Regional Differentiation and National Uniformity: Norwegian Elementary School Legislation in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century

Authors

  • Tone Skinningsrud Department of Education, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway
  • Randi Skjelmo Department of Education, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v3i1.66

Keywords:

eighteenth and nineteenth century elementary education, citizenship education, eighteenth and nineteenth century educational legislation, history of Norwegian education, compulsory schooling, educational uniformity, educational unification

Abstract

Previous research on Norwegian educational reforms after 1814, the year when Norway became a constitutional state, has emphasized the conservatism of the elementary education acts of 1816 and 1827. Contrary to expectations for a constitutional state, these acts did not reflect a concern for fostering politically active citizens. Neither did they follow up the enlightenment idea of teaching secular knowledge to the common people. We raise a new question concerning post-1814 educational legislation in Norway: was there an increased emphasis on national uniformity after 1814? A close reading of the earlier 1739/41 acts and the 1827 act, including the Plan and Instruction from 1834, studies of the debates in the Norwegian Parliament 1815–1827 and the temporary 1816 act on elementary education, show that policy after 1814 emphasised national uniformity more than before. Despite continued local funding of elementary schooling, national policy and legislation promoted uniformity.

Author Biographies

Tone Skinningsrud, Department of Education, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway

Professor of Education

Randi Skjelmo, Department of Education, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway

Associate Professor of Education

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Published

2016-05-24

How to Cite

Skinningsrud, Tone, and Randi Skjelmo. 2016. “Regional Differentiation and National Uniformity: Norwegian Elementary School Legislation in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century”. Nordic Journal of Educational History 3 (1):25-45. https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v3i1.66.

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2016): Special Issue: The Sixth Nordic Conference on the History of Education

Section

Articles

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