Norway

Teacher training for compulsory education occurs mainly in teacher training colleges in a program that lasts four years. Primary school teachers were qualified after three years of schooling until 1992 when the training requirements were enhanced. It was felt that compulsory education teachers needed more depth and breadth in their subject education. The fourth year then became devoted to specialized study, along with education theory. In addition, the first three years of teacher training are now more constrained with fewer optional courses. This added structure insures that teachers receive more instruction in the main subjects taught in the first few years of compulsory school. Twenty teacher education colleges provide elementary teacher preparation. Upper secondary teachers must have a full university degree or professional experience in a vocational field, along with pedagogical training. Secondary teacher training is available at four universities and eight other institutions of higher education. All teacher education programs were standardized in the mid-1990s. The emphasis was on strengthening subject education and developing reflective teachers and a cooperative mentor-focused culture for educators. This was to ensure cohesion across diverse parts of the educational system and to allow for educational content to be adjusted as needs or trends in Norway dictate.

Teachers enjoyed much public support and great respect through the 1960s. In the 1970s, the developing oil industry required more infrastructure, and the public became concerned with health care and other kinds of services. The result has been less remuneration and respect for teachers, especially in comparison to growing salaries in the private sector. Teachers also complain of diminished facilities and increasing responsibilities. In 1999, the number of teachers who worked in primary and lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools, colleges, and universities numbered 110,500. This number increased by 1,400 from the previous year. Across all schools, 30 percent of teachers worked part-time in 1999. Primary school teachers have the highest percentage of part-time teachers (33 percent), while in comparison only about 20 percent of university teachers work part-time. The average age for teachers in Norway is 44.7.

Academics in Norway were considered part of the educated class (Akademikerne) and, for most of the nineteenth century, part of the political elite. Academics had a large role in the cultural and social development of Norway. The original pedagogical purpose of the university was to prepare students for a vocation. To become an academic before the early 1980s required a two year masters-like program called the magister degree. Increasingly academic departments developed Ph.D. programs, including more structured course requirements and research work. By 1990, the doctorate was generally considered a minimum requirement for a permanent university position. Doctoral students are paid comparable to laborers outside of academics, and unlike other countries, most in Norway stay at the same university throughout their careers. This may be a function of the small higher education system in Norway and may also lend itself to the influence of a small group of senior academics and favoritism.

In higher education, beginning in the late 1960s, the equalization of both the status and the working conditions of academics was advanced. A hierarchy consisting of the sciences (amamuensises), medicine (prosektors), and arts and sciences (lecturers) had existed prior to this time. Lecturers had more teaching responsibilities than the other academic groupings. Work conditions were homogenized as duties for each grouping were moved to about half of their work activities devoted to teaching and half to research. Faculty boards also became less hierarchical. While department chairs and deans had occupied faculty boards, representation was extended to all levels of faculty.