Kati Ahl describes what she learned on her educational trip to Denmark, and why the Danish school system places as much emphasis on student well-being as it does on developing strong skills for the future.
Kati Ahl: The German Education Digitalization Forum has already organized an educational trip with the KMK (The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany) in 2021 with Jacob Chammon and reported on how revolutionizing learning goes hand in hand with advanced digitalization in Danish schools. That sparked my interest! Since then, I have been researching the Danish school system and waiting for the right opportunity to travel to Denmark to see for myself. That opportunity came last year.
School principal Gert Mengel from Rostock put me in touch with the Danish Lasse Christiansen, who is the head of Leba Innovation and responsible for organizing educational trips to innovative Danish schools. It was a stroke of luck! In order to document the trip in short video clips, I trained with the fobizz PD in mobile reporting.
Kati Ahl: Denmark does very well in international rankings. Not just in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores , but in skills for the future. Harvard professor Charles Fadel, an expert on 21st century skills and AI and founder of the Center for Curriculum Redesign, says PISA is no longer relevant and sees Denmark as a leader in preparing students for the future. My research confirms this! The Danish education system has made the future orientation of schools its primary goal. Of course, this changes our view of teaching and school. Compared to Germany: There are also innovative schools with a strong focus on the future. But there is no nationwide focus on future-oriented education!
Kati Ahl:
In addition to future orientation, well-being is a nationwide goal of educational work. Annual surveys are conducted to determine how “Trivsel” is doing, i.e. the well-being of the students. There are action plans and rankings, which I found very surprising! While schools in other countries may compare grade point averages or, unfortunately, constantly criticize the dropout rate, Danish schools look closely at how students are doing and what needs to be done if they are not doing well. That’s what I’d like to see in German schools.
There are makerspaces and innovative schools there as well as here. But what was particularly new to me was the relevance of the maker mindset. Much of what is missing is simply being developed and produced in-house with 3D printers or laser cutters – such as the cell phone parking space that was produced in the makerspace and is used daily in the Laeringhuset classroom. I was impressed by this problem-solving attitude.
Kati Ahl: Jacob Chammon told me in a preliminary discussion that the culture of the country has a strong influence on the education system. This is true and can be seen, for example, in the choice of subjects: in Denmark, everyone learns together from grade 1 to 10. There are no special schools. The idea of selection, which is so firmly anchored in the German education system, does not exist here.
Another major difference is the pedagogical design of curricula and orientation. While in Germany the ministries of education and cultural affairs of the federal states define and control curricula and pedagogical orientation, in Denmark there is only a short national framework plan. The pedagogical organization is the responsibility of the local schools in cooperation with the municipality. This allows for a decentralized and rapid response to local needs. Together with the schools and TechX (a kind of makerspace for schools and students), the municipality of Rödovre has developed a new subject: Technology and Innovation. As part of this course, students travel to TechX to learn and play, record podcasts and program computers, depending on the curriculum.
Kati Ahl: Many schools and teachers in Germany are currently facing huge challenges due to the shortage of teachers. As a result, existing teachers are very busy teaching all students and all subjects and have little time for new developments. I would like to bring back from Denmark the idea that private-public partnerships can unlock unused resources. For example, as I have seen in Kokekdal Skole, it would be a relief to have IT administrators in municipally funded schools to set up, maintain and operate all the IT equipment. But when strong partners like Lego also support projects, set up makerspaces or co-fund schools, we have a whole new set of possibilities!
Kati Ahl: This year I will be visiting innovative schools in Canada and Finland. The Finnish education system is known for having a fundamentally different understanding of the work of teachers. The renowned Finnish education expert Pasi Sahlberg describes this in his book: “In Teachers We Trust! This trust certainly has a very positive effect on the educational work. I would like to take a look at it!
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