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CORECURRICULUM

FOR PRIMARY, SECONDARYAND ADULT EDUCATION

IN NORWAY

THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND CHURCH AFFAIRS

PRIMARY AND LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

§ 1 PRINCIPAL AIMSPrimary and lower secondary education shall, with the understanding of and in cooperation with the home, assist in providing pupils with a Christian and ethical upbringing, develop their mental and physical abilities, and give them a broad general education so that they can become useful

and independent persons in their private lives and in society.

Schools shall promote intellectual freedom and tolerance, and emphasize the establishment of cooperative climate between teachers and pupils and between school and home.

UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

§ 2 PRINCIPAL AIMSThe purpose of upper secondary education is to develop the skills, understanding and responsibility

that prepare pupils for life at work and in society, to provide a foundation for further education, and to assist them in their personal development.

Upper secondary education shall contribute to increased awareness and understanding of basic Christian and humanist values, our national cultural heritage, democratic ideals and scientific thought and method.

Upper secondary education shall promote human equality and equal rights, intellectual freedom and tolerance, ecological understanding and international co-responsibility.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACT

§ 1 PRINCIPAL AIMSThe Act aims to develop competence, understanding and responsibility in relation to craft,

profession and society; to provide a basis for further education and to assist apprentices in their personal development.

Vocational training shall contribute to increased awareness and understanding of basic Christian and humanist values, our national cultural heritage, democratic ideals and scientific thought and method.

Vocational training shall promote human equality and equal rights, intellectual freedom and tolerance, ecological understanding and international co-responsibility.

§ 12.2The apprentice is under an obligation to participate actively to achieve the objects of the training and contribute

to establishing a favourable working climate and a spirit of cooperation.

ADULT EDUCATION ACT

§ 1 PRINCIPAL AIMSThe aim of adult education is to help the individual to lead a more meaningful life. This Act shall

contribute to providing adult persons with equal access to the knowledge, insight and skills which enhance the individual's sense of values and personal development and widen the

individual’s scope for independent action and for cooperation at work and in society.

FOLK HIGH SCHOOLS ACT

§ 2 PRINCIPAL AIMSFolk high schools shall, in keeping with their traditions, promote general education for different age groups and educational levels. Within this framework, the governing body of the school

determines its basic values and aims.

During the last two or three generations, greatchanges have taken place in the living conditionsof the young. Both parents spend more of theirtime outside the home at their place of work,while their children's links to the world of workand the learning that goes on there have waned.The impact of international mass media has grownstrongly over the last decade, and schools havebecome increasingly multicultural.

Schools themselves are subject to extensivereforms, such as the introduction of a nationalprogram for after-school activities, lowering theschool starting age to six years, three-year uppersecondary education for all and a pedagogically more coherent educational system.

Both the changes in society and the structuralchanges in education make it necessary to re-examine the guidelines governing the purpose andcontent of education. The aims as stated in theActs governing education must be carefully re-read and their interpretation reviewed.

When large-scale reforms are being introduced in primary, secondary and higher educationsimultaneously, as they are now, it seems naturaland fitting to provide a common formulation ofthe Common Core of the curriculum, with a viewto emphasizing how the stages of education arelinked together, including adult education. It isthe result of such work that is presented here.

Prior to the revision, the Ministry of Educationappointed a number of working parties: one for

primary and lower secondary education, one forupper secondary education, and one to examinethe common core in a broader, social perspective.The Ministry then processed the proposals anddrafts from these groups.

The starting point for the overall work has beenthe aims stated in the Acts governing theNorwegian educational system, reproduced on thefacing page. The main themes found in these para-graphs were then extracted. It turns out that theyfall into six groups, as illustrated on the next page.It is these main themes that have been analysedand amplified in the main body of this document.The central ideas in former guidelines for primaryand secondary education in Norway have alsobeen examined and employed in this exposition.The work moreover builds on principles set out incentral policy documents debated and given parliamentary approval during the last few years.

A draft of for this document was widely circu-lated and discussed and the text subsequentlyrevised before being presented in its final form toParliament (Storting). The Storting gave its fullconsent without further alteration to the text.It therefore constitutes a binding foundation forthe development of separate curricula and subjectsyllabuses at the different levels of education -the common core for the Norwegian educationalsystem.

Gudmund HernesMinister

Foreword

STATEMENTS OF AIMS AS FORMULATED IN THE EDUCATION ACTS

Listed below are a number of key formulations from the Acts governing education in Norway, grouped thematically. The common core of the curriculum expands on these themes.

Reference to the Acts is as follows:• Primary and Lower Secondary Education Act•• Upper Secondary Education Act••• Vocational Training Act•••• Adult Education Act••••• Folk High Schools Act

THE ESSENCE OF THE STATEMENTS OF AIMS

MORAL OUTLOOK • Christian and ethical upbringing•• Contribute to increased awareness and understanding of

fundamental Christian values••• Responsibility•••• Promote a sense of values

• Intellectual freedom and tolerance•• Human equality and equal rights•• Intellectual freedom and tolerance

CREATIVE ABILITIES • Develop mental and physical abilities•• Assist pupils in their personal development•• Scientific thought and method•••• Personal development

WORK •• Prepare for life at work and in society••• Actively exploit learning opportunities at work••• Competence, understanding and responsibility in relation to

craft, profession and society•••• Equal access to knowledge, insight and skills

GENERAL EDUCATION • Give a broad basic knowledge so that pupils can become useful and independent in home and society

•• National heritage, prepare for life in society•• Provide a basis for further education•••• Strengthen basis for independent action ... at work and in society•••• Help the individual to lead a more meaningful life••••• Promote general education for different age groups

and educational levels

COOPERATION • With the understanding of and in cooperation with the home ... establish good modes of cooperation between teachers and pupils, and between school and home

•• Democratic ideals•• International co-responsibility••• Favorable working climate and spirit of cooperation•••• Strengthen .. cooperation at work and in society

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT •• Ecological understanding

INTRODUCTION 5

THE SPIRITUAL HUMAN BEING 7– Christian and Humanistic Values– Cultural Heritage and Identity

THE CREATIVE HUMAN BEING 11– Creative Abilities– Three Traditions– A Critical Sense of Judgement– Scientific Method and the Active Pupil

THE WORKING HUMAN BEING 16– Technology and Culture– Learning and Work Habits– Teaching and Personal Initiative– From the Familiar to the Unknown– Adapted Teaching– All-round Development– The Role of the Teacher and Educator– Teaching Ability and Active Learning– Learning as Teamwork

THE LIBERALLY-EDUCATED HUMAN BEING 25– Specific Knowledge and Broad Frames of Reference– Common References in a Specialized Society– Internationalization and the Appreciation of Tradition

THE SOCIAL HUMAN BEING 30– A Diversified Peer Culture– Duties and Responsibilities– Social Learning from the School Community– A Broad Context for Learning: Peer Culture, Parent

Participation, and the Local Community

THE ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE HUMAN BEING 35– Natural Sciences, Ecology and Ethics– Humans Beings, The Environment and Conflicts of Interest– Joy of Nature

THE INTEGRATED HUMAN BEING 39

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Aims in this connection are

a) something to work towardsb) something one can know

whether one approaches or not.

The aim of education is to furnish children, youngpeople and adults with the tools they need to facethe tasks of life and surmount its challenges togeth- er with others. Education shall provide learnerswith the capability to take charge of themselvesand their lives, as well as with the vigor and will to stand by others.

Education shall qualify people for productiveparticipation in today's labor force, and supply thebasis for later shifts to occupations as yet not en-visaged. It should develop the skills needed forspecialized tasks, and provide a general level ofcompetence broad enough for re-specializationlater in life. Education must ensure both admis-sion to present-day working and community life,and the versatility to meet the vicissitudes of lifeand the demands of an unknown future. Hence itmust impart attitudes and learning to last a life-time, and build the foundation for the new skillsrequired in a rapidly changing society. It mustteach the young to look ahead and train theirability to make sound choices. It must accustomthem to taking responsibility - to assess the effectsof their actions on others and evaluate them intermsof ethical principles.

The educational system must be designed tooffer adults the same opportunities as today'syouth. A basic education no longer suffices for alifetime of work. Re-adjustment with its attendantrenewal of skills will be a regular feature of life.The learning adults have gained in school, musttherefore be maintained and renewed. The edu-cational system must be open, so that it is possibleto return repeatedly for re-education from alloccupations and without formal barriers. Societyis responsible for ensuring that equality of edu-cational opportunity is a reality and thatinequalities arc not allowed to develop.

Education must spur students to diligence andto close collaboration in the pursuit of commongoals. In must foster miens and manners whichfacilitate the achievement of the results they aimat. It must promote democracy, national identityand international awareness. It shall furthersolidarity with other peoples and with mankind'scommon living environment, so that our country

can remain a creative member of the global com-munity.

Education must make room for the learners' cre-ative urge and at the same time awake their plea-sure in the accomplishments of others. Throughmusic and words, pictures and patterns, they mustbe stimulated to develop their imagination andappreciation of art.

The point of departure for schooling is the per-sonal aptitude, social background, and local originof the pupils themselves. Education must be adapted to the needs of the individual. Greater equality of results can be achieved by differencesin the efforts directed towards each individuallearner. Breadth of skills is realized by stimulatingtheir unique interests and abilities. Individual dis-tinctiveness generates social diversity - equal abili-ty to participate enriches society.

In short, the aim of education is to expand theindividual's capacity to perceive and to partici-pate, to experience, to empathize and to excel.

If education is to further these aims, a morecareful examination of basic values, view of manand nurturing tasks is necessary.

Introduction

Society is responsible for ensuringtbat equality of educationalopportunity is a reality.

The aim of education is to expandthe individual's capacity to perceiveand to participate, to experience, toempathize and to excel.

* In this document the concept "learner" comprises pupil apprentice or student.

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Education shall be based on fundamental Christianand humanistic values. It should uphold andrenew our cultural heritage to provide perspectiveand guidance for the future.

Veneration for human equality and the dignity ofman is an inducement to persistently safeguardand expand upon the freedoms of faith, thought,speech and action without discrimination by gen-der, endowment, race, religion, nationality or posi-tion. This fundamental belief is a constant sourceof change to enhance the human condition

Christian and Humanistic ValuesChristian and humanistic values both demand andfoster tolerance, providing room for other culturesand customs. They buttress the rule of law andthe democratic state as the framework for equalpolitical participation and debate. They empha-size charity, brotherhood and hope, promote pro-gress through criticism, reason and research; andthey recognize that humans themselves are a partof nature by their bodies, their needs and theirsenses.

The Christian faith and tradition constitute adeep current in our history - a heritage that unitesus as a people across religious persuasions. It hasimprinted itself on the norms, world view,concepts and art of the people. It bonds us toother peoples in the rhythm of the week and incommon holidays, but is also an abiding presencein our own national traits: in architecture andmusic, in style and conventions, in ideas, idiomsand identity.

Our Christian and humanistic tradition placesequality, human rights and rationality at the fore.Social progress is sought in reason and enlighten-ment, and in mans ability to create, appreciateand communicate.

Together, this interwoven tradition provides uswith unwithering values both to orient ourconduct and to organize our communities. Theyinspire selfless and creative efforts, and encouragehonorable and courteous behavior.

At the same time, the young must learn that dif-

ferent epochs have had divergent habits and customs and that different societies havedissimilar rules for proper conduct. The youngmust understand that moral standards can be asource of conflict, but that they also undergochange and that new models for social relationsand human interaction can be created throughreflection, criticism and dialogue.

Education should be based on the view that allpersons are created equal and that human dignityis inviolable. It should confirm the belief that everyone is unique; that each can nourish his owngrowth and that individual distinctions enrich andenliven our world. Education should foster equali-ty between the sexes and solidarity among groups

The spiritual human being

Education must be based on theview that all persons are createdequal and that human dignity isinviolable. It should confirm thebelief that everyone is unique, thateach can nourish his own growthand that individual distinctionsenrich and enliven our world.

Education shall be based on funda-mental Christian and humanisticvalues. It should uphold and renewour cultural heritage to provide per-spective and guidance for the future.

and across borders. It should portray and proveknowledge as a creative and versatile force, vigorous both for personal development and forhumane social relations.

Children and adolescents must be made to

understand moral claims and allow them to informtheir conduct. The canons that are valid in society- professional ethics, labor norms and businesspractices - have a determining influence on thequality of life in any given society: whether tasks

Education should foster equalitybetween the sexes and solidarityamong groups and across borders. Itshould portray and prove knowledgeas a creative and versatile force,vigorous both for personaldevelopment and for humane social

are performed with skill for the good of others,whether work is organized to prevent injury andpromote health, whether technology is safe,whether products are up to standard or whethercontracts are open and honest. Our welfare socie-ty itself is built upon a moral contract: on the onehand by everyone contributing to a system thatsupports and serves oneself when in need; and onthe other by empowering others to develop theirskills and strengthen them when they are in need.

Education should view individuals as moralbeings, accountable for their decisions andresponsible for their actions; with the abillity toseek what is true and to do what is right. But indi-viduals are also capable of behaving destructively,in defiance of their conscience, contrary tonorms, against better judgment, and to thedetriment of themselves and others. Educationmust therefore authenticate society’s ideals andvalues and enliven them so that they become apotent force in people’s lives. It must providethem with reliance and probity that can carrythem through the defeats, crises and conflictswhich are inescapable in the vicissitudes of life.It must also implant generosity in the face offailure, so that the individual who flounders orfalls short is also taken seriously, can beexonerated and begin anew.

Hence education must clarify and justify ethicalprinsiples and norms. These in turn can be eluci-dated by Biblical similes, but also by illustrationsfrom other religions, from history, fiction, biogra-phy, and from legends, parables, myths and fables.

Pupils must be confronted with choices that aretested against the norms on which the school andsociety as a whole are built. And educators as rolemodels should lead the way by their example.

There should be a close interaction betweenupbringing at home and the education providedby the school and within the society of whichpupils are part.

Cultural Heritage and IdentityThe development of individual identity occursthrough becoming familiar with inherited forms ofconduct, norms of behavior and modes of expres-sion. Hence education should elaborate anddeepen the learners’ familiarity with national andlocal traditions - the domestic history anddistinctive features that are our contribution tocultural diversity in the world. The Samilanguage and culture are a part of this commonheritage which Norway and the Nordic countrieshave a special responsibility to safeguard. Thislegacy must be nourished so that it can grow inschools with Sami pupils, in order to strengthenSami identity as well as our common knowledgeof Sami culture.

Cultural history also reminds us that contactbetween different ways of life opens the door tounexpected combinations as well as conflictsbetween beliefs. A meeting between diversecultures and traditions can generate new impulsesas well as stimulate critical reflections.

Education must convey knowledgeabout other cultures and takeadvantage of the potential forenrichment that minority groupsand Norwegians with anothercultural heritage represent.

Education should view individualsas moral beings, accountable fortheir decisions and responsible fortheir actions; with the ability to seekwhat is true and to do what is right.

Education should elaborate anddeepen the learners' familiarity withnational and local traditions - thedomestic history and distinctivefeatures that are our contributionto cultural diversity in the world.

The school system embraces many pupils fromgroups which in our country constitute minoritycultures and languages. Education must thereforeconvey knowledge about other cultures and takeadvantage of the potential for enrichment thatminority groups and Norwegians with anothercultural heritage represent. Knowledge of otherpeoples gives us the chance to test our own valuesand the values of others. Education shouldcounteract prejudice and discrimination, andfoster mutual respect and tolerance betweengroups with differing modes of life.

Education should provide training in cooperationbetween persons of different capacities andgroups with diverse cultures. But it must alsoexpose the conflicts that can arise in encountersbetween different cultures. Intellectual freedomimplies not only allowance for other points ofview, but also courage to take a stand, confidenceto stand alone, and the strength of character tothink and act according to one’s own convictions.Tolerance is not the same as detachment and indif-ference. Education should develop resolve toassert one’s rights and those of others, and tostand up against their violation.

Many people are handicapped in relation totheir surroundings. Education must convey know-ledge about, and foster equal worth and solidarityfor those whose skills differ from those of themajority. And, not least, it should promote theappreciation that any one of us can be struck byillness or injury, by destitution, tribulations, oranguish, all of which can make us dependent onthe compassion of others.

Education should counteractprejudice and discrimination, andfoster mutual respect and tolerancebetween groups with differing modesof life.

Education should develop resolve toassert one’s rights and those ofothers, and to stand up against theirviolation.

Education must convey knowledgeabout, and foster equal worth andsolidarity for those whose skillsdiffer from those of the majority.

What distinguishes the human species is itscapacity to appreciate what its forebears havethought and felt, to utilize what they havedevised and designed - and yet transcend thelimits set by the past through ingenuity andresourcefulness.

Education shall foster both loyalty towards ourheritage and an urge to break new ground. Henceit must provide both practical skills and insight,training of both head and hand.

Education shall impart in the learner a zest forlife, the courage to tackle it, and a desire to useand extend what they learn. Children, when theybegin their schooling, embark upon a great adven-ture which, with luck and care, can last them alifetime. At school they must learn not to befearful, but to meet the unknown with hope anddrive, with expectation and enthusiasm. Theschool must develop their urge to get going andkeep going. It must spur their will to persevereand develop their energy to resist loss of nerveand overcome their own inner resistance andvacillation.

Creative AbilitiesThe foremost aim of education is evolution.Education shall meet children, adolescents andadults on their own terms and so lead them to theborderland where they can encounter the new byopening their minds and testing their skills.

The intrinsic inquisitiveness of children is aformidable force. They are full of the desire tolearn, but also of ignorance and uncertainty. Theylearn much by emulating older children and adults- and so become social beings. They develop theircreative powers to think, speak, write, act andfeel while being grafted onto the adult world andby acquiring adult skills.

For children and adolescents, the world is newand nothing in it is taken for granted. They oftengrope and question matters that adults accept as amatter of course, and they have a rich ability tofantasize and an unfettered imagination. Realitysets few limits to their musings. Children’s bound-less inquisitiveness is a model for all who wish todevelop and learn. It is also a quality of childhood

that the school must cherish and make use of inteaching - since children learn to a large degreefrom each other.

By creative talent we mean the ability to findnew solutions to practical problems by untriedmoves and unused methods, by identifying newrelationships through thinking and experimenting,by developing new standards for evaluation andcollaboration, or by originating novel forms ofartistic expression. Creative talents manifestthemselves in new and improved machines, toolsand routines, in the results of work and research,in improved criteria for appraisal and judgement,in buildings, paintings, music, dance and poetry.

Education must demonstrate how creativeenergy and inventiveness have constantlyimproved the context, content and quality ofhuman life, and the historical conditions underwhich this has occurred. The greater and lesseraccomplishments of the past not only inspirerespect for what mankind has achieved beforeour time; they also show us that the future isopen and that today’s

The creative human being

Education shall impart in the learner azest for life, the courage to tackle it, anda desire to use and extend what theylearn.

Education shall meet children, adoles-cents and adults on their own terms andso lead them to the borderland wherethey can encounter the new by openingtheir minds and testing their skills.

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youth can shape it with their initiative and theirimagination. Our cultural heritage is notsynonymous with the past; it is rather a creativeprocess, in which schooling is not the leastimportant contributor.

Yet, creativity presupposes learning: i.e. beingfamiliar with elements that can be combined innew ways, and commanding the skills and techni-ques necessary to bring into being the fruits of theimagination. Factual knowledge can kindledreams, imagination and play - and spur the mindto discover common patterns in different fields.

Three TraditionsEducation must therefore build upon anddemonstrate the contributions of the past as theyhave evolved in mankind’s great traditions ofinnovative work, intellectual inquiry and artisticexpression. Familiarity with these three traditionsproves that each generation can add new insightto the experience of previous generations; thatconventional thinking can be broken andknowledge organized in new ways; and that theyouth of today will bequeath creativecontributions to our de-

scendants. Education must therefore be struc-tured in such a way that the learners themselvescan take part in the further development ofinherited practices and in the acquisition of newknowledge.

The first tradition is linked to practical work andlearning through experience. Many of the thingsthat contribute to human welfare are the resultnot of great feats of genius, but rather of a longseries of minor improvements, in all sorts ofimplements, tools and routines - from typewritersto sewing machines, from clocks to stoves, frombuilding methods to working techniques.Society’s progress is not only dependent onextraordinary contributions from a gifted few, buton countless contributions over long periods oftime by a large number of ordinary people. Byconfronting again and again the same problems,they have gradually developed an experiencedhand and proven practice for handling tools andmaterials. To accomplish tasks better, peoplehave, step by step and little by little, improvedtechnology, tools and machines.

Education must convey how living standardshave continually been improved by trial and error,groping and gauging in generations of everydaypractical endeavors.

This also applies to social innovations:constitutional forms of government, collectivearrangements such as in the case of unions, orlegislation on environmental protection.Knowledge about this part of our culturalheritage and history provides us with both trustin tradition and readiness for change.

In most enterprises, education included, thistype of experience has partially evolved into tacitknowledge lodged in the hands and mediatedthrough use. It is important to bring these skillsto our conscious attention and to name them andtranslate them into words, so that they do notbecome an alibi for poor workmanship, but be-come rather a subject of reflection and discussion.

Education must be structured in sucha way that the learners themselvescan take part in the furtherdevelopment of inherited practicesand in the acquisition of new

Education must convey how livingstandards have continually beenimproved by trial and error, gropingand gauging in generations ofeveryday practical endeavors.

Learners meet the second tradition in subjectswhere new knowledge is won through theoreticaldevelopment, tested by logic and facts,experience, evidence and research. It ispresented in the study of languages, mathematics,social and natural sciences.

Education in this second tradition entails train-ing in thinking - in making conjectures, examiningthem conceptually, drawing inferences, andreaching verdicts by reasoning, observation andexperiment. Its counterpart is practice in ex-pressing oneself concisely - in argument,disputation and demonstration.

The third is our cultural tradition, mediated bybody and mind, embedded in arts and crafts, inlanguage and literature, in theatre, song, music,dance and athletics. This tradition unites em-pathic ability and expressive force.

Pupils must develop an appreciation for beautyboth in meeting artistic expression and by ex-ploring and unfolding their own creative powers.All must have the opportunity to experience thetoil it costs and the joy it brings to give form tofeelings, expression to thoughts, and exertion tothe body. It confers tangs of one’s talents, whereeveryone can find something they can master andso surprise even themselves.

Practicing artistic as well as athletic skills en-genders appreciation of discipline, valuation ofthe achievements of others and a sense on one’sown worth. Mastery through effort, nurturingsensitivity and the facility to express sentiments,can be achieved through work and play, in gaietyand gravity.

At the same time, figment and fantasy, wonderand caprice, unlock lifelike adventure worlds eastof the Sun and west of the Moon - and in so doingmake the real world more multifarious andfantastic for everyone. Even moore, aconfrontation with creative art can wrench us outof our habitual modes of thought, challenge ouropinions, and provide experiences that spur us tore-examine prevailing conceptions and breakwith conventional wisdom and customary modes.

A Critical Sense of JudgementCritical judgement is required in all areas of life,and it too is activated by these traditions. A senseof discernment is developed by testing expression

Pupils must develop an appreciationfor beauty both in meeting artisticexpression and by exploring andunfolding their own creative powers.

Education entails training in think-ing - in making conjectures, examin-ing them conceptually, drawinginferences, and reaching verdicts byreasoning, observation andexperiments. Its counterpart ispractice in expressing oneselfconcisely - in argument, disputationand demonstration.

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and performance against specific standards.Assessing style in any sport requires a trained eye;appraising the quality of a piece of work requiresthe professional insight gained from repeatedexperience. Competent evaluation - the ability todetermine character, quality or utility - presup-poses a mature sense of judgement reaped fromrepeated practice in comparing and questioningwell-established standards. Time to appreciateand absorb a wide range of artistic expressionsand displays of good workmanship and design isrequired for impressions to solidify into coherentand independent models of excellence.

Common to the three traditions is that they fusethe human gifts of creating and experiencing.They show how pursuits in different areas haveproduced works of lasting value. They highlightthe rich heritage from the past in our custody, andthey display mankind’s scope for continuingprogress.

In many trades and professions all three tradi-tions interlace. A carpenter, for instance, must bedexterous and deft, know the stress and strain abeam can bear and possess the criteria for a jobwell done and a feat fair and fine.

A deep immersion in all three traditions furthersthe harmonious development of the personality.Education must therefore train the eye andsharpen the senses for the experiential aspect ofevery subject: That nature has its laws, but also itsbeauty and grandeur; that artists can try to captureand portray it; that good ideas can evoke strongfeelings; that insights can be given lovely forms,be it in the architecture of a formula or in theweave of words.

Scientific Method and the Active PupilEducation shall not only transmit learning; it shallalso provide learners with the ability to acquireand attain new knowledge themselves.

Creative thinking implies combining what oneknows in order to solve new and perhapsunexpected practical tasks. Critical thinkingimplies checking whether the assumptions andthe links in a chain of thought hold. The aim ofeducation is to train pupils in both synthesis andanalysis - to develop both imagination andscepticism so that experience can be translatedinto insight.

Scientific method develops both the creativeand critical senses, and is within everyone’s reach.Children and adolescents are by nature curious,imaginative and keen to explore.

In scientific research, prevailing conceptionsguide the quest for facts and relationships. Butresearch is, at the same time, a method for revis-ing preconceived notions, accepted theories andcurrent concepts - and for developing new ones.Scientific methodology consists of proceduresdesigned to avoid being deceived - either byoneself or by others.

Skill in scientific thinking and working methodsdemands the training of three faculties:

• The ability to wonder and to pose newquestions;

• The ability to invent possible explanations forphenomena one has observed;

• The ability to test one’s explanations byexamination of sources, experimentation, orobservation.

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Education must train the eye andsharpen the senses for the experi-ential aspect of every subject.

Critical judgement in different areasof life should be developed by testingexpression and performance againstspecific standards.

Education should provide, through examples andpractice, rehearsals of these three stages of re-search, which correspond to the innate inquisi-tiveness of the young: to make observations, tooffer explanations and to examine their validity -to ponder, to surmise and to probe.

Down through the ages humans have contributedto a common body of knowledge deposited in dif-ferent disciplines. This body of knowledge isshaped to organize, comprehend and master amultifaceted and complex reality. Understandingand theories are evolved in an interplay betweenindividuals, society, and nature, where ideas andapproaches are tested against complexsurroundings. Our tools, both intellectual andtechnical, have in this manner been steadilyimproved and made more powerful. And so theywill be improved upon by new research in thefuture.

It is thus paramount that learners share in thiscultural heritage through education. At the sametime it is important that they do not perceivescience and its theories as eternal and absolutetruths. Education must find that difficult balancebetween respect for established knowledge andthe critical attitude that is necessary fordeveloping new learning and for organizinginformation in new ways. Education mustprovide solid learning. But it must also instil anawareness of the

limitations of the current body of knowledge, anda realization that predominant doctrines can blockfresh insight.

Teaching must also illuminate the ethical issuesraised by science itself, and the moral judgmentswhich are required when new knowledge en-genders new choices. The human thinking thattranscends the limits for what is possible, must bemet with the humanistic tradition which sets thelimits for what is permissible.

Education shall not only transmitlearning; it shall also providelearners with the ability to acquireand attain new knowledge

Education must include practice inscientific thinking and working me-thods by training the ability towonder and to pose new questions;the ability to invent possibleexplanations for phenomena onehas observed; and the ability to testone’s explanations by examinationof sources, experimentation, orobservation.

Work is not merely a means of earning a liveli-hood. It is intrinsic to the human personality totest, express and extend skills through work.Education shall provide pupils and apprenticeswith awareness of the variety and scope of theworld of work and bestow the knowledge andskills necessary for active participation in it.

Some occupations demand that the skills em-ployed are toned with human compassion andconcern; in others, the ability to operate technicalimplements is essential.

Technology and CultureTechnology is nothing more than the meanshumans have devised for achieving their goals,easing their work and cooperating better.Technology provides aids in making and doingthings: tilling the soil, weaving cloth, buildinghouses, curing disease, or travelling by land, airor sea.

Technology and the research and developmentbehind it are both civilizing and inspiring. It iscivilizing by making it possible for us to live withless drudgery and disease, and because it releasestime from chores and the struggle for subsistence

The working human being

Education shall provide learnerswith awareness of the variety andscope of the world of work andbestow the knowledge and skills nec-essary for active participation in it.

to leisure and culture. It is inspiring by being acreative expression of the interplay between headand hand to meet needs and yearnings. Techno-logy is often a manifestation of compassion, aswith the desire to nourish or heal, to prolong lifeor ease living, to care for children or elevate thequality of life.

The history of technology is the history of inven-tiveness - of how raw materials can be trans-formed and used to make new things: flint ormatches, breeding for improved livestock, rail-roads for better transportation, herbs for allevi-ating pain, clocks and calendars, dynamos anddynamite, wheel and steel. Many of these dis-coveries were made by everyday men and women:farmers, mechanics , midwives, craftsmen.

Shifts in basic technology mark the great epochsin human history; from the Stone Age to theAtomic Age, from the Agricultural Revolution tothe Industrial Revolution. Technological changeembraces all forms of human venture: building,fishing, fabrication, transportation, nutrition,printing, film, and music. Technology, by andlarge, has replaced chance and coincidence withcalculability and certainty.

Thus technology has had a profound impact onhuman relations: on the division of labor and thestructure of power, on class differences and onsocial conflict. The sum total of the repercussionsof technological development has been to makelife less dependent on nature and more dependenton society.

Yet technological development has had adouble-edged effect because humans have been atcross-purposes. It has eased life by opening theway for new constructive enterprise - but has alsoincreased the capacity for destruction anddevastation. New weapons have expanded therange and scope of human conflict. Our society’swellbeing and entire existence are based on hightechnology. But the same applied science andtechnology can be used for destructive purposes:to produce weapons of mass-destruction, toexploit human beings and despoil the soil. Whentechnology is not controlled or its use misguided,it can deplete the earth and destroy the basis forexistence for future generations.

The growth of new technology advancesimplements, industries, social formations andcultural life. To become familiar with ourtechnological heritage is an essential element of ageneral education.

Learning and Work HabitsGood learning depends on the individual’s drive totake on a job and will to see it through. It is welldocumented that a pupil’s achievement is plainly

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Familiarity with our technologicalheritage - the easing of life and theimprovement of welfare it has fur-nished, but also the dangerstechnological innovations haveintroduced - is an essential elementof a general education

Good learning depends on theindividual’s drive to take on a joband will to see it through. It is welldocumented that a learner’sachievement is plainly influenced bythe working habits acquired duringearly years of schooling. Goodworking habits developed at schoolhave benefits well beyond the rangeof education.

In addition to the intrinsic value forthe pupil, education aims at pre-paring the young to take on the tasksof working life and social life.

influenced by the working habits acquired duringearly years of schooling. Good working habitsdeveloped at school have benefits well beyondthe range of education. In addition to theinstrinsic value for the learner, education aims atpreparing the young to take on the tasks of bothworking and social life. The school musttherefore stay in close interchange with thesurrounding community and gradually exposelearners to it and prepare them for activeengagement in professional, cultural and politicallife.

Teaching and Personal InitiativeLearning occurs in all of life’s situations, and inparticular when the individual recognizes theneed to develop new knowledge, skills andperspectives.

Schools are established for purposeful and syste-matic learning. In school, pupils are taught by astaff who have this as their profession and aretrained expressly for this job. Yet teaching andlearning are not one and the same thing. Learningis what occurs within the pupil. Teaching issomething done by another. Good teaching getslearning started - but it is consummated by thelearner’s own efforts. A good teacher stimulatesthis process.

Pupils build up their knowledge, generate theirskills and evolve their attitudes largely by them-selves. This process can be stimulated and spurredor curbed and blocked, by others. Successfullearning demands twosided motivation: on thepart of the pupil and on the part of the teacher.

Hence education must encourage making effortand taking pains. It must nourish perseverance byhaving the young see and sense that exertion andexperience, knowledge and skill enhance theirproficiency and that heightened mastery is valued.Good teaching will give pupils evidence of suc-ceeding in their work, faith in their own abilities,and the heart to take responsibility for their ownlearning and their own lives.

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Pupils build up their knowledge,generate their skills and evolve theirattitudes largely by themselves. Thisprocess can be stimulated andspurred or curbed and blocked, byothers. Successful learning demandstwosided motivation: on the part ofthe pupil and on the part of the teach-er: Good teaching will give pupils evi-dence of succeeding in their work,faith in their own abilities, and theheart to take responsibility for theirown learning and their own lives.

From the Familiar to the UnknownLearning occurs when new information isinterpreted from the known - the concepts onealready comprehends determine what one canfathom and grasp. Knowledge, skills andattitudes develop in the interplay between oldnotions and new impressions.

Education must therefore be tied to the pupil’sown observations and experiences. The ability totake action, to seek new experiences and tointerpret them, must depart from the conceptualworld with which pupils enter school. Thisincludes both experiences gained from thecommunity, their local dialect, and the commonimpulses gained from the mass media. Teachingmust be planned with careful consideration forthe interaction between concrete tasks, factualknow-ledge, and conceptual understanding. Not least,it must be conducted so that the pupils graduallyacquire a practical record of experiences thatknowledge and skills are something they sharein shaping.

Adapted TeachingThe school shall have room for everybody and tea-chers must therefore have an eye for eachindividual learner. The mode of teaching mustnot only be adapted to subject and content, butalso to age and maturity, the individual learnerand the mixed abilities of the entire class. Thepedagogical design must be pliable enough topermit the teacher to meet the pupils’ differencesin ability and rhythm of development withkindness and ease. Rules of conduct alone arenot sufficient to transmit care and consideration.The teacher must make use of the variations inpupils’ aptitudes, the diversity in the classroom,and the heterogeneity of the school

as resources for all-round development as well asthe development of all. A good school and a goodclass should provide enough space and enoughchallenge for everyone to sharpen their wits andgrow. But it must show particular concern forthose who get stuck, struggle stubbornly and canlose courage. Solidarity must embrace those whoface individual difficulties and those who can slipand slide when changing class or school.

Teaching must be seasoned so that the youngcan savor the joy of discovery to be found in newskills, in practical work, research, or art. Learningand experience must be welded together. Thelearning environment must be both humane andloyal towards children’s inquisitiveness. Learningto read and write, to do math and draw,experiment, play and analyse, should release acreative craving, not restrain it.

All-round DevelopmentHuman being grow and mature by acting andmaking. Education must allow each individual tolearn by observing the practical consequences ofhis or her choices. Concrete tasks serve both as apreparation for the duties of daily life and provideexperiences for reflection. Practical work andtraining must therefore be an important andintegral part of education.

The school shall provide pupils with a broadpreparation for life - for cooperation and harmonyin the home and during leisure, at work and in thecommunity. The young must gradually shouldermore responsibility for the planning andachievement of their own education - and theymust take responsibility for their own conduct andbehaviour. Schools must therefore, in all they do,look to the

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Education must be tied to the pupil’sown observations and experiences.It should be arranged so that thepupils gradually acquire a practicalrecord of experiences that knowledgeand skills are something they sharein shaping.

Teaching must be seasoned so thatthe young can savor the joy of dis-covery to be found in new skills, inpractical work, research, or art.

The mode of teaching must not onlybe adapted to subject and content,but also to age and maturity, theindividual learner and the mixedabilities of the entire class.

Education must allow each individu-al to learn by observing the practicalconsequences of his or her choises.Practical work and training musttherefore be an important andintegral part of education.

next stage ahead and fit pupils to play a fuller andfuller part in the adult world, all the while keepingin mind the potential of each individual.

Recent generations have, however, seen system-atic schooling expand to occupy an ever greaterpart of the lives of the young. School cantherefore no longer be regarded as a waystationin life. It is in fact a microcosm which mustembrace the main features of life outside. School isa bearer of a culture of knowledge and a cultureof cooperation which must be open to thesurrounding world, yet at the same timecounterbalance the negative impacts of theenvironment. It must safeguard the worth andvirtue of childhood and adolescence, but alsoserve as an alternative to peer culture.

The Role of the Teacher and EducatorThe teacher’s command of his or her field is vitalwhen the experiences of the young are to be con-verted into insight. The good teacher is master ofthe subject - his or her section of our common cul-tural heritage.

Children or adolescents cannot be expected toreach such subject knowledge on their own.Children’s conceptions of circumstances andrelationships can be deficient and erroneous. Ateacher must know a subject well in order to teachit with skill and authority, and to be able to satechildren’s thirst for knowledge and zest for action.

Teachers must know the scope and limits ofknowledge - not least to keep abreast and grow incompetence as new insight is gained throughprofessional development or research. Forteachers to function well, they must have theopportunity for personal development throughin-service training and further education.

To explain something new implies mooring it tosomething familiar. This is accomplished by theteacher using expressions, images, analogies,metaphors and examples which convey meaningto the pupil. New perceptions must build onwhat is already well-founded - that which thepupil already knows, can do or believesbeforehand. A good portion of this the pupilshave in

common, from our broad cultural heritage whichprovides a sounding board for communication,dialogue and learning.

Yet even in a common culture there are widevariations between individuals, due to socialbackground, sex, and local origin. Hence thatwhich is a striking example or a telling image forone pupil, can be wholly devoid of meaning foranother. The cultural baggage that learners carrywith them, from the home, local community, orearlier schooling, determines which explanationsand examples have meaning. Pupils from othercultures do not share the common Norwegianheritage. Good teachers therefore use many andvaried images to make a point or demonstrate acommon pattern, and draw material andillustrations from the diverse experiences ofdifferent pupils. Further, a good school placesemphasis on broadening the pupils’ commonstore of associations because it aids simple andsuccinct communication.

Professional competence is necessary for ateacher to feel secure and not uncertain orapprehensive when learners ask questions anddemand answers. Knowledge and experienceempower a teacher to put the subject inperspective and to meet pupils and colleaguesalike with an open mind and an open heart. Theability to give explanations and examples tailoredto each individual’s background andcircumstances demands a systematic and broadknowledge of a subject.

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Teachers must know the scope andlimits of knowledge - not least tokeep abreast and grow in compe-tence as new insight is gainedthrough professional developmentor research.

School is a bearer of a culture ofknowledge and a culture ofcooperation which must be open tothe surrounding world, yet at thesame time counterbalance thenegative impacts of the environment.It must safeguard the worth andvirtue of childhood and adolescence,but also serve as an alternative to

Teaching Ability and Active LearningSubject proficiency is not enough to make a goodteacher; enthusiasm and communicative ability arealso needed. Good teachers have a sure grasp oftheir material, and know how it should beconveyed to kindle curiosity, ignite interest andwin respect for the subject.

Learners come to school eager to learn and want-ing to be taken seriously, to be esteemed for beingwho they are, with a need to be uplifted andchallenged, with a desire to test their powers andstretch their muscles. Good teaching embracesthese traits - and addresses the fact that differentpupils have different needs, abilities and aspira-tions in different fields and phases. A teacher’squalifications include knowledge about normaland deviant development. A teacher must befamiliar with both general and specific difficultiespupils can run up against, not only with respect tolearning, but also socially and emotionally whenpupils waver or parents falter. All human beingshave worth, also when they are making littleprogress, failing or floundering.

The pupils’ urge to test themselves must be metby teachers who take joy in narration and pleasure

in presentation so that they sustain in their pupilsthe drive to press on. Teachers must show theway to skills that are reachable and to materialthat is manageable. And not least, they must berole models for their pupils: by their dedicationand their enthusiasm they must inspire theirpupils to follow suit and dare to be challenged.

Teachers determine by their manner whetherpupils’ interest is maintained, whether learners

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Good teachers have a sure grasp oftheir material, and know how itshould be conveyed to kindlecuriosity, ignite interest and winrespect for the subject. Good teachershave a good grasp of their subject.Teachers determine by their mannerwhether learners’ interest ismaintained, whether learners feelcompetent, and whether learners’

feel competent, and whether learners’ enthusiasmabides. The most important precondition here isa respect for the pupils’ integrity, a sensitivity fortheir uniqueness and an urge to assist pupils inexploiting their potential and enticing them intotheir own borderland.

An authoritarian, sarcastic and negative teachercan quash interest in a subject and harm thepupil’s self-image. A good teacher can inspire byencouragement, by providing experience ofincreasing mastery, and by giving a positiveresponse to their progress. A sense of assurance isan essential prerequisite for learning.

The most important of all pedagogical tasks is toconvey to children and the young that they arecontinuously making headway so that they gaintrust in their own abilities. A good teacher alsoamplifies their ability to persevere - to withstandstrain, to overcome obstacles, and not to give upand back out if they do not succeed at once. Ateacher is, therefore, initiator, guide, interlocutorand director.

The most important tool teachers have is them-selves. For this reason they must dare to acknow-ledge their own personality and character, and tostand forth as robust and mature adults in relation

to young people who are in a process of emotion-al and social development. Because teachers areamong the adult persons children interact mostclosely with, they must venture to project them-selves clearly, alert and assured in relation to theknowledge, skills and values to be transmitted.Teachers must be so close to their pupils that thelatter can relate to, rely on and speak openly tothem. They must be able to inspire and inform,but also to orchestrate, provide structure and direc-tion for the young who are groping and searching.

The teacher’s role changes in step with thepupils’ stage of development. It is especially chal-lenging to build upon the varied experience adultstudents have gained outside school, at work, athome, and in the community.

The most important of allpedagogical tasks is to convey tochildren and the young that they arecontinuously making headway sothat they gain trust in their own

Active educators require effective teaching tools.Textbooks and other teaching aids are essential tothe quality of education. They must therefore bedesigned and used in accordance with theprinciples of this national core curriculum.

Learning as TeamworkContemporary teaching and learning is teamwork.Specialized instructors share the responsibility forteaching the individual learner, groups and wholeclasses. They have obligations towards both theschool and towards the entire course of schoolingwhere their contribution is a necessary part of thewhole. Other professional groups also play anincreasingly important role in the education ofyoung people, through supervised after-schoolactivities, youth clubs, sport and other organizedendeavors.

Teachers are the leaders of the pupils’ com-munity of work. In the classroom and workshopthere must be enough discipline and order forthese to function as places of serious work andstudy. And limits must be firm enough for theboisterous and whimsical also to get a chance toconcentrate.

A working environment functions well wheneveryone appreciates that they shape the condi-tions for each other and hence must show eachother consideration. Progress thus depends notonly on how teachers function in relation to eachpupil, but also on how they make each of thepupils relate to the others. In a good workingteam, the members enhance the quality of eachothers’ work. In this, pupils also shareresponsibility for planning, executing andevaluating their own work.

Research reveals great variations in the impactof school classes on pupils, but not that there isany opposition between doing well and feelingwell. Classes which are most congenial socially,are often most conducive educationally, for giftedas well as for weaker learners.

Aside from the social conditions outside ofschool, differences between classes are largelycaused by the way teachers structure their pupils’

work, provide direction and feedback, supportand encouragement for their efforts. For equalityof educational opportunity to be realized, it is notsufficient for everyone to receive equal schoolingwithout sexual, functional, geographical, religious,class-based or ethnic discrimination. The right toequal schooling must also be independent of theschool class to which the individual pupil isallocated.

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Teachers are the leaders of thepupils’ community of work.Progress thus depends not only onhow teachers function in relation toeach pupil, but also on how theymake each of the pupils relate to theothers. In a good working team, themembers enhance the quality ofeach other’s work.

For equality of educational oppor-tunity to be realized, it is not suffi-cient for everyone to receive equalschooling without sexual, functional,geographical, religious, class-based orethnic discrimination. The right toequal schooling must also beindependent of the school class towhich the individual learner is

Increased use of projects and teamwork expandsthe educators’ role as both partners and leaders.It requires time for joint meetings at school and alevel of coordination that transcends traditionalclassroom divisions.

The staff shall also function as a community ofcolleagues who share responsibility for the pupils’development. Given the evolution of today’s edu-cation, this is not only becoming a greater task,but also a more involved one as new professionalgroups are linked with the school. A diversifiedteaching staff enriches the school milieu asteachers with different skills complement eachother both professionally and socially.

At the same time the coordination of effort andcollaboration among colleagues is decisive for theresults that are achieved. This places newdemands on the school’s leadership. Teachers’opportunities to thrive and flourish presupposevigour and verve, as well as an employer whoappreciates the intrinsic and vital requirements ofthe teaching profession.

Yet teachers function not only as instructors,counsellors and role models for children. Theymust also work with parents, other professionals,and the authorities, who together form essentialelements of the school’s broad educational en-vironment. At the same time, a major task of theschool is to provide a nurturing ambience forgrowth and learning. Good teachers are favorabletowards and trained to involve parents, local firmsand organizations for the benefit of the school.

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The staff shall function as acommunity of colleagues who share responsibility for the pupils’development.

Teachers must work with parents,other professionals, and theauthorities who together formessential elements of the school’sbroad educational environment

Schooling shall provide a multi-faceted and all-round general education. This is a preconditionfor the evolution of the whole personality and fordeveloping manifold interpersonal relationships.It is also a precondition for being able to choose acareer and later, to manage a job with compe-tence, responsibility and care.

An all-round general education includes:• concrete knowledge about the human being,

society and nature which can provide abroad outlook and perspective;

• know-how and maturity to face life’spractical, social and personal challenges;

• qualities and values that facilitate coopera-tion between people and make it enrichingand exciting for them to live together.

Education must provide the individual with abroad view of how the processes of one sphere ofactivity affect another, as when industrialproduction makes an impact on the environment.Human beings can release forces they cannot con-trol, and precipitate repercussions they do notforesee. This makes evident how inadequate is

the knowledge we often exploit, and emphasizesthe need for more comprehensive understanding.Yet interdisciplinary cooperation demands subjectexpertise if it is not to be superficial and shallow.

The liberally-educated human being

Schooling shall provide a multi-facet-ed and all-round general educationwith concrete knowledge about thehuman being, society and naturewhich can provide a broad outlookand perspective; with know-how andmaturity to face life’s practical, socialand personal challenges; and withqualities and values that facilitatecooperation between people andmake it enriching and exciting forthem to live together.

Specific Knowledgeand Broad Frames of ReferenceIn education, knowledge must always constitute acareful selection, presented in a progression toprovide overview and create coherence.Concrete knowledge is needed for learning, andthe course of study must identify what the learn-ers should be familiar with, in what order and atwhich level.

Experience and research show that the lessprevious knowledge one has to link newinformation to, the slower an less successful islearning. Of particular importance are theconstitutive frames of reference in differentsubjects. These are indispensable for interpretingnew information, as well as for directing thesearch for new facts. If the fundamental framesof reference which can give meaning to the floodof impressions and fragments of information arelacking, the overall picture is easily lost inmomentary flickerings. Knowledge that ordersinformation is needed to learn to learn, and forusing what one knows to grasp what one doesnot know. It is the general pattern whichprovides the code and key when new pieces areadded to a mosaic.

To provide context, coherence and perspective,it is important to design and coordinate teachingacross subjects and fields, so that their relevanceto each other is disclosed and a more integratedunderstanding can emerge.

Common References in a Specialized SocietyIt is a central tenet of popular enlightenment thatsuch frames of reference must be the commonproperty of all the people - indeed must be anintegral part of the general education - to escapedifferences in competence which otherwise cansurface in social inequality and be abused by un-democratic forces.

It is therefore imperative that common frames ofreference and familiarity with modern technologyare shared by all groups to avoid discrepancies inthe conditions for democratic participation. Andit is important that the knowledge is conveyed soas not to uphold traditional sexual stereotypes,where girls are inculcated with the belief that‘‘women do not understand’’ science andtechnology.

Those who do not share the backgroundinformation taken for granted in public discourse,will often overlook the point or miss themeaning. Newcomers to a country who are notimmersed in its frames of reference often remainoutsiders because others cannot take for grantedwhat they know and can do - they are inconstant need of extra explanations.

Such common contexts, references forunderstanding, encompass historical events (‘‘The9th of April’’), constitutional principles (‘‘TheDivision of Powers’’), the classics of literature(‘‘Peer Gynt’’), cultural idioms (‘‘The camel andthe eye of the needle’’), or the symbols used onweather charts. Without possessing thesecommon reference points - that make it easy todechipher and decode, to construe and relate -and hence to communicate effortlessly - one canbecome alienated in one’s own country.

Without comprehension of these overarchingparadigms, it is difficult for ordinary citizens -nonspecialists - to participate in decisions thatdeeply affect their lives. The more specializedand technical our culture becomes, the moredifficult it will become to communicate acrossprofessional boundaries. Common backgroundknowledge is thus at the core of a nationalnetwork of communication between members of

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In education, knowledge mustalways constitute a careful selection,presented in a progression to pro-vide overview and create coherence.

community. It is the common frames of referencewhich make it possible to link what one sees,reads or hears, to a shared, tacit mode of thinking.It makes it possible to fathom complex messages,and to interpret new ideas, situations andchallenges.

Education plays a leading role in passing on thiscommon background information - the cultureeverybody must be familiar with if society is toremain democratic and its citizens sovereign.Education must therefore provide the fertile soilfor cultivation of coherent knowledge, skills andoutlooks.

Internationalizationand the Appreciation of TraditionThe flows between nations - of ideas andinstruments, of capital and commodities, ofmaterials and machines - have become moreextensive, formidable and inexorable. Ourenvironment is affected by the pollution of othercountries, our industries are subject tocompetition in the world market, modern massmedia direct a stream of news and views ateveryone simultaneously.

All this poses many challenges to the task of edu-cation: to combine technical know-how withhuman insight, to develop a work force that ishighly qualified and versatile, and to combine aninternational outlook with national distinction.

A research-based society risks becoming in-creasingly driven by technology. The flow oftechnological facts and findings requires learningto avoid ‘‘scientific illiteracy’’ - the inability to com-prehend words like ‘‘gene splicing’’, ‘‘ozone layer’’or ‘‘immune system’’, and what social conse-quences they augur.

Networks of information are continuously beingaugmented; networks that bind together firms andorganizations, countries and continents, areconstantly being built. Norway’s ability to exertinfluence through them - to join in developingthe common welfare in the world and protectingthe environment of the earth - depends on thecontributions our country can makeinternationally and the extent to which others willwant to make use of them. It also depends onfamiliarity with other countries’ cultures andlanguages.

Education must play a leading rolein passing on common backgroundinformation and frames of reference- the culture all must be familiarwith if society is to remain demo-cratic and its citizens sovereign.

Education must teach and combinetechnical know-how with humaninsight, to develop a work force thatis highly qualified and versatile, andto combine an international out-look with national distinction.

The international culture of learning links humani-ty together through the development and use ofnew knowledge to better the human condition.Adults living now and the young growing up todaymust acquire the vision and wisdom which equipthem for such universal endeavors, especiallythose that can help the world’s destitute.Awareness of the forces and relations in societyand in nature is necessary, but not sufficient;concern for others and for our common livingenvironment is essential.

On the other hand, the increasing specializationand complexity of the global community requiresa deepened familiarity with the main currents andtraditional tones of our Norwegian culture. Theexpansion of knowledge, moreover, demandsheightened awareness of the values which mustguide our choices.

When transitions are massive and changes rapid,it becomes even more pressing to emphasizehistorical orientation, national distinctiveness andlocal variation to safeguard our identity - and to sus-tain a global environment with breadth and vigor.

A good general education must contribute tonational identity and solidarity by impressing thecommon stamp from local communities in lan-guage, tradition, and learning. This will also makeit easier for pupils who move to find their footinganew as migration will mean relocation within afamiliar commonality. The bonds between genera-tions will be closer when they share experiencesand insights, stories, songs, and legends.Newcomers are more easily incorporated into oursociety when implicit features of our culture aremade clear and exposed to view.

Knowledge about past events and achievementsunite people over time. The knowledge of historyenhances our ability to set goals and choose

means in the future. Familiarity with what peoplehave felt, thought and believed in earlier timesexpands the scope for insight and initiative andreminds us that today’s conditions will alsochange.

Education must therefore provide a coherentand well-rounded body of knowledge. It mustshow how our perception is the outcome of along process of creation that spans many gener-ations, has crossed many borders and breachedmany barriers. Such an education induces respectand appreciation for what people before us haveaccomplished and allows us to place ourselves ina historical progression.

In short, a good general education shows howthe accumulation of skills, insight, and wisdom isone of the most thrilling achievements thathumans have accomplished together - historicallyand globally. It strengthens qualities and valuesthat provide society with richer opportunities forgrowth in the future.

The international culture of learninglinks humanity together through thedevelopment and use of newknowledge to better the humancondition. On the other hand, theincreasing specialization andcomplexity of the global communityrequires a deeper familiarity with themain currents and traditional tonesof our Norwegian culture. Theexpansion of knowledge, moreover,demands heightened awareness ofthe values which must guide our

A person’s aptitude and identity develop ininteraction with others; human beings are formedby their environment, just as they contribute toforming it.

A Diversified Peer CultureIn earlier times a larger part of upbringingoccurred through direct participation in the adultworld where children and the young had an activeshare in daily chores for the common good.Nowadays almost all education takes place inschools, specialized institutions for teaching.Young people are to a large degree estranged fromtasks in the world of work and have little responsi-bility for or control over them. In addition, theirincreasing exposure to the mass media placesthem in the passive role of spectators and exposesthem to conflicting views and values.

The narrowing of the young people’s contactwith the practical world outside the school andthe consequent reduction of interaction withadults, is often exacerbated by an introverted andintrospective peer culture. This peer culture is

given added impact by the fact that the school isseparated from the rest of society, and pupils aredevided into classes by age. Children and youngpeople are given little opportunity to makedecisions with immediate practical consequencesor repercussions for others, which would enablethem to learn from the effects of their own efforts.The component of vicarious experience has in-creased at the expense of direct experience.

The social human being

It is important to exploit the schoolas a community of work for thedevelopment of social skills. It mustbe structured in such a way that thelearners’ activities have conse-quences for others, and so that theycan learn from the impact of theirdecisions.

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For this reason, it is important to exploit the schoolas a community of work for the development ofsocial skills. It must be structured in such a waythat the learners’ activities have consequences forothers, and so that they can learn from the impactof their decisions. The changes in the socialconditions of childhood and adolescence meanthat the ways of working and social relations builtinto the educational system have an even greatersignificance for the learners’ growth. Experiencefrom practical work and apprenticeship is a modelto be followed throughout the educational system.

At the same time, formal education is only partof the lives of the young. Childhood and adoles-cence are also a time of turbulence and play, offumbling and bungling. Learners are more thanever before active in sports, music, in organiza-tions and teams, in choirs and clubs, where theyset their own standards within a circle of friends,and where they influence and are influenced bytheir own milieu. The school must find thedifficult balance between stimulating andexploiting the culture the young themselvescreate, and forming a counterweight to it.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesLearners and apprentices should participate in abroad spectrum of activities in which all have du-ties towards the working group, including practicein standing before the others, presenting a case,making plans, putting them into effect and seeinga job done.

This implies that learners - from the first day ofschool, and increasingly with age - must have du-ties and responsibilities, not only for the sake oftheir own benefit and growth, but also as anobligation to classmates and other members ofthe school community. Such assignments shouldcover the whole range from the buddy system to

looking after younger pupils and helping themout, accountability for order and tidying up,contributing to class events and meetings,assisting at mealtimes, etc.

The aim of this type of training is to developempathy and sensitivity towards others, providepractice in assessing social situations and promoteresponsibility for others’ well-being. Those whohave been insufficiently stimulated at home or intheir neighborhood, must be given theopportunity for maturing in a learningenvironment were learners take responsibility forone another’s development. Taking part increating a microcosm of companionship advancespersonal maturation, especially when it entailscooperation between persons on different levelsor with different aptitudes or talents. Pupilsshould therefore enlist in practical work, both asproviders and recipients of services. They shouldget into the habit of taking responsibility in theirown current society as preparation forparticipation in tomorrow’s.

Everyone shares responsibility for a learningenvironment which shows consideration for theneeds of others and a respect for learning. Theindividual’s everyday situation in school as wellopportunity later in life can be destroyed ifconflict and disruption are allowed to dominate

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Learners - from the first day ofschool, and increasingly with age -must have duties and responsibilities,not only for the sake of their ownbenefit and growth, but also as anobligation to classmates and othermembers of the school community.

The school must find the difficultbalance between stimulating andexploiting the culture the youngthemselves create, and forming acounterweight to it.

classroom atmosphere or school. All pupils havethe right to an education in calm and orderedconditions and are themselves mutually respon-sible for this.

Social Learning from the School CommunityMuch of the readiness for adult life that the youngpreviously acquired through their duties in extend-ed families and their tasks in the working world,they must now gain in the course of their school-ing. Hence today’s education must encompass:• Experience in making decisions with direct

and clear consequences for others. Thisimplies training in making and followingrules, practice in making decisions in tangledsituations, exercising ‘‘crisis skills’’, i.e. the abi-lity to act when faced with unexpectedtroubles or unfamiliar tasks, etc. Takentogether, these represent coaching in socialresponsibility.

• Experience from work where interdepend-ence demands discipline and where an individ-

ual’s efforts influence the outcome of thework of others. This requires thedevelopment of organizational skill, such asthe ability to coordinate work, to leadactivities, follow directions, and to suggestalternative solutions.

• Experience from the school community:knowledge about how problems that areperceived as being personal are in fact sharedby many and hence can only be resolvedthrough cooperation or by organizationalchange. Such experience teaches howconflicts can be met and settled, how toadvocate one’s own and other’s interests, andhow to stand up against a headwind andpersevere against odds. In this connection,learners must also gain experience incontacting authorities and the media.

The school is a society in miniature that should beused actively for attaining such skills. The learnersmust be spurred to engage in its decisions, fortheir ability to participate is strengthened by use.This is essential in a society with such complexinstitutions as ours.

All in all, education must be dedicated to thepersonal qualities we wish to develop and notsolely to subject matter. The key is to create anenvironment that provides ample opportunitiesfor children and young people to evolve socialresponsibility and practical capability for theirfuture roles as adults.

A Broad Context for Learning:Peer Culture, Parent Participation,and the Local CommunityThe school as a learning environment goes be-yond formal education in the classroom and therelationship between teacher and pupil. A broadand nurturing learning environment encompassesall interaction between adults and learners and isfounded on a common understanding of the aimsof education.

The social relations among the pupils and thevalues embedded in the youth culture are integralparts of the learning environment. Indeed, peerculture constrains and gives scope to what theschool is able to achieve.

All pupils have the right to aneducation in calm and orderedconditions and are themselvesmutually responsible for this.

Education must be dedicated to thepersonal qualities we wish to developand not solely to subject matter. Thekey is to create an environment thatprovides ample opportunities forchildren and young people to evolvesocial responsibility and practicalcapability for their future roles asadults.

Parents have the primary responsibility forbringing up and educating their children. Thiscannot be left to the school, but should beexercised in collaboration between the schooland the home. For the learning environmentembraces the

parents as well. If they stand aloof from theschool and have no direct contact with eachother, the school cannot make use of their socialresources to shape the conditions for growth andthe climate of values surrounding it. At a timewhen the extended familiy is playing a lesser rolein the lives of the young, and the media have filledthe vacancy left by parents at work, more activemobilization of the parents is needed to strength-en the school’s and the learners’ social andnormative habitat.

For schools to function well, it is not only neces-sary that learners know each other; the parentsmust also know both each other and each other’schildren. This is essential if they are to be able toestablish common standards for their children’sactivities and behavior. The school must, with theendorsement and collaboration of the parents,complement the children’s education - and it mustengage the parents in developing the milieu atschool and in the local community.

The local community, with its natural surround-ings and industry, is itself a vital part of theschool’s learning environment. The young deriveimpulses and experience from the community ontheir own, which the school must employ andenrich in the curriculum. For technical skillsapprenticeships are vital; training for working lifeshould take place within working life.Nevertheless, education must in general initiatecontact with the school’s neighborhood and util-ize the resources and the know-how that exist inits environs. The school shall function as an activesource of energy and culture for the local commu-nity, and promote not only contact between adultsand children, but also with local services andindustry.

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The school shall function as anactive source of energy and culturefor the local community, andpromote contact not only betweenadults and children, but also withlocal services and industry.

Parents have the primaryresponsibility for bringing up andeducating their children. Thiscannot be left to the school, butshould be exercised in collaborationbetween the school and the home.The school must, with theendorsement and collaboration ofthe parents, complement thechildren’s education - and it mustengage the parents in developing themilieu at school and in the local

Our living environment has become decreasinglydependent on nature and increasingly influencedby the man-made world. Our well-being dependson our ability to develop new ideas, to use ad-vanced technology, to create new products and tosolve traditional problems with more imaginationand reason. In the course of a few years, new pro-ducts can radically alter the lives of human beings,such as incandescent light or the automobile, anti-biotics or personal computers. The road from in-novation to application is often short - laser beamsare now used in CD players, surgical instrumentsor in laser printers.

Human beings are a part of nature, and are con-stantly making decisions with repercussions notonly for their own welfare, but also for otherhumans and for the natural environment as well.Our choices have consequences across geographicborders and across generations: lifestyleinfluences health; our nation’s consumptionproduces pollution in other countries; and oursociety’s waste becomes the plight of futuregenerations.

Natural Science, Ecology and Ethics

Science and research have improved the health ofhuman beings, raised their standard of living andenhanced their welfare in large parts of the world.But they have also sharpened inequalities in theglobal community and increased the threats tonature.

A fundamental feature of modern societies isthat they are more and more based on technology- on procedures and implements for transformingnature’s raw materials to accommodate humanpurposes. This has furnished us with medicinesand vaccines, books and television, textiles andturbines, quartz watches and washing machines.Systematized knowledge is an increasingingredient in everything that we surroundourselves with - from jogging shoes to smokealarms. The development of new technology isan arena for unfolding imagination andunleashing creative energy, which can enrich thelife of the individual and enhance society’sculture. Technological know-

The environmentally-aware human being

ledge is an integral part of a general education -the curiosity to comprehend the lives and worksof our ancestors, and the power and urge topenetrate our own nature and the natural worldaround us.

Human beings find joy both in posing questionsand in finding answers, and seek security in know-ing and mastering. The application of scientificinsight has become a model for conscious use ofcompetence and an impetus to win newknowledge. It has also spread to other areas, aswhen sociological and humanistic insight is usedto make wiser and more humane choices.

Human Beings, the Environmentand Conflicts of InterestScientific breakthroughs have occurred in everysphere of life. Science and technology have ex-tended the scope for intervention in human lifeand in nature. But the application of knowledgehas often had side effects, belatedly recognizedyet demonstrably harmful. DDT which killedpests and contained disease, unknowinglyaccumulated in the food chain and unintentionallydestroyed life in several of its links. The materialgrowth that initially resulted from iron smeltingusing coal and coke, was followed by pollutionand acid rain that caused deforestation and killedfish.

In short: Science and technology have increasedthe potential for modifying both the human condi-tion and nature. But their application often causesreverberations in greater realms than foreseen andcauses disturbances in wider circles thanintended. Applied science and technology havehad

negative consequences, partially acknowledged aswith nuclear explosions, partially unintended sideeffects such as acid rain, deforestation or thegreenhouse effect.

Our way of life and our form of society have pro-found, threatening effects on the environment.This begets conflicts between groups and bet-ween nations. The consequences of appliedscience - of human action based on research - haveat once become more extensive and more inter-laced. This makes it necessary to expand ourknowledge about the inter-connections acrosssubject boundaries, and to mobilize efforts acrossnational borders. It increases the need for moreknowledge, more holistic knowledge, and formore conscious ecological, ethical and politicaldecisions made by individuals, and by society as awhole. Understanding makes for insightfuldecisions, ethical appreciation that decisions canbe made with discernment.

Industrial nations with a high level of educationhave a special responsibility for ensuring the com-mon future of the world. The World Commissionfor the Environment and Development hashighlighted the problems arising from complexcrises - e.g. from improved health andoverpopulation, from modern technology thatdepletes natural resources and damages life, fromeconomic growth which pollutes and harmsnature, and from poverty and privation.

The interplay between economy, ecology andtechnology must make unique demands, scientificand ethical, on our age, if we are to ensuresustainable development. This must take as itsstarting point the limitations set by our naturalenvironment, by resources, technological leveland social conditions as well as by the conflictswhich arise when environmental considerationsare given priority. World development must be setby political institutions on a viable course so thatthe biosphere can absorb the effects of humanactivity. And sustainable development makesethical demands: if it is to be feasible, humanbrotherhood and solidarity with the world’s poormust be a driving principle.

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The interplay between economy,ecology and technology must makeunique demands, scientific andethical, on our age, if we are toensure sustainable development.Education must therefore provide abroad awareness of theinterconnections in nature and ofthe interplay between humans and

Education must therefore provide a broadawareness of the interconnections in nature andabout the interplay between humans and theirhabitat. The teaching must unite a clearunderstanding of nature’s matter, forces andspecies with an appreciation of how socialorganization and technology both solve problemsand impinge on the biosphere. It must spur theurge of the young to understand the processes ofnature. Hence, immersion in the natural sciencesis a crucial component of a well-balancededucation.

Education must counteract fragmentary andcompartmentalized learning. Concrete facts arenecessary, but by themselves are not enough - aholistic knowledge of the sciences and ecology isalso needed. To them must be added the insightsprovided by sosial studies, economics and politicsinformed by ethics. Students must learn todiscern the relationships between things and toattain perspective - learn to look ahead in life andout into the world. Education must awaken theirfaith in the efficacy of joint efforts and collectiveaction to solve the formidable global problemsfacing them.

The Joy of NatureEducation must also enkindle a sense of joy inphysical activity and nature’s grandeur, of living ina beautiful country, in the lines of a landscape, and

in the changing seasons. It should awaken a senseof awe towards the unexplainable, induce plea-sures in outdoor life and nourish the urge towander off the beaten track and into unchartedterrain; to use body and senses to discover newplaces and to explore the world.

Outdoor life touches us in body, mind and soul.Education must corroborate the connectionbetween understanding nature and experiencingnature: familiarity with the elements and the inter-connections in our living environment must beaccompanied by the recognition of our depend-ence on other species, our affinity with them, andour joy in wildlife.

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Education should enkindle a senseof joy in physical activity andnature’s grandeur, of living in abeautiful country, the lines of alandscape, and in the changing

Education has a number of seemingly contra-dictory aims:– to convey our culture’s moral commonality,

with its concern for others – and to foster theability to plot one’s own course;

– to provide familiarity with our Christian andhumanist heritage – and knowledge of andrespect for other religions and faiths;

– to overcome self-centeredness an belief in theright of the strongest – and to inspire strengthto stand alone, to stand up, to dissent and notto knuckle under or cave in to the opinions ofothers;

– to develop independent and autonomouspersonalities - and the ability to function andwork as a team.

The integrated human being

Education shall inspire an integrateddevelopment of the skills andqualities that allow one to behavemorally, to create and to act, and towork together and in harmony withnature. Education shall contribute tobuilding character which will givethe individual the strength to takeresponsibility for his or her life, tomake a commitment to society, andto care for the environment.

– to nurture the individual’s uniqueness, thedisstinctions that make each individual a fountfor others - and to convey the common storeof knowledge and skills that facilitatesinteraction and can jointly contribute tosociety and its growth;

– to allow space for the ways and wont of theyoung - and fit them to join in and take onresponsibility in the adult world;

– to furnish skills for work and the practical tasksof life - and provide room for emotional andcharacter growth;

– To teach and tend our national heritage andlocal traditions in order to preserve variety anduniqueness - and to meet other cultures openlyin order to find pleasure in the diversity ofhuman expression and to learn from contrast;

– to confer knowledge about mankind’s conflict-ridden history, the triumphs and the tribula-tions of the past - and about today’s crises andchances;

– to awaken awareness of how our age and ourdaily lives are determined by the choices offormer generations - and of how we too setthe scene for future generations;

– to provide enough facts to be able to fathomand follow current affairs - and convey valuesthat can guide the choices that new knowledgeopens the way for;

– to provide powerful exposure to the greatestachievements in literature and art, in work,adventure and research - and give each indi-vidual the opportunity to discover and developthe germs that lie in his or her own powers;

– to inspire respect for facts and sound argument- and to train critical abilities to attack prevail-ing attitudes, contend with conventionalwisdom and challenge existing arrangements;

– to awaken esteem for other’s efforts andhumility for their feats - and to instill enoughfaith in oneself to dare to fail;

– to open the senses to the patterns that havetaken hold as traditions, in everything frommusic to architecture - and have the nerve tothink anew and the imagination to break withestablished ways;

– to provide the young with a solid foundation ofknowledge - and mold it in such a way that itimpels to inquiry and the quest for newknowledge throughout life;

– to teach pupils to utilize nature and the forcesof nature for human purposes - and teach themto protect the environment against human follyand encroachment.

Education must balance these dual aims. Theobject is an all-round development of abilities anddistinctive qualities: to conduct oneself morally, tocreate and to act, to work with others and inharmony with nature. Education shall contributeto the building of character that gives individualsthe strength to take command of their own lives,take on duties for their society, and take heed ofthe living environment.

When greater knowledge gives greater power,more stress must be placed on the responsibilitythat accompanies this power. The choices to bemade must be based on awareness of conse-quences and connections, but also guided byprobing against values. A distinct precept ofeducation must be to combine greater knowledge,know-how and skills with social awareness, ethicalorientation and aesthetic sensibility. The youngmust be integrated both personally and in sociallife in a morally coherent way. Education shallpromote ethical and critical responsibility in theyoung for the society and the world they live in.

The ultimate aim of education is to inspireindividuals to realize their potential in ways thatserve the common good; to nurture humanenessin a society in development.

The ultimate aim of education is toinspire individuals to realize theirpotential in ways that serve thecommon good; to nurturehumaneness in a society indevelopment.

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Text and Illustration editor: Randi HagnessLay-out: Rigmor HaugsandGraphic Production: Gan Grafisk as, Oslo 1997

ILLUSTRATIONS

Front Cover: Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928) “Summer Breeze and Children at Play”, Rasmus Meyer Collection,photo Geir S. Johannessen. © Nikolai Astrup/BONO 1997

Page 4 Victor Sparre (1919) “Arctic Cathedral” 1971, stained glass in Tromsdalen Church, 22,5 meters, © V. Sparre/BONO 1997

Page 6 Stone Cross at Krosshaug from the 12th. Century, Samfoto Jon Arne SæterPage 7 Anne-Lise Knoff (1937) “The Amsterdam Miracle” 1980, oil on wood, 150x120 cm, photo O. VæringPage 8 top Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix, French painter (1798–1863) “Liberty Leads the People” 28th of July 1830.

GIR 3692 PE 5147 Louvre, Paris/Giraudon/Bridgeman Art Library, London.Page 8 foot From the Constitutional protocol, Eidsvoll 1814, Stortingsarkivet – Teigens fotoatelier a.s.Page 9 John Andreas Savio (1902–1938) “Two (Guoktes)”, 28.5x34.5 cm, private collection. ©John Andreas Savio/BONO

1997Page 10 Marc Chagall, Russian/French painter (1887–1985) “Hymn IV” 1958. oil on canvas, glued on canvas 145x211 cm.

© Marc Chagall Est./BONO 1997Page 11 Edgar Degas, French painter (1834–1917) “Dancers in Blue” 1899, 64x65 cm. BAL37504 Pushkin Museum,

Moskva/Bridgeman Art Library, LondonPage 12 top Paleolithic painting (ca 25,000 years old) of a bison, from Northern SpainPage 12 foot Female figure in wood, 51 cm, from the former Belgian CongoPage 13 top Euclid, Greek mathematician (ca 300 B.C.) drawing, proof of Pythagoras’ theorem Page 13 foot Attic ceramic vase from the 6th. Century B.C., “Achilles and Ajax with dice game”Page 14 top Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, engineer and scientist (1452–1519) model of a planePage 14 foot Chinese sculpture in bronze, 40.5x24.6 cmPage 15 top l The Wright Brothers’ first flight 1903, C 3283 Norsk Teknisk MuseumPage 15 top r NTB-photo, Inge GjellsvikPage 15 foot Female portrait from Egypt, mural from ca. 1415 B.C.Page 16 Harriet Backer (1845–1914) “Wife Sewing” 1890, 33x41 cm, photo O. Væring. © Harriet Backer/BONO 1997Page 17 O Olaus Magnus, Swedish cleric (1490–1557) drawingsPage 18 Peter Severin Krøyer, Danish painter (1851–1900) “Smithy in Hornbæk” 1875 Page 20b Roald Amundsen at the South Pole 16 th December 1911, photo NTBPage 21 Edvard Munch (1863–1944) “Horseteam” 1919, oil on canvas 110.5x145.5 cm, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo,

photo J. Lathion. © Munch-museet/Munch-Ellingsen Gruppen/BONO 1997Page 22 Christian Krogh (1852–1925) “Good Friends” 1897, oil on canvas 50x61 cm, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo, photo J. LathionPage 23 Alf Rolfsen (1895–1979) from “A Happy Lad”, from Nordahl Rolfsen’s reader. © Alf Rolfsen/BONO 1997Page 24 Alf Rolfsen, (flying birds) drawing. © Alf Rolfsen/BONO 1997Page 25 Oda Krogh (1860–1935) “A Subscription to Aftenposten II” 1887, photo O. Væring. © Oda Krogh/BONO 1997Page 27 © Gerhard Munthe (1849–1929) “The Three Billy-Goats Gruff” 1908, water colour 32.5x22.5 cm.

Gerhard Munthe/BONO 1997Page 28 Laser operation, photo NPSPage 29 Fritz Røed (1928) “Sword in Rock” 1983, ca. 10 metre high monument to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord.

Samfoto Helge Sunde. © Fritz Røed/BONO 1997Page 30 Jean Heiberg (1884–1976) “Afternoon Meal” 1916, oil on canvas 95.5x126 cm, photo J. LathionPage 31 Arnold Haukeland (1920–1983) “Ode to the Light” 1965–1968, 19.5 metre high sound sculpture in steel and acid-

resistant steel, Storedal Cultural Centre for the Blind, Sarpsborg, photo O. Væring. © A.Haukeland/BONO 1997Page 32 Samfoto Lars SäfstrømPage 33 Per Ung (1933) “Brothers” 1975, sculpture in bronze 250 cm, photo Jan Ung. © Per Ung/BONO 1997Page 34 Henri Matisse (1869–1954) “La Dance II” 1910, oil on canvas. © Succession Henri Matisse/BONO 1997.

MEL615 Eremitasjen, St. Petersburg/Bridgeman Art Library, LondonPage 35 Nikolai Astrup “Foxgloves” coloured block print, hand-coloured, 68x77.6 cm, Nasjonalgalleriet,Oslo,

photo J. Lathion. © Nikolai Astrup/BONO 1997Page 36 Alf Rolfsen, Ex Libris, cover drawing, Nordahl Rolfsen’s reader. © Alf Rolfsen/BONO 1997page 37 Karl Erik Harr (1940) “Nordland Boat at Sea” 1980, 150x250 cm, photo O. VæringPage 38 Rock carvings from Rolfsøy in Østfold, ca. 3 000 years old, photo Egil MikkelsenPage 39 Kai Fjell (1907–1989) “The Letter” 1943, photo O. Væring. © Kai Fjell/BONO 1997Page 40 Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943) “Fellowship Between Generations”, sculpture from Vigelandsparken in Oslo,

Samfoto Trygve Bølstad, © Vigeland-museet/BONO 1997Back Cover: Theodor Kittilsen (1857–1914) “Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon” 1912, 65x48 cm, photo O. Væring

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