Joke Dewilde
PhD Candidate
Hedmark University College and
University of Oslo

Diverse Teachers : The Norwegian Case

Briefing Notes

Demographic Details - Norway

  • Population pr. 01.10.2010: 4.9 million
  • Migrant population pr. 01.01.2010: 11.4%
  • Largest number in Oslo: 27%
  • 215 different nationalities
  • Approx. 47% from Europe, 36% from Asia, 12% from Africa and 3% from Latin and Central America

Demographic Details - Norwegian Compulsory SchoolPupils: 620,000

  • Pupils receiving differentiated Norwegian education: 40,017
  • Bilingual teachers: 4% of the total teaching force.

Relevant Programmes and PoliciesMain policies

Prior to 1997

Aim: functional bilingualism

After 1997

Mainstreaming, by incorporating all newly-arrived bilingual pupils in ordinary classes.

Model: transitional education, i.e., bilingual pupils’ home language is only used during a transition phase, until their Norwegian is sufficient enough to follow mainstream teaching.

Consequence: more focus on a special form of Norwegian education (Basic Norwegian for Language Minorities). Detrimental effects on mother-tongue instruction (Rambøll Management 2009).

At the same time: authorities wished to strengthen the position of bilingual teachers in the Norwegian school system. A new BA for bilingual teachers was established (see below).

Relevant Programmes

Bachelor for Bilingual Teachers (Faglærerudanning for Tospråklige)

In 2006, only 3% were minority students. Even at Oslo University College, situated in a largely multicultural population, the proportion of minority students recruited to regular teacher education has remained stable at only 4% for a number of years (Ringen & Kjørven 2009).

To increase the diversity of teacher candidates, Hedmark University College (HUC) was asked by the Ministry of Education and Research to chair a group of nine university colleges to develop the program, known as the University College Cooperation in Norway (HøgskolesamarbeidetiNorge).[1] In 2004, the first students were enrolled. By 2008, the programme had enrolled more than 500 students and more than 100 had received a BA (figures from 2008).

The BA programme was designed to recruit bilingual teachers already working in the Norwegian compulsory school and to improve their formal and real competence as professional teachers.

The ambition was to design the programme in such a way that the students’ academic merit from the home country and elsewhere would be recognised and given formal credit as part of the programme.

Module in “Multicultural Pedagogy”

Many University Colleges offer a voluntary module in multicultural pedagogy for teacher all training students.

Other Facts

  • On bilingual/mother-tongue teachers in a study by Rambøll Management(2009):
  • In 2008, on behalf of the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, Rambøll Management mapped the competence of, amongst others, 164 bilingual teachers/mother-tongue teachers, using electronic questionnaires.[2]
  • Half of them have been temporary employed for more than 4 years.
  • Half of them teach at two or more schools.
  • 21% lack a formally approved teacher education. Figures from GSI (Norwegian compulsory school information system) indicate, however, that among mother-tongue teachers a total of 45% lack formal qualifications. This number is based on school leaders’ reports on the number of teachers, both with and without formal qualifications, at their school. Two reservations have to be made about this number; it is possible for the same teacher to be counted several times if he/she is listed by school leaders from several schools. In addition it is not certain that all school leaders are fully awareof the requirements for qualification for mother-tongue teachers, as these vary fromthe qualification requirements for teachers in general.
  • 62% have relevant experience from their home country.
  • On bilingual/mother-tongue teachers who have taken the BA for Bilingual Teachers, in a study by Valenta(2009):
  • Valenta collected data in 2008 during a national evaluation of the BA for Bilingual Teachers. He interviewed twenty-two students and conducted a questionnaire involving one hundred mother-tongue/bilingual teachers.
  • Only 1/5 of the students teach both minority and majority pupils in different school subjects.
  • Valenta argues that bilingual teachers use any opportunity to disassociate themselves from their bilingual teacher roles and seek a way out of this profession.

References

Rambøll Management. (2009). Evaluering av praktiseringen av norsk som andrespråk for språklige minoriteter i grunnskolen.

Ringen, B.-K., & Kjørven, O. K. (2009). The design of a teacher education program for bilingual teachers in Norway. In O. K. Kjørven, B.-K. Ringen & A. Gagné (eds.), Teacher diversity in diverse schools: Challenges and opportunities for teacher education (131-143). Vallset: Oplandske bokforlag.

Valenta, M. (2009). 'Who wants to be a travelling teacher?' Bilingual teachers and weak forms of bilingual education: The Norwegian experience. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1).

1

[1] (Only in Norwegian)

[2]
(summary in English)