academic general upper secondary education programme) until the year 2005. In 1894, the '' Folkeskole'' ("public school", the government-funded

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

system) was formally established (until then, it had been known as ''Almueskolen'' ("common school")), and measures were taken to improve the education system to meet the requirements of

industrial society In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world in ...

. In 1903, the 3-year course of the Gymnasium was directly connected the municipal school through the establishment of the ' ('

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

', grades 6–9), which was later on replaced by the '' realskole''. Previously, students wanting to go to the Gymnasium (and thereby obtain qualification for admission to university) had to take private tuition or similar means as the municipal schools were insufficient. In 1975, the ' was abandoned and the ''Folkeskole'' (

) transformed into an egalitarian system where pupils go to the same schools regardless of their academic merits. Recently, some political parties (e.g.

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and Liberal Alliance) have advocated extending the time of compulsory education from nine to twelve years.

Compulsory education

The ' ( en, people's school) covers the entire period of compulsory education, from the age of 5 - 6 to 15 - 16, encompassing

pre-school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and lower

Secondary education

Secondary education usually takes two to four years and is attended by students between the ages of 15 - 16 and 18 - 19. Secondary education is not compulsory, but usually free of charge, and students have a wide range of programmes to choose from. Some education programmes are academically oriented, the most common being the '' Gymnasium''. Others are more practically oriented, training students for jobs as e.g.

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s or

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

s through a combination of instruction in

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

s and

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. In Denmark students have three attempts to finish their secondary education; from there on they are left on their own. If they wish to continue from here on, they are allowed to get an education but no longer with any economic support from the government.

Post-secondary education

Higher education in Denmark can take place at a number of different institutions that offer educations of different types. Only universities offer education at the master level, while university colleges offer certain bachelor degrees, but may collaborate with a university to offer a master level degree (such as the MA in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

being a collaboration with the

Danish School of Media and Journalism Danish School of Media and Journalism ( da, Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole), or DMJX for short, is a Danish organization for higher education in, and a knowledge centre of, media and journalism. DMJX has two campuses; one in Copenhagen and ...

. Bachelor degree are either academic bachelor degrees at universities or professional bachelor degrees at university colleges (Danish: ''professionsbacheloruddannelse''), but universities may also offer professional bachelor degrees, and for instance, you can take the education to become a social worker at

Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanitie ...

Business academies

Business academies (Danish: ''Erhvervsakademi'') offer two-year academy profession programmes; some business academies also offer professional bachelor programmes, further adult education and diploma programmes.

Maritime educational institutions

The maritime education institutions offer study programmes for the Danish merchant fleet and the fishing industry.

University colleges

Danish

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

s ( da, professionshøjskoler) offer profession specific tertiary education, also known as medium higher education (MVU) and diploma courses, but do not offer university education at postgraduate level.

Institutions in architecture and art

The institutions in architecture and art offer various degree programmes within the fine arts and applied arts.

Universities

The first university in Denmark,

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, was established in 1479. The second,

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, was established in 1665. When Schleswig-Holstein was conquered by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

forces in 1864, the University of Copenhagen was once again the only university in the Kingdom of Denmark and remained so until 1928 when the

was founded. Since then, more universities have been established, and Denmark now has eight universities. Higher education in Denmark is free for students from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Many programmes are taught in English, including Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, exchange, and summer school programmes.

Tuition and financial aid system

Almost all educational institutes in Denmark are free. This tuition-fee-less system applies to all students who: * have been born in Denmark (including the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

); or * hold a

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

visa; or * Permanent residence permit (') * Temporary residence permit that can be upgraded to a permanent one (') * Residence permit as the accompanying child of a non-EU/EEA parent holding a residence permit based on employment (§9a and §9m of the Danish Aliens Act - text in Danish) * hold a

humanitarian visa Humanitarian visas are visas granted by some countries in order to fulfill their international obligation to protect refugees from persecution. The criteria in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees are often used in assessing whether o ...

; or * are from a country in the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

; or * are from a country in the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

. Not only are students charged no tuition fees, but all Danish citizens (and many others meeting certain criteria) are offered monthly financial aid, known as "''SU''" (''Statens Uddannelsesstøtte'', meaning ''State Educational Support''), amounting for each student to about DKK 950 monthly if the student lives with their parents or guardians, and they have high incomes, and about DKK 5,486 monthly if the student lives away from his/her parents or guardians. Students can supplement the SU with low-interest government loans amounting to DKK 2,807 per month, which must be paid back upon the completion of their education.

Academic freedom

Wright and Ørberg (2008) came to a critical conclusion on the Danish system of higher education: "The Danish model combines the worst of both the free trade and the modernising state models of autonomy: universities, their leaders and academics are given freedom in the sense of individual responsibility for their own economic survival, whilst the sector comes under heavy political control. This is called "setting universities free"." In a 2017 comparative study on academic freedom in the universities of 28 European Union members, Denmark ranks only 24th.Terence Karran, Klaus Beiter & Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua (2017) Measuringacademic freedom in Europe: a criterion referenced approach, Policy Reviews in Higher Education,1:2, 209-239, DOI: 10.1080/23322969.2017.1307093 In all categories (academic freedom in legislation; institutional autonomy in legislation; self-governance in legislation; job security; constutution and international agreements), Denmark ranked below the EU average. The authors of the study argue that the restrictions on academic freedom in Denmark would, in most other EU states, be considered draconian.

References

External links

Danish Ministry of Education ''(Undervisningsministeriet)''

Study in Denmark - Official Danish Government website on international higher education in Denmark. ''(Danish Agency for International Education)''

Information on education in Denmark, OECD
- Contains indicators and information about Denmark and how it compares to other OECD and non-OECD countries
Diagram of Danish education system, OECD
- Using 1997 ISCED classification of programmes and typical ages
Also in country language
{{DEFAULTSORT:Education In Denmark

History

Compulsory education

Secondary education

Post-secondary education

Business academies

Maritime educational institutions

University colleges

Institutions in architecture and art

Universities

Tuition and financial aid system

Academic freedom

See also

References

Further reading

External links