Northern Europe, as the name suggests, refers to countries

located in the north of Europe, generally including Finland, Sweden,

Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Schools in the Northern Europe

follow an educational model named Nordic Approach in which play,

care, learning and formative development are integrated throughout

all aspects of the programs. They stick firmly to the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child and continuously strive to

ensure that every child’s need for belongingness, care, security and

respect is met.

There are seven learning areas in Nordic approach, including

social competence, language and communication, Mathematics,

body and movement, creativity and art, nature as well as society

and culture. At Nordic schools, developing children’s social

competence is one of the significant focuses. Social competence

includes prosocial skills, for example, being cooperative and

friendly, as well as self-control skills, such as problem solving and

anger management. At Nordic schools, children are encouraged to

engage in positive interaction with others and learn how and when

to compromise. Maintaining a balance between taking care of their

own needs and being considerate of the needs of others is the

ultimate goal. Nordic schools also develop a variety of conflict

resolution and anger management strategies which help students

identify their feelings, communicate with and listen to others as well

as work towards solving conflicts peacefully and respectfully.

environment which enables children to have meaningful interactions

in Nordic languages with native speakers. Reading, writing,

speaking and singing activities are integrated throughout the

curriculum and across all learning areas. Apart from language,

mathematical thinking is promoted from an early age. Children

explore and play with shapes, patterns as well as numbers and

counting as they relate to materials and objects in everyday

situations. With the encouragement from teachers, children ask

questions, reason and seek solutions to problems relating to

mathematical ideas and dilemmas.

Children develop balance, body control and coordination

through doing various physical activities at school. They develop

gross motor skills through running, climbing etc. and refine their fine

motor skills through drawing and cutting. Furthermore, children

experience, explore and take part in different musical, visual and

physical forms of expression, which promote their learning potential,

social skills and ability to understand the surrounding world. At

school, they paint, work with clay, sing, dance and so on. They are

given plenty of opportunities to talk about the emotions and

experiences they have when they interact with different art forms.

Besides, children have lots of chances to enjoy nature through

different experiences and learning activities in all weathers at all

times of a year. Children learn to appreciate and connect with

nature, and to build a responsible relationship with it. Additionally,

understand their culture as an important step of the identity

development. Meanwhile, respect for cultural diversity is strongly

promoted. Children are inspired to be part of a democratic society at

school by being challenged with ethical questions and discussion

about justice and equity as well as engaging in rulemaking.

The Nordic approach focuses on learning through play;

however, structured, teacher-led activities are also planned for

children to participate in order to develop more specific learning

outcomes. Nordic schools reserve time and spaces for independent,

child-directed play so that children’s autonomy and ability are

promoted. At times, teachers plan activities based on children’s

interests and needs. They often make good use of these activities

to ensure the learning areas are developed in the children. To

encourage an in-depth investigation and exploration of a topic or a

problem that children are interested in, teachers at the Nordic

schools also carry out project-based learning, in which children have

chances to work together to plan and work through different phases

of a project.

To sum up, the Nordic approach values the cultivation of

students’ comprehensive abilities and personality development,

rather than simply pursuing high scores and academic

achievements. It aims at effectively stimulating students' interest

and enthusiasm for learning in the belief that every child can be
successful. There is no ranking or competition, and every child is

treated as an individual who has a different learning style and pace.

In Scandinavian schools, the role of teachers is much more

than just givers of knowledge, they are considered to be facilitators

and guides for students to learn. Educators observe and get to

know their children better in the context of play and from students’

interactions in smaller groups. They then document and reflect on

children’s learning interests, ideas and needs. The records are good

references for educators to design learning tasks and projects

according to the needs and interests of their students, and work as

facilitators throughout the learning process. Differentiated goals are

set for children according to their ability and interest. During the

learning process, teachers communicate regularly with the students

in order to understand their progress and needs, and give them

guidance and advice on how to overcome their learning difficulties.

They continuously provide children with different opportunities to

reach their potential without discrimination or exclusion due to

differences in academic performance. Besides, Nordic educators

place importance on letting children play outdoors in the belief that

it helps enhance not only children's physique, but also their mental

health. They think that outdoor play can stimulate children's

curiosity and arouse their desire to explore, and form a strong and

positive connection with nature. Therefore, teachers often integrate

learning including science education and environmental education

into outdoor activities while guiding their children to understand the

children outdoors to discuss about where food comes from and

observe insects in the countryside. To conclude, helping students

identify problems, motivating students to think about creative

solutions as well as providing support and feedback from students'

perspectives are the key roles of educators in Nordic approach.

The philosophy of Nordic approach is child-centered and child-

initiated. It emphasizes learning on children's own initiative.

Educators encourage children to try and explore by themselves in

order to achieve a good understanding and memory of what they

are learning. Therefore, children are encouraged to ask questions,

express opinions and participate in discussions during the learning

process. Their opinions and ideas are carefully listened to and

considered, which promotes students' interest and enthusiasm in

learning. The Nordic approach allows students to be more actively

involved in learning and thinking, and fosters creativity and critical

thinking skills in them. It values personal development and respect

for differences. The core value of Nordic education is that no

children is perfect but every child must have at least a talent that

should be encouraged. One of the educators’ jobs is to discover the

children’s talent and provide them with different chances to achieve

their potential. The child-centered concept of Nordic approach

regards every child as an important part of the society and the hope

of the future, so education provide to them should serve the

purpose of enhancing children's all-round growth. Nordic schools

quality educational resources and curriculum design, as well as

diversified educational methods so that children can fully develop

their potential, innovative thinking skills and practical skills. In

Nordic approach, nature is considered one of the most significant

learning environments for younger learners. Learning outdoors not

only fosters a child's relationship with nature, but also promote

creativity and problem-solving skills. To avoid competition, children

studying in Nordic schools are not required to take exams but only

assessment, which shows what the children have learned and how

they learn.

(Question 4,5 – Zadrina)