Fleksible læring i praksiset islandsk eksempel

dr. Rögnvaldur ÓlafssonIslands Universitet

Globalt Utdanningsmarked – Nordisk UtfordringNordisk Ministerråds temakonference om fleksible learning

Hotel Loftleiðir, Reykjavík 23.-24. sept. 2004

I want to tell you a story

- The story of a grass-root movement that is changing important aspects in Icelandic education

- Tell you what effect this has had- Try to explain why it happened and why

it is successful- Tell you how the new technologies

arrived just in time to make change possible

The local education centres

- The centres were established in 1998 and have grown since

- They are:- now well established in the Icelandic

education scene- beginning to have an effect on the

Icelandic regional politics- based on the new technologies

First you need to know a thing or two about the country and

the population

Only 290 thousand people

- The population is small- 290.490

- Iceland is basically a micro state- But a state with an ambition

- to be an educated, internationally minded society

- The long literary traditions help

We think Iceland is a large country

- But that is not really true:- Three times the size of Belgium- Bit bigger than Austria- Two and a half times Denmark- The third of Finland

- Much of it is inhabitable

The way of living has changed

- Until the 2nd World War Iceland was a farming community

- In the beginning of the 20th century the industrial revolution in fishing and fish processing reached Iceland- but in a rather limited way

- It started the change from farming community to an industrial community

The real change came ½ century agoDuring the occupation in the

2nd World War

The present- In the last two or three decades Iceland has

become a modern international state- It is now really taking off

The demographic changes

The population multiplied during the 20th century

From 80 to 290 thousand in 100 years

The population of Iceland 1900 to 2000

2x2x

They all went to Reykjavík

- In the rest of the country the population remained stable

- Only Akureyri increased its population somewhat

Reykjavík

1996

1901

N.E.

Iceland and the Nordic countries

- Much fewer people in Iceland- Much lower population density

- Very low density outside the Reykjavík area

- Only one town with more than 10 thousand inhabitants outside the Reykjavík capital region

Fólksfj. Stærð ÞéttleikiÍsland 1,0 1,0 1,0Noregur 16,0 3,1 5,2Finnland 18,4 3,3 5,6Danmörk 20,0 0,4 50,0Svíþjóð 31,6 4,4 7,2

Population Size Population density

But what is even more important

- There is only one densely populated area in Iceland, the capital region around Reykjavík

- A very large portion of the population lives there- Much larger portion than in the other

Nordic countries

But the capital region is in fact larger

- With better roads the capital region has in effect increased in size

- It reaches:- From Akranes in the west- through Keflavík in the south- to Selfoss in the east

- All are within an hours drive from Reykjavík

214.32174% 290.490

16.0486%

Total

In Iceland it is necessary to keep the countryside populated- The land is used for:

- Fishing- Farming- Tourism

- We depend on the land and its resources

- We need to be knowledgeable about land and nature

Example:

- The electrical power comes from the glacial rivers- It is necessary to know the glaciers and the

rivers

This was the story of the population

Let us now take a quick look at the industry and how it has changed

What effect it has had onthe attitude towards education

The situation some decades ago

- Plenty of jobs in the basic industries that did not require education- Plenty of possibilities and plenty of money

for hard working, uneducated people

- Consequently - neither need for education- nor was it highly regarded

- This has to be taken with a grain of salt

Huge changes in the last 20 years

- Fundamental changes in the labour situation- A new fishing quota system- Mechanization of the fish processing

- The abundance of well paid unskilled jobs disappeared

- With rationalization the skilled jobs tended to be transferred to the capital region

- People moved to Reykjavík as never before

Population development in Iceland

Hagstofa Íslands

Iceland

Rest of the country

Capital area

Great difference in educational level

- People with university degree:- About 25% in the capital region- About 15% outside the capital

- The need for education is recognisedHefur þú þörf fyrir aukna þekkingu og menntun?

87,4

12,6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Já Nei

A grass root movement was borne

- For increasing the availability of education- By using the possibilities of the new

technologies- Internet, ADSL, Video conferencing

- Local education centres were established in all regions- They were outside the official educational system- They got special finance through the local

parliamentarians

Local education centres

- Independent, self governing- Basically networks- Participation:

- Local industry- Local authorities- Secondary schools- Universities

Their emphasis

- The emphasis varies according to local needs and circumstances

- All levels of education- Continuing education- Secondary education- University education

- In Iceland the individual pays for his continuing education

The facilities

- Video conferencing - The larger centres have good access to

internet through a net set up with the assistance of the Ministry of Education

- Reading facilities- Facilities for group work- Student assistance and advice- Cooperate with the universities running

a video bridge

Contact points

The present state

- Considerable demand for the service- Lack of courses from the universities- The centres are financed by a yearly

fixed contribution from the ministry of education- The amount is not related to “output”- Decided from year to year

Need to take into account:

- The secondary school will probably be shortened from 4 to 3 years

- The future of universities, colleges, education centres

- Necessary to allow for development of universities and new methods of teaching

Education and research

- The local education centres are beginning to function well

- The next logical step is to increase local research and development work

- This phase is now under way

Knowledge activities in the regions

- Branch offices of research institutes - Marine Research Institute- Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories

- Agricultural service institutes- Regional Environmental Research Institutes- Business and Regional Development Centre- Local Education Centres- ................

How can this activity support research, education and development in the regions?

Why situate research in the regions?

Some important research is better done outside the capital region- Land use and preservation- Forestry research- The effects of glaciers- Research on birds- Snow avalance research- .........

More reasons for knowledge centres

- A small nation needs all the human capital it has

- The centres allow:- Specialists in the regions to teach to the

whole country- Integration of education and research f.ex.

in master education

Research Continuingeducation

University TeachingCentre

KnowledgeCentre

Distanceeducation

Localeducation

How many knowledge centres?

How is this financed and governed?

- The local initiative is of primary importance- Local firms- Schools

- Local authorities- The state- ..............

The future

- At the moment unclear- Many things to consider- The minister of education has set up a

working party to consider how to finance the centres

Nordic possibilities

- There are interesting Nordic possibilities- Small countries have difficulty with the

necessary know-how- This applies to the Nordic countries in

many fields

- With the new technologies cooperation is possible- NORFA has recently established so called

“Forskerskoler”