Danish Education vs American Education By Jon Fontaine

Danish Education vs. American Education By Jon Fontaine

Introduction to Denmark n n An area slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts Located in Northern Europe Geographically similar to New England Democratic Government

The People of Denmark n n n Predominantly Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian and Somali Majority of population between 25 -54 years old 8. 7% of Gross Domestic Product spent on education (8 th in the world)

Brief History of Danish Education n n n Tiered Structure of Education Basic School – Level 0 -10 Upper Secondary – Level 10 -13 Bachelor Programs – Level 13 -15 Master’s Programs – Level 16 -17 Ph. D – Level’s 18 -20

History Continued n Pre-Primary Education • Introduces Children to a School Environment n Primary and Lower Secondary • Comprehensive School for 1 st and 2 nd grades

History Continued n Upper Secondary Education • 16 -19 year old students General Education n Vocational or Technical Education n • Production Schools Students under 25 n Helps students obtain qualifications to join the job market n

Education for All n n n Basic Education is Compulsory More than 50% of students enter Higher Education yearly Each school prepares students for the next tier in the education structure

Education for All Continued n n Education is 100% free Tuition is never charged to students Students receive monthly financial aid This educational support helps pay for expenses while not working and attending school

The Danish Education System n n Compared to US, Denmark uses a 7 point “grading scale” Danish Mark 12 equals an A Danish Mark 00 equals an F This was introduced in 2007 to make grading more comparable internationally

Danish Education System Continued n Self-governing Politics in Education • Ensures a broad range of options for students • Requires institutions to create educational opportunity and development • Each school maintains pedagological development

Subjects & Curriculum in Denmark n Humanities • Danish, English, Christian Studies, History, Social Studies n Practical/Creative • Physical Education, Music, Visual Arts, Design

Curriculum Continued n Science • Math, Natural Sciences, Geography, Biology, Physics, n Other Topics • Road Safety, Health & Sex Ed. , Educational, Vocational and Labor Market Orientation

School Years Around the World n United States • September to June • 188 Days • 943 Annual School Hours n Australia • January to December • 200 Days

School Years Around the World n Brazil • January to December • 7 am to Noon n China • September to July • 7: 30 am to 5: 00 pm

School Years in Denmark • August to June • 741 Annual School Hours • Christmas Holiday, Spring Break, Easter Holiday, Summer Holiday, Autumn Break

US School Day Compared to Other Nations n US School Day • 7 am to 3 pm typically • One meal provided • Average 900 Instructional Hours Yearly

US School Day Continued n n n India and China require 25% more schooling than US Students in China attend more school days per year than US Danish Students attend LESS school than US

Denmark Education vs United States n n n Denmark Instructional Time = 790 hours per school year Demark Averages 9. 7 years of school for adults, US averages 12 Denmark spends 8. 74% on Education, US spends 5. 62%

Continued n n n Denmark has 7. 44 primary teachers per 1000 students, US has 5. 49 Pupil to teacher ratio in Denmark is 9. 93 to 1, in the US it is 14. 29 to 1 Denmark’s Primary Education Teachers ranked 61 st in the world, the US teachers ranked 5 th

What Can We Learn? n n n Education is something that should be free and compulsory Longer school days and years does not correlate to higher education Less money spent on higher education means more money in the economy

What Can We Change? n n n Shorten school days Put more funding into education Focus on students and not testing Increase vocational schools and training Observe other nations and model their successful educational systems

Conclusion n Education in the US needs to be revamped • We need to change the way we look at education • Education should be a right, not a business • Students need to be given more freedom in their educational process

References n n n (n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from https: //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/ (n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //studyindenmark. dk/study-options/the-danish-way-of -teaching-1/the-danish-way-of-teaching-1 Education for all. (n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //denmark. dk/en/society/welfare/education-for-all/ Overview of the Danish Education System. ( n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //eng. uvm. dk/Education/Overview-of-the-Danish-Education-System Subjects & Curriculum. ( n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //eng. uvm. dk/Education/Primary-and-Lower-Secondary-Education/The-Folkeskole/Subjectsand-Curriculum Denmark - History Background. ( n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //education. stateuniversity. com/pages/368/Denmark-HISTORY-BACKGROUND. html (n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: // nces. ed. gov/nationsreportcard / (n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //www. infoplease. com/world/statistics/schoolyears. html School days: How the U. S. compares with other countries. (2014, September 2). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //www. pewresearch. org/fact-tank/2014/09/02/school-days-how-the-u-scompares-with-other-countries/ Denmark vs United States Education Stats Compared. ( n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //www. nationmaster. com/country-info/compare/Denmark/United-States/Education Sanders, S. ( n. d. ). What Can We Learn From Denmark? Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //www. huffingtonpost. com/rep-bernie-sanders/what-can-we-learn-from-de_b_3339736. html Time in school: How does the U. S. compare? ( n. d. ). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http: //www. centerforpubliceducation. org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does -the-US-compare