Fair and Inclusive education

Kunnskapsminister Øystein Djupedals innlegg på Equity-konferansen "Fair and Inclusive education" i regi av OECD og Kunnskapsdepartementet, 04.06.07, Trondheim.

Dear colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to welcome you all to this conference in my hometown Trondheim. As you all know, this conference will discuss the outcomes of the OECD thematic review on Equity in Education, a major project which was launched in 2003.

One of the objectives of the project has been to provide analyses and information material on equity and inequity in the educational systems of the member countries of the OECD, as a basis for policy discussion, and this with a view to drawing knowledge-based conclusions.

10 of the member countries have participated in the project. Each country has prepared an analytical report, and five of the countries have had visits from OECD expert teams, which led to the preparation of country notes.

In addition comes the comparative report, which will be presented and discussed her at the conference. I firmly believe that this report will make its mark on educational policies in the Member countries in the years to come.

This conference deals with one of the main challenges in our society to day: How to make our education system more fair and inclusive. The issue is crucial in order to bring about a more inclusive society.

We know that education, knowledge and skills contribute to inclusion in the workplace, to better economy and better health. Education also ensures greater democracy and participation in society as well as a lower crime level. Furthermore, participation in training and education has great significance for the individual’s self-realisation. Integrating each and everyone from an early age into a learning environment that stimulates life-long learning is conducive to creating a good life.

Therefore: Everyone must have the same possibility of developing themselves and their abilities. A society characterised by equality provides the best setting for individuals to pursue their own life projects. Societies with small economic and social differences are also among the most productive in an economic sense.

Education unites on all levels: It unites children, young people and adults, across social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Education is the main instrument we have to create a common platform for all our citizens to succeed and participate. Education should be used as a tool to promote social and economic cohesion in our societies.

Providing for inclusion and equity in education and in society at large is indeed no easy task. There are social differences in participation in, and learning outcome from the education system in all countries. No one has succeeded in wiping out these differences completely. International comparisons show however that there are differences between countries. Some are more successful than others in achieving social equalisation in their education system. This means that we can learn from each other. And this conference is an important arena for exchange of experiences and ideas concerning fair and inclusive education.

In order to sum up our experiences in Norway and to pinpoint our challenges my Government last year presented a white paper to Parliament on "Early Intervention for Lifelong Learning".

In this white paper the Government’s main educational policy is outlined and the vision of a national system of inclusive education is expressed in the following way: "Education shall be diverse and inclusive, it shall have the capacity to assure each student individual development according to his or her aptitude and ability. Every student shall be seen both as an individual and as a member of the learning community.

The quality of primary and secondary education and training needs to be at a high level, securing that nobody leaves school without the skills and competences needed to meet the complex tasks of life – both alone and in cooperation with others."

One of the recommendations in the country note for Norway in the OECD Equity in Education activity is to preserve the basic structure of the education system. It also stresses that the system has a good equalisation profile as regards financing and participation. The social differences in access to the education system have been reduced by providing more day-care institutions, introducing a ten-year compulsory school for everyone and the right to upper secondary education.

Does this mean that everything is as it should be in Norway? The answer to that question is unfortunately no.

In spite of a high degree of formal equality in the right to participate in the education system, there are still great social differences in learning outcomes and participation in education. The point is that resources are not in themselves sufficient to ensure a more socially equalising system.

In Norway we have to many students with weak basic skills. 1 out of 4  15 year olds leaves comprehensive school without sufficient skills (reading, writing, arithmetic and ICT).  1 out of 4 drop out of upper secondary school.

One of the consequences is that 400,000 adults in Norway have such weak literacy and numeracy skills that they may have difficulty functioning in today’s workplace and in society. In addition: Norwegian and international research shows that the probability of participating and succeeding in education or training and in the workplace is too much linked with family background and gender.

When on previous occasions I have discussed these challenges with my colleagues from abroad, most of them have told me that they are indeed facing the same challenges at home. Both the national thematic reviews and OECDs final report on equity in education shows quite clearly that the situation in Norway is in no way unique.

Early intervention
The possibilities for children and young people to learn must be built up block by block. It is important for the education system to pave the way and ensure that everyone is included in good learning processes at an early stage. In this work, early childhood education and care is the key. The ability to learn depends among other things on skills and experience acquired earlier in life. Learning breeds more learning. Persons who are not offered good learning processes will have a greater risk of falling into a downward spiral

In the course of the past 20 years, we have acquired more knowledge about the significance of early childhood for the individual’s possibility of life-long learning.

When my government took office in October 2005, we made a list of key priorities. One of these was the specific goal of making kindergarten places available to all who apply. We have promised to reach this goal by the end of this year. My government considers early childhood education and care institutions, 'kindergartens', as one of the most important institutions in our society.

The development of language plays a central role. Language makes it possible to communicate and it helps to create identity and a sense of belonging. Studies show that early language stimulation can prevent social differences in later learning achievement in school. That is the reason why my government will devote more attention to language stimulation and language development for pre-school children. We believe that improving the children’s language training will improve their chance for success later in life.

Research indicates that there is a great potential for reducing differences in learning achievement by initiating measures in early childhood, especially in the case of children with a minority background, children with disabilities and children in danger of developing reading and writing difficulties.

Early intervention must not be understood only as an action to be undertaken at an early stage of a child’s life. The principle also prescribes intervention when problems arise or are revealed at pre-school age, during basic education or in adulthood.

Surveys show that there has been a tendency in Norwegian schools to "wait and see" instead of intervening at an early stage of the pupils’ development and learning. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2001, one of the teaching strategies of every second 4th grade teacher in Norway is "to wait for the pupil to mature" if the pupil is lagging behind in reading skills.

In Finland, a great deal of extra help is given at an early stage of the learning process. Finland has very high scores in international reading surveys and has few pupils with weak basic skills. Their systematic use of early intervention is probably one of the explanations for their success.

There are a number of effective measures that help vulnerable children into a good learning process. The earlier these measures are initiated, the more effective and less resource-intensive they are. The best way to prevent marginalisation is to help at any early stage when there are still many possibilities and the child’s motivation has not been weakened by failure.

It is equally important to remember that it is never too late to reverse a downward spiral learning process.

A number of measures have been tried and found successful in helping young people with serious learning and behavioural problems at lower secondary level, or pupils who have dropped out of upper secondary school. The same is true of adults who have completed compulsory education without acquiring the reading and writing skills that are needed to be able to function well in society and in the workplace.

This conference on Fair and Inclusive Education is designed to bring together policy makers, scholars and senior educational administrators dealing with equity in education issues from OECD countries to share recent research, discuss emerging policy issues, and consider how schools and education systems can respond to these challenges.  

I am sure that all of you now are looking forward to discuss key issues for equity in education and how to raise policy awareness and how policies for equity in education can be best supported.

Conclusion
In my opinion inclusion and equity in education is the best long-term instrument we have in order to secure economic progress as well as democracy and social stability. It is certainly no coincidence that Education for All (EFA) is one of the UN Millennium Goals.

It is a challenge to provide education adapted to all needs, but like the learning process itself it is a continuous effort. Education is not limited to school attendance; it is an integral part of personal development.

Lifelong learning is a goal never to be fully reached, because knowledge and skills are never complete. What we want are human beings striving towards their potential, in the process becoming themselves at their best.

In order to ensure equal access to education and lifelong learning, the governments need to take an active role in providing frameworks that span across geographic, social, economic and age-related boundaries.

I am really looking forward to listen to all the presentations and discussions today and tomorrow. Thank you for your attention and good luck with the conference!