The levels of education in Åland are primary, secondary and higher education. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. Compulsory education consists of six years of primary and three years of lower secondary education. Upon completion of the third year of lower secondary education students can continue to the upper secondary education which is carried out by the Ålands Gymnasium. Higher education is offered at the Åland University of Applied Sciences. Education in Åland is administered and regulated by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Swedish: Undervisnings-och kulturministeriet).
| Ministry of Education and Culture | |
|---|---|
| Minister | Johan Ehn |
| National education budget (2013) | |
| Budget | 53.932 million Euros(public) 4.7% of GDP |
| General details | |
| Primary languages | Swedish |
| Enrollment (2014) | |
| Total | 4,491 |
| Primary | 1,910 |
| Secondary | 2,091 |
| Post secondary | 490 |
Overview
editSwedish is the primary language of instruction in Åland. From 2001 to 2014, the percentage of compulsory schools' pupils that don't take courses in any other language than Swedish has increased from 16.8% to 31.2%.[1] In 2013 the public spending on education was 53.932 million Euros, or 4.7 of GDP.[2] In 2014 there were 657 teachers employed in all levels of education in Åland.[3] The total enrollment in Åland was 4,491 students in 2014.[4][5]
Primary education
editPrimary education in Åland is carried out in lower secondary school (Swedish: Lågstadiet) and it is provided by the municipalities.[6] It consists of six classes, it is compulsory and is carried out from 7 to 12 years of age.[6] In 2014 there were 1,910 students in primary education schools.[4]
Secondary education
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Lower secondary education in Åland is carried out in lower secondary schools (Swedish: Högstadiet) and it is provided by the municipalities.[6] It consists of three classes, it is compulsory and is carried out from 13 to 15 years of age.[6] In 2014 there were 945 students in lower secondary school.[4]
Upper secondary education in Åland is carried out in Åland Gymnasium, which itself consists of the Åland Vocational Gymnasium and the Åland Lyceum.[6] The Åland Vocational Gymnasium (Swedish: Ålands yrkesgymnasium) provides professional training along with a high school diploma.[7] Åland lyceum is a tertiary education preparatory secondary school, providing general education and broad eligibility for university of applied sciences and university studies.[8][9] In 2014 there were 674 students in the Åland Vocational Gymnasium and 472 students in the Åland Lyceum.[5]
Other schools
editThe Civic Institute (Swedish: Medborgarinstitutet) is run by the City of Mariehamn; it provides informal education to adults that doesn't provide credits or special qualifications.[10] The Ålands Folk High School (Swedish: Ålands Folkhögskola) offers project-oriented courses in crafts.[11] In 2014 the Ålands Folk High School has 56 students.[5] Both schools offer Swedish language courses for immigrants.[10][11]
Higher education
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Åland University of Applied Sciences (Swedish: Högskolan på Åland) is a university of applied sciences based in Mariehamn. It was established in 1997 and took its current form on January 1, 2003 after it merged with the Åland Open University.[12] Most courses are taught in Swedish, but there are some courses that are taught in English.[13] In 2014 there were 490 students in the Åland University of Applied Sciences.[5]
Marine education
editThe Åland Islands founded Alandica Shipping Academy in 2020, which offers basic courses and refresher courses for seafarers as well as undergraduate marine education at high school and college level.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Pupils in comprehensive school, senior level, studying no, one or two voluntary languages by school 2001-2014, per cent". ÅSUM - Statistics and Research Åland. Retrieved 1 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Expenditure of the Government of Åland 2000-2013, 1 000 EUR". ÅSUB - Statistics and Research Åland. Retrieved 1 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Number of teachers by level of school, position, sex and average age spring term 2014". ÅSUM - Statistics and Research Åland. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "Pupils in comprehensive school by sex and grade autumn 2014". ÅSUB - Statistics and Research Åland. Retrieved 2 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d "Students in education after comprehensive school and at the Åland University of Applied Sciences autumn term 2000-2014". ÅSUB - Statistics and Research Åland. Retrieved 2 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e "Education". aland.ax - The Official Åland website. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Om dina studier (About your Studies)". Ålands gymnasium. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Ålands lyceum" (in Swedish). Ålands gymnasium. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Välkommen till Ålands lyceum" (in Swedish). Ålands Lyceum. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Medis – vad är det?". Medis - Medborgarinstitutet in Mariehamn. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ a b "About Folkhögskolan" (PDF). Ålands Folkhögskolan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "About the Åland University of Applied Sciences". Åland University of Applied Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Study on the Åland Islands" (PDF). Åland University of Applied Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "ASA | Alandica Shipping Academy". ASA (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-19.