Student Jørgen Janitz  er i praksis på Færder VGS. Her med eleven Adrian Einvik Jensen.

International Further Education Programme in Folk High School Pedagogy

Porsgrunn - Part time

This programme seeks to meet the need for further professional development of teachers working in folk high schools in their varied manifestations worldwide.

  • Closing dates: Expired

Study facts

  • Campus: Porsgrunn
  • Study level: Further education
  • Progression of study: Part time
  • Start up: Spring 2023
  • Teaching model: Online and session-based
  • Credits: 15
  • Charge: 16 600,- NOK There will be an additional semester fee.
  • Closing dates: Expired
  • Semesters: 2
  • Teaching Language: English
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Fees and possibilities for stipend

The course is fee based and will cost 16 000 NOK (about 1500 Euro). We are asking the national folk high school organisation in the Nordic countries to sponsor stipend for international students.

Online and campus teaching

Students enrolled in the programme will meet for 8 interactive online seminars on a variety of themes as well as a three day hybrid conference.

The learning activities of the seminars include lectures, dialogical teaching, group work, problem and project-based learning, tutorials and workshops as well as self-study. Students will learn to read and examine academic publications critically and relate them to their own pedagogical practice. Parts of the course literature will be chosen by the participants in order to ensure the literature’s relevance to their own teaching. Assigned course work represents an integral part of the teaching approach and methodology of this program.

Dates

Preliminary dates for online seminars and examination are:

  • 16th of February 
  • 16th of March 
  • 13th of April 
  • 16th of May (preparing for 3-day seminar) 
  • 24th to 26th of May (3-day seminar) 
  • 15th of June 
  • 14th of September 
  • 20th of October 
  • 17th of November 
  • 13th to 15th of December (examination) 

Pedagogy illustration

Project-based teaching

Through seminars, reflective group assignments, individual supervision and practice-oriented research activities the dialogical teaching aims at the participants designing, implementing and evaluating pedagogical development projects at their own workplace.

Each student will be assigned a mentor who will supervise the assignments and course work related to the participant’s own teaching practice. The mentor will have online tutorial meetings with the student each semester.

Content of the course

The course introduces central educational frameworks and backgrounds for folk high schools, such as the pedagogical philosophies of N.F.S. Grundtvig, Paulo Freire and Rabindranath Tagore. The course participants will also discuss relevant learning theory with emphasis on critical pedagogy and the history of folk high schools. Course literature and seminars will cover topics such as:

  • social and political perspectives on pedagogical practice.
  • the development of folk high school pedagogy and related pedagogical traditions.
  • the critical debates that have shaped the folk high school movement.
  • contemporary social science perspectives on folk high school pedagogy.
  • social science methods with focus on research on pedagogical practice.
  • education for sustainable development, democracy and human rights.

Overall, this course deals with critical pedagogy in theory and practice with the aim of enhancing a living interaction between the teachers and the values, practices and purpose of the folk high schools.

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Admission requirements

The applicant should have completed a professional teacher training programme, as well as be able to document employment at a folk high school connected institution. The possibility of admission based on prior experience is available, but all students are expected to fulfil the minimum standard of Higher Education Entrance Qualification.

The admission requirements are founded on the regulations regarding admission to the University College of Southeast Norway.

You must meet the English requirements to be qualified for admission. There are several ways to do so.

Any questions?