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I'm writing this, due to the threads about teachers, and I got curious how it functions in other countries.
In Denmark, the goal of teaching is to make sure that the pupils/students have the knowledge and skills to be able to function in the danish society. They call it "dannelse" (in German "Bildung"), the closest word I think would be shaping, or forming. This means that teachers have to shape the students to be democratic minded, to be able to think for themselves, be critical, be able to tolerate ideas that doesn't align with their own, make group choices, have solidarity, and be equipped to handle the key problems they will face.
These problems are described as war, globalisation, pollution, climate change, terrorism, inequality, and so on.
The government also have common goals that they want the pupils to reach, in terms of knowledge and skills, and thus educators have to plant their course that aligns with the mandatory goals. An example could be "pupils have to have the knowledge about danish politics, and be able to explain and understand the difference in the political parties." The course planning is then left to the teachers, as long as the goal set by the ministry of education is met.
Personally, I am a great believer in Danish form of education and its focus on shaping the pupils to be democratic functioning members of society, able to contribute to the overall welfare of the state.
On a side note, it takes about 4 years to become a teacher, which includes 4 intern periods, and a bachelor's dissertation (plus the oral defence), and is considered a university level education. The colleges teaches, besides the courses that students wants to be specialised in, psychology, pedagogical skills, and didactics, as well as common teaching skills, such as class room management.
In Denmark, the goal of teaching is to make sure that the pupils/students have the knowledge and skills to be able to function in the danish society. They call it "dannelse" (in German "Bildung"), the closest word I think would be shaping, or forming. This means that teachers have to shape the students to be democratic minded, to be able to think for themselves, be critical, be able to tolerate ideas that doesn't align with their own, make group choices, have solidarity, and be equipped to handle the key problems they will face.
These problems are described as war, globalisation, pollution, climate change, terrorism, inequality, and so on.
The government also have common goals that they want the pupils to reach, in terms of knowledge and skills, and thus educators have to plant their course that aligns with the mandatory goals. An example could be "pupils have to have the knowledge about danish politics, and be able to explain and understand the difference in the political parties." The course planning is then left to the teachers, as long as the goal set by the ministry of education is met.
Personally, I am a great believer in Danish form of education and its focus on shaping the pupils to be democratic functioning members of society, able to contribute to the overall welfare of the state.
On a side note, it takes about 4 years to become a teacher, which includes 4 intern periods, and a bachelor's dissertation (plus the oral defence), and is considered a university level education. The colleges teaches, besides the courses that students wants to be specialised in, psychology, pedagogical skills, and didactics, as well as common teaching skills, such as class room management.
