Crosscutting actions - Education and lifelong skills upgrading

The extensive reforms in education and adult education and continuing training shall help everyone to complete an upper secondary education and more people to receive higher education and to significantly increase participation in adult education and continuing training. Improved guidance and recognition of prior learning, greater cohesion in the education system and the improvement of quality in education will play a particularly important role in achieving these objectives. In the light of this, the Government has placed special emphasis on the following actions:

Guidance and counselling

Guidance for young people must be strengthened and professionalised. It is the Government's aim that guidance at all levels in the education system shall provide young people with an informed basis for choosing an education programme which corresponds to their own desires and abilities and to society's need for qualified labour. The guidance shall also contribute to strengthened bridging between the levels.

Guidance and counselling about opportunities in adult education and continuing training for workers and enterprises must also be improved. It is the Government's aim that the guidance effort shall contribute to strengthening the demand from both employees and enterprises. For the groups which have the greatest barriers to participation, the outreach guidance and counselling effort shall be increased. Better and more informed guidance for young people and adults shall be promoted through, among other things, the following initiatives:

• Increased guidance at all levels - in the basic compulsory school, upper secondary education, higher education and in relation to the adult education and training system.
• The establishment of a professional bachelor degree in education and vocational guidance.
• New initiatives to reinforce the guidance effort in adult education and continuing training with particular emphasis on the needs of those with the lowest level of formal education for guidance and advice from enterprises.

Recognition of prior learning

It is the Government's aim to create better opportunities for individuals to have their knowledge, skills and competences assessed and recognised within the adult education and continuing training, regardless of where they were acquired. This is to promote the participation by adults in adult education and continuing training and to improve their opportunities in the labour market. This is to be promoted especially through the following initiatives:

• Implementation of legislation on increased recognition of prior learning in adult education and continuing training, from general adult education to diploma level, which will enter into force in 2007/2008.
• Quality assurance of competence assessment and recognition of prior learning by educational institutions, including the introduction of a right of appeal.
• Development of simple and easily accessible documentation tools which individuals can use to identify, clarify and describe their prior learning obtained during work and leisure activities. The tools shall also be made accessible on the Internet.
• A nationwide information campaign on new and existing adult education and continuing training specifically targeted at bilinguals and on opportunities for immigrants to have their competences and previous education recognised.

It is the Government's aim in the slightly longer term to enhance the recognition of prior learning in the mainstream education system as well.

Cohesion and transparency in the education system

Cohesion and transparency in the education system is to be promoted. It is the Government's aim that there shall be better transition between all levels in the education system and opportunities to transfer credit, and that the education system shall be transparent and accessible to all. This is to be implemented through, the following initiatives in particular:

• Better bridging between basic compulsory school, upper secondary education and higher education. An enhanced guidance effort shall contribute to fulfil this aim.
• Better opportunities for credit transfer in the education system and increased recognition of prior learning in adult education and continuing training. Among other things, a right of appeal shall be introduced for decisions concerning credit and recognition of prior learning.
• Greater transparency and cohesion in the education system shall be promoted through the development of a coherent national qualifications framework which will include the existing framework for higher education. At the same time, a coherent national qualification framework shall help improve comparison and recognition of qualifications between Denmark and other European countries.

Global perspective in education

All young people shall complete an education programme with a global perspective, and many more young people shall spend time studying abroad. This is important because scientists, staff and enterprises increasingly cross national borders and cooperate with other countries. This makes demands on our abilities to succeed globally and on our understanding of other cultures. It is therefore the Government's aim that education shall provide young Danes with strong academic competences as well as with a global outlook. This shall be promoted through the following initiatives in particular:

• English teaching is to be strengthened in upper secondary education and pupils shall participate in teaching projects with an international outlook.
• A new system of scholarships for study abroad will be introduced for young people in higher education.
• Higher education institutions will be obliged to set targets for the internationalisation of education programmes.
• An improved free place and scholarship scheme will be introduced to attract a greater number of talented foreign students to Denmark.

Stronger professional educational institutions

Stronger training institutions are to be developed. It is the Government's goal to create fewer and stronger institutions with a large academic breadth and high quality. This shall help develop and future-proof education and training, and help strengthen knowledge development and innovation through interaction with research and enterprises etc. This is to be implemented especially through the following initiatives:

• Voluntary mergers between universities and sector research institutions.
• All medium cycle higher education programmes will be gathered in six to eight multi-disciplinary regional university colleges.
• A national accreditation system will be introduced for higher education programmes.
• A pilot project in 2007 is carried out on regional competence centres in the area of adult vocational education and continuing training.

Partnerships in education and training and lifelong skills upgrading

Partnerships in education and lifelong skills upgrading shall be strengthened. It is the Government's aim that all - national, regional and local players - shall be involved in and accept coresponsibility for ensuring that the strategy is broadly anchored in the Danish society.

The Government and members of the Globalisation Council have entered into a framework agreement on binding partnerships which *may help convert the strategy into concrete action.

The partnerships shall include specific agreements on how business and organisations can and will participate in cooperation projects and initiatives. Partnerships in the area of education and competence development can help strengthen the quality of and demand for education and adult education and continuing training and can help strengthen regional efforts to promote growth and business development.

This page is part of the publication " Denmark's strategy for lifelong learning "
© The Ministry of Education 2007