Linguistic minority children and young people at school in their parents country of origin

Transcription

1 Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training Guidelines 2007 To parents, teachers, consultants and managers in schools and kindergartens Linguistic minority children and young people at school in their parents country of origin

2 Introduction The background to these guidelines is the report Attending School in Pakistan. Children with an immigrant background who attend school in their parents country of origin. (Oslo University College, Faculty of Education commissioned by the then Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.) The entire report (in Norwegian) may be downloaded in pdf format: Other sources are The Education Act (1998), The Day Care Institution Act (2005) and The Family Allowance Act (2002) which may be downloaded in their entirety (in Norwegian) from The target audiences for these guidelines are: > parents/guardians who are considering sending their children to school in their country of origin, or who have children who are returning after such a stay > managers, educational staff and consultants in schools and kindergartens who have a requirement for facts and information, so as to be able to handle situations in which children and young people will be attending school abroad and/or when they return after such a stay The purpose of these guidelines: The guidelines are intended to provide information about regulations applying to an interruption to and leave of absence from education in Norway The guidelines should function as a starting point for discussions between parents/guardians and schools/kindergartens about how school/kindergarten and home may best cooperate before, during and after a stay abroad

3 Contents These guidelines provide answers to the following questions: Relevant legislation 1. For how long can a child with a kindergarten place or a student in a Norwegian school have leave of absence? 2. How does one give notification about moving to or from a foreign country? 3. Does the family receive family allowance while a child is temporarily resident abroad? 4. What rights do linguistic minority students have to special Norwegian tuition, native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching in kindergartens and schools in Norway? Going to school in the parents country of origin 5. What needs to be done before departure from Norway? 6. How is the school organised in the country where the child will attend school? 7. How can children and young people develop their Norwegian language proficiency while they live and receive education in their parents country of origin? 8. How can contact between school and home be maintained during temporary residence in the parents country of origin? Returning to Norway 9. How are the school and kindergarten organised in Norway? 10. How do children and young people tackle returning to Norway after a lengthy stay in the parents country of origin? 11. How should the school/kindergarten receive children and young people who return to Norway? 12. What consequences might there be for children and young people from going to school in more than one country?

4 Relevant legislation 1. For how long can a child with a kindergarten place or a student in a Norwegian school have leave of absence? Norwegian law does not regulate rights or obligations to school attendance if children or young people with Norwegian citizenship or with another connection to Norway live outside Norway. Neither Norwegian law nor human rights conventions permit Norwegian authorities to prevent parents from sending their children to their country of origin (UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 12 and UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13). Students who go to school in their parents country of origin therefore find themselves outside Norwegian jurisdiction and any rights and obligations are regulated by the legislation of the country in which they are resident. The regulations regarding leave of absence applying to kindergarten, primary, secondary and upper secondary education in Norway are described below. These only cover absence from education in Norway for up to 14 days and apply as long as the child is resident in Norway. Kindergarten The Day Care Institution Act and associated regulations regulate the operation of both public and private kindergartens, as well as family kindergartens. Attending kindergarten in Norway is voluntary. The law and regulations do not therefore include any regulations regarding leave of absence for the child. Each individual kindergarten owner may have rules regarding the parents right to leave of absence for the child, its duration, payment during absence and other relevant matters. Parents should be aware that the rules may vary between kindergartens. Parents who are considering temporarily removing their child from kindergarten for a stay outside Norway must advise their kindergarten of this in good time before departure and ask for information about relevant rules. Primary and lower secondary school The Education Act and associated regulations apply to public primary and lower secondary schools in Norway, while The Private School Act and associated regulations apply to private primary and lower secondary schools. All children who are resident in Norway have the right and obligation to primary and lower secondary education. The obligation to attend school applies to all children from the calendar year during which the child reaches his or her 6th birthday and until the student has completed the tenth school year. All children who are resident in Norway for three months or more have both the right and obligation to primary and lower secondary education. Parents may choose between public or approved private primary and lower secondary schools.

5 Section 2-11 of The Education Act states that students in public primary and lower secondary schools may have leave of absence for up to two weeks on application to the local authority, when appropriate. It is the school s head teacher or the caseworker in the local authority who decides whether it is appropriate or not to give the student leave of absence. For students in private schools, the head teacher at the individual school may grant leave of absence for up to two weeks, on application from the parents, if the head teacher decides it is appropriate. See section 3-13 of The Private School Act. Students who leave Norway for an extended period, for example to attend school in another country, are removed from the school register and must be re-entered in the school register on their return. In some cases the student may risk having to change schools, if the school he or she previously attended does not have a place when the student returns. Parents who are considering temporarily removing their child from primary or lower secondary school for a stay outside Norway must contact the school in good time before departure in order to plan ongoing contact with the school during the period in which the student is absent. The reason the student is removed from the school register is that, according to The Education Act, the student is no longer considered to be resident in Norway and does not therefore have the right or obligation to primary and lower secondary education according to Norwegian law. Upper secondary education In upper secondary education, leave of absence is regulated by the rules of the individual school. If a student breaks the school rules, the head teacher may exclude the student for up to five days. The school rules must contain specific rules regarding exclusion before the head teacher can take such action (cf. section 3-8 of The Education Act). If a student is in serious breach of his or her obligations, by extended absence from tuition for example, the county council may decide to exclude the student for the remainder of the school year. In the case of exclusion for the remainder of the school year, the county council may decide that the student should lose the right to upper secondary education. All absences are entered into the student s school record with some exceptions, cf regulation to The Education Act section 4-35 and regulation to The Private School Act section The head teacher may release the student from tuition for up to 14 days in a school year without these days being considered as absence. The school does not have the authority to give leave of absence to students who will be resident abroad for an extended period. The student must therefore discontinue his or her education and make a new application for a school place on returning to Norway. Students studying vocational subjects in upper secondary education receive part of their education in companies, as either apprentice or trainee. They are bound by a contract with the company where they work. Section 4-6 of The Education Act states that amendment or cancellation of the contract between apprentice/trainee and the training company may occur with the consent of the county committee for vocational training.

6 2. How does one give notification about moving to or from a foreign country? Families which are going to move abroad for at least six months should advise their intended departure date to the population register in the municipality in which they are resident before departure. Not advising the population register of a move is a criminal offence. > The form for notifying of a move abroad is the same as for a move within Norway. > When moving back to Norway, the population register must be notified, using a special form. > The forms used to notify of moving from and back into Norway may be found on under Flyttemelding til folkeregisteret. The forms may also be obtained from the population register in each municipality. 3 Does the family receive family allowance while a child is temporarily resident abroad? Family allowance is paid for children under 18 who are resident in Norway; family allowance is not normally paid for children who are resident abroad. In some circumstances family allowance may be given during temporary residence abroad. The rules regarding family allowance for children resident outside Norway vary, depending on whether the country in question is inside or outside the EEA 1. If the child lives abroad and the parents are resident in Norway, the family is not entitled to family allowance. Norway has entered into so called social security agreements with a number of countries outside the EEA. If a family will be resident in a country with which Norway has a social security agreement, the provisions of the agreement in question may decide whether or not family allowance may be given during the residence abroad. More information about the right to family allowance may be found on NAV s website 2 under Barnetrygd/Utland/Opphold utenfor Norge. NAV should be notified if a child for which family allowance is received is out of the country for a longer period than a normal holiday stay (three-four weeks). NAV may require the school to notify the social security office if students have absences which may be due to a stay abroad, cf. section 24 1 of The Social Security Act. 1 The EEA comprises: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Romania, Bulgaria and Norway 2 NAV is the joint government service for social security, employment and social services

7 4 What rights do linguistic minority students have to special Norwegian tuition, native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching in kindergartens and schools? Children may be entitled to, for example, language stimulating measures before reaching school age, in accordance with section 5 7 of The Education Act, and kindergartens should, in accordance with the outline plan for the content of kindergarten tuition, provide children with a good, language-stimulating environment which includes both support for the native language and the development of the Norwegian language. Students in primary and lower secondary school are entitled, if needed, to native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching, see The Education Act, section 2-8 and The Private School Act, section 3-5. The Storting has determined that the right to native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching applies to those newly arrived in Norway and to other minority students who have such poor proficiency in Norwegian that they are unable to follow tuition in Norwegian. Students who have been offered special Norwegian tuition, native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching at the time of their departure will have their needs reassessed on their return to Norway. For students in upper secondary education there is no corresponding provision for special Norwegian tuition, native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching, but there is nothing to prevent this being given, according to the provision for special tuition, cf. section 5.1. Going to school in the parents country of origin 5 What needs to be done before departure from Norway? > The parents must notify the child s school or kindergarten and they can ask for a meeting with its management. Students over 18 may contact the school themselves. Apprentices and trainees must contact the management of the company in which they are receiving tuition. > The parents must notify the population register of the temporary emigration. Young people over 18 may contact the population register themselves. > The parents must notify NAV about changes which affect family allowance, if the child in question is under 18. > The management of the school or kindergarten must inform the parents about the student s rights and obligations. > The company management must inform apprentices and trainees about their rights and obligations. > Parents/student/apprentice/ trainee and school management/company management should have a dialogue on how a stay abroad including school attendance can best be implemented, so that the student can continue his or her education on returning to Norway.

8 6 How is the school organised in the country where the child will attend school? Parents who are considering sending their children to school abroad should thoroughly investigate what type of school their children will go to. Parents should obtain information about the following: > Is the school which the child will attend private, public or religious? > Does the school offer standardised education with exams at an international level? > What will the child learn at the various school year stages, compared with Norwegian schools? > How is the education tailored to the child s level and needs? > What language is tuition given in, and how proficient is the child in the language used for tuition? > What does the school do to encourage the child to learn and achieve? > What can parents do to follow up on schooling at home? 7. How can children and young people develop their Norwegian language proficiency while they live and receive education abroad? During a lengthy stay abroad, the child s proficiency in Norwegian may deteriorate. It is therefore important that parents ensure that their child receives tuition in the Norwegian language and in Norwegian as a school subject, so that he or she will be able to continue to receive education in Norwegian on returning to Norway. Students can be taught Norwegian as a school subject while abroad. This tuition should supplement the other education the student is receiving. One can apply for assistance for such supplementary tuition in Norwegian; information about this may be found at Supplementary tuition may be given in various ways. Sometimes individually and sometimes in large or small groups, depending on how many students there are in the area. Schools which offer supplementary tuition are not permitted to let the students complete Norwegian final exams, unless they have been approved as private schools by the Norwegian authorities. Some students receive some or all of their supplementary tuition via an internet based school programme; see for example Globalskolen, For children of pre-school age there are various aids available, including children s songs and books, audio books and children s films with Norwegian soundtrack.

9 8 How can children and parents maintain contact with the school or kindergarten in Norway during their stay in the parent s country of origin? It is important for parents and school to maintain contact during the period in which the student is absent and the method of communication should be clarified and agreed before the family leaves, so that the best possible continuity in the student s education can be maintained. > Students who go to school abroad will derive great benefit from access to the Internet and e- mail. This will enable them to join arenas for formal Norwegian tuition and will also enable them to communicate with teachers and classmates in Norway. > There are many services available via the Internet, from blogs, in which the class or kindergarten can put entries and pictures, to dedicated websites for the individual school or kindergarten. > Many schools put up weekly schedules (lessons and educational items which the students should be working on each week) on teaching platforms such as ClassFronter or It`s learning. It may be possible for students who are at school abroad to keep up with what their class in Norway is working on. Returning to Norway 9. How are the school and kindergarten organised in Norway? Parents returning to Norway should ask the school the student will go to the following questions: > How can parents/guardians keep closer contact with the school during the initial phase? > How is the student getting on in class, compared with classmates? > What is the school s assessment of the student s proficiency in Norwegian after being abroad? > What can the school and the parents or guardians do to improve the student s performance? More information about the parent s role in Norway and useful resources may be found at: More information about what the student will learn at school may be found at: How do children and young people tackle returning to Norway after a lengthy stay in the parents country of origin? Although many think it is a positive step to go to school in their parents country of origin, a few feel that they have lost out on education time while they have been abroad. Some students begin in classes for immigrants or receive extra secondary education for adults before they can commence upper secondary education.

10 It is important to understand that students who will be educated in Norway need to be proficient in Norwegian to a level above that they are likely to attain through the language they are using in day to day life. Students must develop Norwegian as an academic language in order to be able to complete their upper secondary or higher education in Norway. Students in Norwegian schools learn Norwegian and English from the first year. Experience has shown that students who have been educated in Norway will get on well if they choose to study in a country where teaching is given in English. 11. How should the school/kindergarten receive children and young people who return to Norway? Sometimes the child s conceptual development in his or her native language in the country of origin may have a positive effect on language development in Norwegian. It often appears that the child has forgotten his or her Norwegian while abroad, but it is important to realise that good language stimulation will help the child to rapidly reattain the level of Norwegian he or she had before leaving. Follow up work must be done with students in such a way as to gain maximum benefit from the subject development they have achieved at school in their parents country of origin. The school or kindergarten should have a resource perspective on children or young people who come from school in another country. In most cases it will be an advantage for the student to begin in the same class at the same school he or she left. Students who were removed from the school register when they left (been away for longer than the 14 days for which the head teacher is able to give leave of absence) must be re-entered into a school register in Norway. This means that in some cases there may be a risk that the student will have to be given a place at another school, if there is not a place available at the previous school. It is very important for schools which accept students partway through their education to review the student s circumstances, with particular regard to: > Previous school attendance in Norway > School attendance abroad > Level of competence in subjects > Level of competence in Norwegian, English and native language. Will the student need special Norwegian tuition, native language tuition and bilingual subject teaching? > Should the student be offered an introductory programme before being able to join the ordinary class in primary or lower secondary school? > Does the student need a specially tailored course in upper secondary education, or will he or she be able to follow the ordinary course? > Should the student s timetable be altered so as to strengthen certain subjects? 3 3 The school owner may reallocate up to 25 per cent of the lesson time allocated for each individual subject if there is reason to believe that this will lead to better subject achievement, see the Ministry of Education and Research circular F

11 12. What consequences might there be for children and young people from going to school in more than one country? If parents are planning an extended temporary stay in a country other than Norway for their children, it is important to have thought through a number of issues involved in the child s teaching situation. Some advantages and disadvantages of being educated in another country are given below. Disadvantages > There may be an unfortunate interruption to the continuity of education > There is a risk the student may have to change schools on returning to Norway > Students in upper secondary education who have had a contract as apprentice or trainee with a company are not guaranteed an equivalent place on returning to Norway > Competence in Norwegian may deteriorate > In countries where teaching is not done in English, competence in English may deteriorate > If teaching abroad is given in, for example, English and not in the student s native language, it may be difficult to comprehend what is being taught Advantages > Children and young people may strengthen their bilingual and multi-cultural identity through becoming familiar with and being taught in the country to which the family as a whole is linked > Children and young people may strengthen their conceptual development through intensive teaching in and about their native language > Children and young people may strengthen their competence in school subjects through being taught in a language which they and their parents understand better than Norwegian > Education given in, for example, English may strengthen the student s English skills > It might be easier for parents to support their children s education, since they may be more familiar with the school system in their native country than that in Norway An overall assessment should take into account that there are great variations in the way in which children and young people adapt to a new school system both when moving away and also when returning to Norway. In any case, it is important that there should be a dialogue between parents and school/kindergarten before leaving and when returning, so as to ensure the best possible continuity of education.

12 Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training P O Box 2924 Tøyen 0608 Oslo Internet: Order point for resources: bestilling.utdanningsdirektoratet.no bestilling@utdanningsdirektoratet.no Fax: