Norwegian schoolsystem and Hetland videregående skole
1. Education in Norway
Mandatory for all children aged 6 - 16
• Primary school (Barneskole, grades 1 – 7, age 6 – 13)
• Lower Secondary School
(Ungdomsskole, grades 8 – 10, age 13 – 16)
• Upper Secondary School and training
(Videregående skole, grades Vg1 – Vg3, age 16 -19)
2. • Upper secondary education and training is
normally provided with 3 years in school or
with 2 years in school and 2 years in-service
training at a training establishment.
3. 1997 – reforms changed the education
of Deaf pupils in Norway
• The Norwegian Ministry of Education did not
use a medical definition, but a linguistic one.
By using Norwegian Sign Language (NSL), one
is defined as Deaf.
• The reforms resulted in a new Norwegian Act
for Deaf pupils in primary schools, in lower
secondary schools and in the upper secondary
school and training .
4. Norwegian Education Act for Deaf
pupils in upper secondary education
• Section 3-9. Sign language instruction in upper
secondary education
• Young people who have sign language as their
first language or who, following expert
assessment, need such instruction, have the right
to choose upper secondary education and
training in and through the medium of sign
language in a sign language environment or the
right to use a sign language interpreter in
ordinary upper secondary schools.
5. School for specialization in general studies
The first year is called Vg1, and all pupils join the same program.
The following two years pupils choose:
1. Natural science and mathematics
2. Languages, social sciences and economics.
Vocational Education Programme
1. Programme for Media and Communication
It is possible for pupils who have finished their vocational education at Vg1
and Vg2 to take Vg3 supplementary programme for general university
admissions certification.
Pupils, who successfully complete Vg1, Vg2 and Vg3 at Hetland
videregående skole achieve general university admissions certification
6. • The government or local education authority
fund all provisions and services to deaf pupils
and their parents.
Training in sign language
for parents of deaf and
heavily hearing impaired
children started in 1996.
The training program ”Se
mitt språk” is a module
based program over 40
weeks for the parents of
deaf and heavily hearing
impaired children aged 0-
16.
7. • In most subjects Deaf pupils follow the
ordinaryNational Curriculum for Knowledge
Promotion.
• There are however, three syllabuses especially
designed for the bilingual education of Deaf
pupils.
8. Hetland videregående skole
A junction - school
• Provide teaching in sign language
• Provide teaching in accordance with the
subject curriculum for:
• Norwegian sign language
• Norwegian for the deaf and severely hard of
hearing
• English for the deaf and severely hard of
hearing
