In 2017, a new core curriculum was implemented in Norwegian primary and secondary education, replacing the core curriculum from 1997. While the concept of danning is present in both curricula, its ...meaning and use seem to change. The concept of danning has a played a significant role in Norwegian society and educational history. Danning has been linked to the establishment of Norwegian democracy, in which education plays an important role. Since the 19th century, the meaning of the concept has been subject to change, corresponding to historical changes, yet the word itself continues to be part of the Norwegian educational rhetoric and national curriculum. This means that conversations about danning may not be fruitful because the participants attach different meanings to the same concept. Thus, a study of how danning has been used and how it is used today is warranted. Through an analysis of two Norwegian curricula, from 1997 and 2017, we find changes in the perception of danning and in its role as an educational concept in Norwegian education. We argue that danning goes from being understood as a result-oriented, social and democratic concept in 1997 to being seen as an individualistic process in pursuit of certain personal characteristics, without its former social component, in 2017. This indicates a fragmentation of danning.
In 2017, a new core curriculum was implemented in Norwegian primary and secondary education, replacing the core curriculum from 1997. While the concept of "danning" is present in both curricula, its ...meaning and use seem to change. The concept of "danning" has a played a significant role in Norwegian society and educational history. Danning has been linked to the establishment of Norwegian democracy, in which education plays an important role. Since the 19th century, the meaning of the concept has been subject to change, corresponding to historical changes, yet the word itself continues to be part of the Norwegian educational rhetoric and national curriculum. This means that conversations about "danning" may not be fruitful because the participants attach different meanings to the same concept. Thus, a study of how "danning" has been used and how it is used today is warranted. Through an analysis of two Norwegian curricula, from 1997 and 2017, we find changes in the perception of "danning" and in its role as an educational concept in Norwegian education. We argue that "danning" goes from being understood as a result-oriented, social and democratic concept in 1997 to being seen as an individualistic process in pursuit of certain personal characteristics, without its former social component, in 2017. This indicates a fragmentation of "danning."
This edited book challenges the limits of current educational philosophical discourse and argues for a restored normativisation of education through a powerful notion of justice. Moving beyond ...conventional paradigms of how justice and education relate, the book rethinks the promotion of justice in, for, and through education in its current state. Chapters combine international and diverse philosophical perspectives with a focus on contemporary issues, such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and migrant crises. Divided into three distinct parts, the book explores the ontological and socio-political grounds underlying our notions of education and justice, and offers self-reflective meta-critique on education philosophers’ tendency of promoting and upholding orthodox visions and missions. Ultimately, the book offers contemporary and innovative philosophical reflections on the link between justice and education, and enriches the discourse through a multi-perspectival and sensitive exploration of the topic. It will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, education policy and politics, education studies, and social justice. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Funded by University of Oslo.
With a specific example from Norway and inspiration from Sara Ahmed's The Promise of Happiness, this article demonstrates how today's educational rhetoric lacks the language and will to recognise a ...key pedagogical dimension in education: what happens when the normative ambitions of education and students meet. At best, teaching students life skills to mitigate their mental health issues is naive. Inspired by Ahmed, such an initiative might actually work against its purpose. At a time when educational outcomes are emphasised in local and international political contexts, I argue that the task of philosophy of education should be 1) to reclaim the significance of the pedagogical dimension in education and 2) to philosophise on what negative emotions such as unhappiness require of education.
The Nordic countries are famous for being at the forefront when it comes to gender equality. The school has played an important role in this; since 1974, the Norwegian curriculum has stated that ...schools should promote gender equality. Previously portrayed as an ambition to correct unwanted bias towards girls, recent times have witnessed an increased concern for boys. In 2017, a national committee was appointed to investigate the significance of gender disparities for students' school results. However, critics argued that instead of promoting gender equality, the committee contributed to reinforcing an abandoned dualistic view of gender and to steering the school further away from its overall ideals of equality and social equalization. Moreover, at the same time, a revised curriculum placed less emphasis on gender and more on diversity and difference.
What could be the background for these different views? To what extent do they testify to an ongoing renegotiation of what society considers the school's responsibilities related to gender, equality, and education? Through a conceptual history and a critical analysis, this chapter discusses one key aspect of the Nordic education model, namely, the ambition that the school should promote gender equality-or likestilling-as an educational ideal.
Cultural scholar Sarah Ahmed's (2010) critique of the "promises of happiness" is crucial to education. Through a phenomenological approach, firmly rooted in feminist theory, Ahmed reveals how an ...individual's feelings and desires might deviate from prevailing cultural happiness narratives, or "promises of happiness", generating unfortunate emotional consequences. As education plays an important part in promoting such narratives, Ahmed thus demonstrates the importance of taking students' affective responses seriously and that we need to question how we as educators relate to feelings. Despite her critical voice, Ahmed nevertheless points out a possible path for such a discussion, I would argue; "Unhappiness might offer a pedagogic lesson on the limits of the promise of happiness" (p. 217), she writes. "To kill joy ... is to open a life, to make room for life, to make room for possibility, for chance" (p. 20). With these quotes as starting points, and with an approach to education emphasising its fundamental "norm problem" as well as the importance of "the pedagogical relation", this chapter will explore whether and how unhappiness might contribute to our enduring search for a (more) just education.
