Danish Pre-School Education
Encyclopedia
Pre-school Education
in Denmark
takes place in different types of school
s or day care
centres covering the time before children enter compulsory education
. Preschool is where most children enter the Danish education system
.
objectives unlike those of the previous schools that were mostly mere retention
centres for children of working parents, and were aimed at the children of the more privileged classes.
The social reform of 1933 made it possible for these institutions to receive up to 50 percent of their operational expenditure from the state. From that point on, the state
and the municipalities
have gradually obtained the biggest financial and pedagogical responsibility for the administration of these institutions. Financial support was also made available in 1949 for institutions that had not been entitled to it before, as they did not meet the conditions of the act to the effect that they catered to children from disadvantaged families. The pedagogical objective of the institutions was thus recognised.
An act in 1964 obliged the authorities to make all public services available to all citizens. The right to pre-school education was also emphasised in the Social Assistance Act of 1976, which demanded that the municipalities create the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of families.
In 1987, the state delegated responsibility for the financial administration of the pre-school institutions to municipalities.
Pre-school education is primarily offered in the following institutions:
rather than formal education.
There is no educational plan for the activities in pre-school classes, but school authorities may propose guidelines for the content of the activities. The weekly minimum number of lessons in pre-school is 20 lessons divided into three to four hours a day, five days a week.
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
takes place in different types of school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s or day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
centres covering the time before children enter compulsory education
Compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...
. Preschool is where most children enter the Danish education system
Education in Denmark
Education in Denmark is compulsory for children below 15 or 16. The school years up to the age of fifteen/sixteen are known as Folkeskole . About 82% of young people take further education in addition to this. Government-funded education is usually free of charge and open to all...
.
Historical overview
The first pre-schools were established in the 1820s by a private initiative intended to instruct the children of working families, where both parents worked outside the home. During the period between 1850 and 1900, private educational institutions appeared that were open only on a part-time basis. These institutions had pedagogicalPedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
objectives unlike those of the previous schools that were mostly mere retention
Retention
Retention may refer to:* Retention, in learning, the ability to retain facts and figures in memory ** Selective retention* Cultural retention* Customer retention...
centres for children of working parents, and were aimed at the children of the more privileged classes.
The social reform of 1933 made it possible for these institutions to receive up to 50 percent of their operational expenditure from the state. From that point on, the state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
and the municipalities
Municipalities of Denmark
This is a list of Municipalities of Denmark.-Region Hovedstaden:* Albertslund Municipality* Allerød Municipality* Ballerup Municipality* Bornholm Regional Municipality* Brøndby Municipality* Copenhagen Municipality* Dragør Municipality* Egedal Municipality...
have gradually obtained the biggest financial and pedagogical responsibility for the administration of these institutions. Financial support was also made available in 1949 for institutions that had not been entitled to it before, as they did not meet the conditions of the act to the effect that they catered to children from disadvantaged families. The pedagogical objective of the institutions was thus recognised.
An act in 1964 obliged the authorities to make all public services available to all citizens. The right to pre-school education was also emphasised in the Social Assistance Act of 1976, which demanded that the municipalities create the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of families.
In 1987, the state delegated responsibility for the financial administration of the pre-school institutions to municipalities.
Type of Institutions
Two-thirds of established day-care institutions are municipal day-care centres while the other third are privately owned and are run by associations, parents, or businesses in agreement with local authorities. In terms of both finances and subject-matter, municipal and private institutions function according to the same principles.Pre-school education is primarily offered in the following institutions:
- CrècheDay careChild care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
s , literally 'cradle halls') for children between six months and three years of age. Size: 30 to 60 children; - KindergartenKindergartenA kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s for children between three and six to seven years of age. Size: 40 to 80 children; - Integrated institutions for groups with a wider age-group distribution than the two other types. Size: 40 to 150 children;
- Municipal child-care facilities established by private individuals taking in a few children . Size: 5 to 10 children.
- Pre-school classes established at primary schools and catering for children from the age of five to six, i.e. the last year before entering the age of compulsory education (cf. USEducation in the United StatesEducation in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
Kindergarten, EnglishEducation in EnglandEducation in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a regional level....
ReceptionReception (school)Reception or Primary 1 or FS2 is the first year of primary school in the United Kingdom and South Australia. It is preceded by nursery and is followed by Year One in England and Wales or Primary 2 in Northern Ireland and Scotland.Pupils in Reception are usually aged between four and five...
). Average size: 19.7 children (1999)
Admission Requirements
In theory, the only admission requirement to this type of institution is age, so that the minimum age to attend a nursery is six months, kindergartens three years, integrated institutions one year, and pre-school five to six years. However, as there are more parents requesting space in the first three types of institutions than there is space, municipalities distribute places taking into consideration the following categories of children:- Children with special pedagogicalPedagogyPedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
or social needs - Children of one-parent families
- Children sent by another authority
- Children of parents working away from the home
- Children whose brothers or sisters are already enrolled in the institution.
General Objectives
The Social Service Act stipulates that pre-school facilities shall form part of the total plan for general and preventive measures for children. It is the general objective to create, in co-operation with the parents, a framework which favours the development, well-being, and independence of children. These measures must ensure children have a normal day that at the same time give them security and challenges, and where close links with adults can develop. Furthermore, according to the Act on the Folkeskole, its aim is to familiarise children with the daily routines of school life.Curriculum, Subjects, Number of Hours
In principle, pre-school teachers are free to choose content, working methods, didactical material, and so forth. However, a municipality may draw up an educational plan, and the boards may define the principles of the activities an institution. Teaching takes the form of play and other development-based activities. There are no formalised classes or lessons. In fact, the earlier stages of Danish pre-school education mostly have the character of childcareChildcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
rather than formal education.
There is no educational plan for the activities in pre-school classes, but school authorities may propose guidelines for the content of the activities. The weekly minimum number of lessons in pre-school is 20 lessons divided into three to four hours a day, five days a week.