Evaluating the Practical and Artistic School Subjects in Sweden and Norway
Grethe Hovland
Adviser
Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education
Oslo, Norway
and
Sten Söderberg
Director of Education
The Swedish National Agency for Education
Stockholm, Sweden
Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research, University
College Dublin, 7-10 September 2005
2
Abstract
In Swedish schools, five practical and artistic subjects are compulsory for all pupils up to
grade nine: Art, Music, Crafts (Sloyd), Physical Education and Health, and Home and
Consumer Studies. In Norwegian schools four practical and artistic subjects are compulsory
for all pupils up to grade ten: Art and Crafts, Music, Home Economics and Physical
Education. Although highly valued by many pupils and traditionally having a distinct position
in educational policy, few attempts have been made to assess performances in these subjects,
both nationally and internationally. Also, there is no common theoretical framework for these
subjects – each one has its own tradition, theoretical background and teaching practices. The
practical and artistic subjects have important objectives within the framework of the Swedish
and Norwegian national curriculum, such as developing creative skills, co-operation in
groups, equality between the genders, fostering consumer consciousness, and problemsolving. Learning by practical work and through experience are important for demanding
practical skills and interest for the pupil to enter vocational training after compulsory school,
but also for people’s life in general. Cultural traditions are important elements in the practical
and artistic subjects. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the
goals of the curriculum and the content of the education, students’ satisfaction and the
students’ achievements in the practical and artistic subjects.
In November 2004, the Swedish National Agency for Education published the main findings
from a national evaluation of Swedish comprehensive school. The study focused grades five
and nine in school and encompassed 16 of the school subjects. The evaluation involved
different sets of questionnaires, administered to parents, pupils, teachers and headmasters, and
different tests; performance tests and tests especially designed to assess pupils’ problem
solving ability. Information from the Swedish Bureau of Statistics, such as parents’ level of
education, was added. The study is the single biggest evaluation project that has been
conducted in Swedish schools, and the findings have been much recognized, discussed and
debated. Among the school subjects evaluated were the so-called practical and artistic
subjects.
The Norwegian Reform 97 in compulsory school came into force on 1 July 1997 and one of
the important changes was to implement a new national curriculum. The Ministry of
Education decided that an evaluation of the reform should be organized by the Research
Council of Norway. This meant that some of the initiative and the responsibility for the
evaluation were transferred from the users and the commissionaire to the research community.
Only Art and Crafts, and Physical Education of the practical and artistic subjects were
included in the Norwegian evaluation of Reform 97. The evaluation of Art and Crafts
involved a survey to pupils and teachers. The evaluation on Physical Education is based on a
survey to teachers and interviews with pupils and teachers. Results from the evaluation of
those two subjects in lower secondary schools in Norway from 2002 and 2003, and statistic
3
analysis of marks across all the practical and artistic subjects in the period 2002-2004 will be
related to the Swedish findings.
In the National Evaluation of Swedish compulsory schools of 2003, the practical and artistic
subjects were evaluated alongside more traditional performance tests in subjects such as
Mathematics, Science and Literacy. A wide variety of methods were used, such as
questionnaires, student self-assessments, portfolios, log-books, interviews and classroom
observations. The Norwegian evaluations are two separate studies, and they are not related to
other subjects in school. Both in Sweden and Norway the findings are discussed in relation to
the respective national curricula. The paper reviews the methodological experiences and
implications from these studies, as well as shedding light on some of the more important
findings. References are made to some international studies within this sparsely researched
field of education.
Central and common findings from the evaluation of these subjects in Sweden and Norway
concern their important function in pupils´ life at school; difficulties in introducing new
aspects (such as digital communication or health issues) in hugely traditional forms of
teaching; increasing differences in performances between girls and boys; and severe problems
of equivalence in assessing and the marking of pupils´ achievements.
4
Introduction
In Swedish schools, five practical and artistic subjects1 are compulsory for all students up to
grade nine: Art, Music, Crafts2, Physical Education and Health3, and Home and consumer
studies4. In Norwegian schools four practical and artistic subjects are compulsory for all
pupils up to grade ten: Art and Crafts, Music, Home Economics and Physical Education.
There are many similarities between Sweden and Norway concerning these subjects, but also
some differences. The main difference is that while Art and Crafts are two separate school
subjects in Sweden, it is a joint subject in Norway. Another difference is that while the subject
of Crafts in Sweden contains two “Craft forms” – Textile Crafts and Woodwork and Metal
Crafts – which pupils/students can choose between, the Arts and Crafts subject in Norway is
not organized in a way that separates boys and girls. A third difference is that in Sweden,
there are national objectives indicated only for grades 5 and 9, whereas in Norway, national
objectives are stated for every grade5. Altogether, the Norwegian national curriculum allows
somewhat more time for the practical and artistic subjects: According to the formal
Curriculum for Comprehensive school, the Practical and Artistic subjects shall take 21 per
cent of the total lesson time in Swedish compulsory schools and 24 per cent in Norwegian
compulsory schools.
Table 1
Practical and artistic subjects in per cent of the total lesson time in
Swedish and Norwegian compulsory school
Subjects
Sweden
Norway
Physical Education (and Health)
8
8
Art and Craft
8
8
Home and Consumer Studies/Home Economics
2
3
Music
3
5
21
24
Sum Aesthetic subjects
Practical and artistic competence is important in working life and in life in general. According
to the American researcher Richard Florida’s study “The Rise of the Creative Class” 6;
creativity is raised as the most important competence in the eyes of many employers. Florida
shows the creative activity not only belongs to the private, leisure-time, sphere but also that it
increasingly characterizes working life: He sees a new social class emerging, “the creative
class”, where art, design and media stands out. Learning by practical work and through
experience, as another aspect of the practical and artistic subjects, is in general also important
In Scandinavia, the term “Aesthetic subjects” is the most common and accepted, whereas the term “Artistic
subjects” seems to be more common in Anglo-American literature. Thus, both terms are used in this paper but
the meaning is basically the same.
2
Formerly called Handicraft, or Sloyd.
3
Formerly called Athletics.
4
Formerly called Home Economics.
5
In Norway, there are 10 grades in basic comprehensive school, while there are 9 grades in Sweden.
6
Florida (2002)
1
5
for demanding practical skills and interest for the students to enter vocational training after
compulsory school.
It is specially pointed out in the curricula for the compulsory school in Sweden and Norway,
how important the practical and artistic subjects are for people’s life in general. Furthermore,
there is no common theoretical framework for these school subjects – each one has its own
educational tradition, theoretical background and teaching practices – and also, within each
subject, there are different traditions of looking at what the foremost objectives of the subject
really are7.
The Objectives of the Practical and Artistic School Subjects within
the Framework of the National Curricula in Sweden and Norway
According to the current Swedish national curriculum of 19948, the practical and artistic
subjects have important objectives such as developing creative skills, co-operation in groups,
equality between the genders, fostering consumer consciousness and problem-solving. In the
general part of the curriculum it is - among other things - stated that every school is
“responsible for ensuring that all pupils completing compulsory school” …….”have
developed their ability to express themselves creatively and become more interested in
participating in the range of cultural activities that society has to offer,” that all students ”are
able to develop and use their knowledge and experience in as many different forms of
expression as possible covering language, pictures, drama and dance,” and....”have
fundamental knowledge about what is necessary to maintain good health and also understand
the importance of lifestyle for health and the environment”. Thus, the wording in the Swedish
curriculum puts the responsibility to develop these practical and artistic (as well as other)
skills on the schools, rather than on the students themselves.
Similarly, in the current Norwegian curriculum for compulsory school of 19979 is it pointed
out how important the aesthetic subjects and skills are for people in a modern society: Roots
in one’s own culture make a secure foundation for identity and for respect for new and
unfamiliar impressions and forms of expression. In a society undergoing constant change,
experience of art, architecture, design, applied art and craft – from past and present, from
one’s own culture and from others’ – provide an important frame of reference for cultural
insight. It is also pointed out that encounters with local handicraft traditions and practicing
craftsmen also are important in anchoring the subject Art and Craft to its local community. In
a media- and consumer-oriented society seeking to influence our lives and values, it is
important for pupils to develop a critical awareness of visual effects and communication. The
syllabus in music is intended to enable pupils to appreciate, become acquainted with and
7
See e.g. Åsén, G. (1992).
The Ministry of Education and Science and The National Agency for Education, Stockholm (2002)
9
The Royal Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs, Oslo (1999)
8
6
understand music as a form of artistic and social expression and fellowship. The subject of
home economics is important for pupils as consumers, to develop their ability to make choices
and think critically. Physical activity is essential to the physical, mental and social
development of children and young people. Because of change in ways of life and leisure
facilities, with fewer opportunities for all-round physical activity, more and more people are
devoting less time to physical labor, play, sports and outdoor adventure activities. Pleasure
taken in physical education can lay the foundations for a favorable attitude to one’s own body
and inspire a healthy lifestyle.
Currently in 2005 a new national curriculum has been decided for the compulsory school in
Norway. For the practical and artistic subjects, there are just minor changes in the superior
objectives, compared to the Curriculum of 1997. But in the main subject elements there are
lots of changes.
Data sources
In November 2004, the Swedish National Agency for Education published the main findings
from a national evaluation of Swedish comprehensive school. The study focused grades five
and nine in school and encompassed 16 of the school subjects. The evaluation involved
different sets of questionnaires, administered to parents, pupils, teachers and headmasters, and
different tests; performance tests and tests especially designed to assess pupils’ problem
solving ability. Information from the Swedish Bureau of Statistics, such as parents’ level of
education, was added. The study is the single biggest evaluation project that has been
conducted in Swedish schools, and the findings have been much recognized, discussed and
debated. Among the school subjects evaluated were the so-called practical and artistic
subjects.
The Norwegian “Reform 97” in compulsory school came into force on 1 July 1997. One of
the important changes was to implement a new national curriculum. The Ministry of
Education decided that an evaluation of the reform should be organized by the Research
Council of Norway. This meant that some of the initiative and the responsibility for the
evaluation were transferred from the users and the commissionaire to the research community.
Only Art and Crafts, and Physical Education of the practical and artistic subjects were
included in the Norwegian evaluation of Reform 97. The evaluation of Art and Crafts
involved a survey to pupils and teachers. The evaluation on Physical Education is based on a
survey to teachers and interviews with pupils and teachers. The results from the evaluation of
these two subjects in lower secondary schools in Norway from 2002 and 2003, and statistic
analysis of marks across all the practical and artistic subjects in the period 2002-2004 will be
related to the Swedish findings.
7
Purpose, Delimitations and Theoretical Starting Points
The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the objectives of the
curriculum and the content of the education, students’ satisfaction and the assessment of
students’ achievement in the practical and artistic subjects in Sweden and Norway. This will
circle around four main issues:
1. Is educational practice in the practical and artistic school subjects in line with the
formal curriculum?
2. How is assessment done in the practical and artistic subjects?
3. What competencies and skills are being taught and achieved in these subjects?
4. Is there equivalence between boys and girls in the practical and artistic subjects?
According to John Goodlad10, a prerequisite for a curriculum to function the way it was
intended is that teachers understand the intention of the curriculum (the ideological
curriculum) and that they act in accordance with the guidelines and principles of it (the formal
curriculum). Furthermore, it is necessary to know something the actual content of the teaching
that takes place (the operational curriculum) in order to get a picture of what the students are
supposed to learn. By asking questions to teachers and students how they perceive the
curriculum (the perceived curriculum) and the actual education (the experienced curriculum)
one can find to what extent there is a correspondence between the perceived and the
operational curriculum. One can also get an insight into whether there is a hidden curriculum.
The hidden curriculum was first recognized in the U.S.A. in the sixties, and has attracted a lot
of attention in American school research11. It can be defined as all learning processes that take
place, that do not have any connection the formal curriculum – in other words, an unofficial,
unwritten and practice-close curriculum. For example, John Goodlad reporting his classroom
observations12 describes how students in music classes spent an inordinate amount of class
time on rehearsals – for performance at the upcoming football game or some other event.
And he found out the teachers in Visual Arts and in Physical Education used textbooks neither
in education nor in the planning of it. Among other things, this paper intends to show whether
the Norwegian and Swedish evaluations indicate that there exists - and in that case to what
extent - a hidden curriculum in these subjects.
But also by studying the assessment (how it is done and what is actually being achieved) one
can get a picture of what is being emphasized in teaching and learning. The Swedish
evaluation has relatively strong data in this respect, but it has been less studied and analyzed
in Norway. In Norway, the students´ achievements are judged on a scale from one to six in all
subjects, and the distribution of marks is quite interesting, in relation to what is known about
how students and teachers experience the actual education.
10
Goodlad et.al. (1979)
Bain (1990)
12
Goodlad (1983)
11
8
Teaching in Norwegian schools has to be adjusted to the individual student. There are few
direct references to gender differences, and then mainly concerning equality. There is a
statement that it is important that knowledge is conveyed in a way not to uphold traditional
gender stereotypes, where girls are inculcated in the belief that women do not understand
science and technology. In the Ministry’s policy document on equality between genders it is,
however, pointed that the school should contribute to equity between girls and boys – and to
have a closer look at the differences between the learning results of girls and boys in the PISA
survey.
The Swedish Law of Schools13 is more explicit on the issue of equality between the genders.
It is stated (paragraph 2) that “all children and young people shall have equal access to
education in the public school, regardless of gender, geographical area and social and
economic background”, and that “education shall be equivalent, wherever it is organized in
the country”. Furthermore, in the same paragraph it is stated that everyone who works in
schools “especially shall promote…..equality between the sexes”.
Methods of Assessment
Although highly valued by many students and traditionally having a distinct position in
educational policy, few attempts have been made to assess performances in these subjects,
both nationally and internationally. However, a few notes on methodological experiences and
implications - some international attempts but mainly from the Swedish and Norwegian
studies –should be mentioned here.
International experiences
Generally speaking, there seems to be more attempts to assess the artistic subjects (Art,
Music, Design, Drama etc.) than the practical subjects (Athletics, Home Economics).
Handicraft/Crafts seems to fall somewhere in between, and is sometimes referred to as an
artistic/aesthetic and creative subject, and at other times is regarded as a practical subject. In
the Swedish and Norwegian evaluation reports, there are virtually no references to
international evaluation or assessment studies of the practical subjects, Athletics and Home
Economics, and there seems to be few strong empirical traditions here. This is an important
observation itself. Although we cannot prove it, the observation might reflect the supposing
high status that the cultural aspects of human behavior still enjoy – while the “physical” and
practical aspects of knowledge seem to be sparsely treated in official and political documents,
and even more sparsely researched upon. Thus, curriculum studies of the practical subjects
would constitute a much-needed field of research. In Germany, however – and especially -,
there seems to be a growing interest in pedagogical “human body-related” research and the
13
SFS 1985:100
9
use of empirical evaluation studies14. Also, in Denmark, an evaluation of the subject of
Physical Education has recently been reported15
This said, it can be established that there are relatively few international experiences of largescale evaluation or assessment studies of the artistic and practical school subjects. One of the
most ambitious studies seems to be an English study by Harland et al. from 200016. Their
research report Arts education in secondary schools: effects and effectiveness, presents the
results of a detailed and rigorous examination of secondary school arts education in England
and Wales. Their three-year study included questionnaires to over 2000 year 11 students; an
interview programmed with employers and employees; and in-depth interviews with students,
arts teachers, senior school managers, as well as observation of arts lessons at five case-study
schools. The study provides a thorough exploration of art, drama, dance, and music education
in English secondary schools.
In the USA, the so called NAEP Arts Education Assessment Framework from 199717 includes
attempts to measure students' knowledge and skills in creating, performing, and responding to
works of in the subjects of dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts; according to the
frameworks, these subjects “are important parts of a full education”18. “When students engage
in the arts, they use intellect, emotions, and physical skills to create meaning. At its best, the
teaching and assessment of the arts will emphasize creating and performing works as well as
studying existing works of art”19. Separate assessment instruments have been developed for
each of the aforementioned arts subjects. Different kinds of exercises have been used to
measure different kinds of knowledge and skills, both cognitive (exercises requiring students
to write responses and answer multiple-choice questions, used to explore students' abilities to
analyze, describe, and interpret works of arts) and practical/authentic (complex performance
tasks, used to assess students' abilities to create and perform works of art). Findings and
methodological conclusions from the NCES/NAEP studies have been reported by i.e., Persky
et. al. (1998)20 and in the digital NCES report (2003) Developing an Arts Assessment: Some
Selected Strategies21.
The following table, which is available on the home page of NAEP22, gives an example of
evaluation and assessment instruments that have been developed and used.
14
Balz (1997), Brettschneider (1994), Fredrich (2000), Scerker (1995)
EVA (Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut) (2004)
16
Harland et.al. (2000)
17
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (“The Nation´s Report Card”), administered by NCES
(National center for Education Statistics), Washington D.C.
18
The assessment of dance was never administered because an appropriate sample of students could not be
identified.
19
ibid.
20
Persky et.al. (1998).
21
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/strategies/howto.asp (2005-07-30)
22
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/arts/whatmeasure.asp (2005-07-30)
15
10
Table 2
Example of evaluation and assessment instruments - NAEP
Arts Subjects Kinds of Exercises
Creating
AND/OR
Performing: Responding: assessed with written
assessed with performance tasks
exercises and multiple-choice questions
Music
Create and perform a rock-and-roll Listen to pieces of music and then analyze,
improvisation on a MIDI keyboard.
interpret, critique, and place the pieces in
historical context.
Theatre
Work in a group to create and perform an Listen to a radio play and then do a series
improvisation about a camping trip.
of written exercises about staging the play
for young children.
Visual Arts
Using markers and a cardboard box, Study artworks and then do exercises
create a package designed to hold a exploring
aesthetic
properties
and
whisper or a scream.
expressive aspects of the works.
Dance
Work with a partner to create and perform Watch ethnic folk dances on videotape and
a dance based on the idea of then analyze and place the dances in
metamorphosis.
historical context.
Swedish Experiences
In the afore-mentioned National Evaluation of Swedish compulsory schools of 2003, the
aesthetic subjects were evaluated alongside more traditional performance tests in subjects
such as Mathematics, Science and Literacy. A wide variety of methods were used, such as
questionnaires, student self-assessments, portfolios, log-books, interviews and classroom
observations.
In most of these subjects, e.g. art, crafts and home and consumer studies, the researchers have
to varying degrees changed their measuring instruments in relation to evident changes in the
curricula and syllabuses between 1992 and 2003. In crafts and in physical education and
health, no systematic measure of knowledge was carried out in NU-03, which is reasonable
given how the applicable syllabuses for these subjects are formulated. In these subjects,
researchers have instead of measuring knowledge asked the students to give their
understanding of what they have learnt.
In a Swedish national evaluation study from 199823, portfolio assessment was used in a
system evaluation context, in order to judge to what extent compulsory schools succeed in
achieving the objective of developing students´ creative skills, in the Art subject. Portfolio
assessment implies collecting a documentation of the student’s work, from starting ideas to a
finished product, including documentation of the student’s thoughts by means of log-books,
interviews etc. Thus, it emphasizes assessment of the process just as much – or maybe evens
more – than the finished product. It is not the aim of this paper to go very deep into portfolio
assessment as such - it is quite a well-known technique mostly used in connection with
examination from, and selection to, artistic education at higher levels24. Suffice to say that use
23
Skolverket (1999).
c. the American Arts PROPEL, the Swiss-originated IB Art/Design (International Baccalauréate) and the
Dutch CPE (Central Practical Examination).
24
11
of portfolio assessment is not limited to the Arts. In Sweden, it has also been used –
experimentally, and on a limited scale -in the assessment of Music25 and Handicraft26.
Examples of use of portfolios in system level evaluations are few. It has often been
considered too complicated and expensive27. The American researcher Dennie Wolf and her
colleagues have suggested that a sample of portfolios at selected schools would be a feasible
procedure for gathering information about the current conditions of the educational system28.
A fairly well-known example of use of portfolio assessment in a system (state-level)
evaluation context is the Vermont Portfolio Project, in the early 1990:s 29 which, however did
not include any artistic or practical school subject, but focused on Mathematics and Writing.
Norwegian Experiences
From grade one to ten in Norwegian compulsory schools, the regulations to the Education Act
say that the teacher shall have a conversation with the parents (and the student), where they
can tell them how they assess the student’s work and results in all subjects in school. The
main purpose of student assessment is to promote learning and development. For grade eight
to ten the students also get marks awarded for class work in all subjects on a scale from one to
six, where mark six indicates that the student holds exceptionally high competence, and one
indicates that the pupil has attained little competence in the subject. An exception from this is
the subject of Physical Education – both the pupils’ prerequisites and competence is to be
assessed in this subject.
For the cohorts graduating from lower secondary schools (at grade ten) in year 2002, 2003
and 2004 there exist national data of the students´ marks in all the school subjects awarded for
class work evaluated by their own teacher. These data show quite interesting patterns in marks
for the practical and artistic subjects, which will be shown below.
There are also studies from the evaluation of the Reform 97 that evaluate Arts and Craft and
Physical Education in Norwegian schools30. These studies do not use any kinds of test or
other “hard” assessment tools, but are based on questionnaires to students and teachers. Apart
from these statistics, there are no other studies of student achievements and attitudes in the
practical and artistic subjects in Norway.
25
Bartholdson (2005)
Lindström (2005a)
27
Lindström (2005b)
28
Wolf, Bixby, Glenn & Gardner (1991).
29
See e.g. Abruscato (1993)
30
Jacobsen et.al. (2002), Kjosavik et.al. (2003)
26
12
Subject-wise findings from the Swedish and Norwegian Evaluation
Studies
Art
Sweden, NU-03: Direct comparisons over time are difficult due to changes in measuring
instruments, but the general impression is that the status quo is almost the same as compared
with 1992. Where it concerns students’ assessment of works of art, the ability to determine
authenticity of artistic expression is greater than e.g. the ability to place a work in its
aesthetics/artistic context. As regards graphics in the media, there is, amongst students, a
relatively high degree of awareness of visual communication, namely the relationship
between the intentions of the sender and the reactions of the receiver. Goal attainment is
lower in terms of the “building blocks” of art, how a picture is built up and communicated by
means of perspective and colour. Many students consider the subject to be fun and enjoyable,
but less useful. Since 1992 the subject has largely been typified by individual work and
individual projects. Gender differences are large; girls are more motivated than boys and get
higher grades. Similar to 1992, teaching was still dominated by producing pictures by hand,
and the subject appears not to have developed in accordance with the increased emphasis on
visual communication in the syllabuses. Students’ and teachers’ interests in modern
technology e.g. digital processing of graphics which is related to developments in media and
society, stand in sharp contrast to the lack of adequate equipment and insufficient competence
on the part of teachers in this area.
Sweden: In 1998, an area of proficiency that was evaluated was students´ visual creativity by
means of portfolio assessment, as mentioned above. The study comprised a total of 460
portfolios from two geographical regions in Sweden, and from pupils/students in several
grades in both compulsory and upper secondary school. The findings showed that as students
progress through compulsory school, there is a marked improvement in what might be called
”pictorial language skills” – i.e. their skill at handicrafts, and mastery of form, colour and
composition. However, there was no notable improvement with regard to the understanding
and control, which characterize a more conscious and independent creative process, such as
the ability to experiment and find new solutions, or to see both the merits and weaknesses in
one’s own work. Interestingly, no connection was observed between students´ social
background and their level of visual creativity and expression – assessed by portfolios.
Crafts
Sweden, NU-03: The evaluation of the subject of crafts takes its starting point in the “goals to
Strive for” set out in the syllabus. Work in the crafts process, from initial idea to assessment,
is clearly linked to various forms of knowledge and student influence described in the goals to
strive towards as set out in Lpo 94. Students’ and teachers’ descriptions of the activities show
that student influence and personal responsibility are areas where goal attainment in the
subject has been high. The subject of crafts occupies a special position amongst school
subjects in terms of students’ opportunities to influence content and ways of working. In NU-
13
03, it can be stated that students’ capacity to take initiatives and exercise personal
responsibility was greater than in 1992, but even at that time such results were clearly evident.
Also the goals that can be related to knowledge of crafts are largely attained. Goal attainment
is according to the students themselves lower in terms of their ability to view the activity from
different perspectives (gender equality, finance, environmental, cultural and ethical values).
Teachers also consider this has been less focused on. As regards influence and taking personal
responsibility, there are no gender differences. The dominant method of working in crafts is
that the students work on producing their own craft designs, individually, but cooperation and
students’ helping each other frequently occurs. The awareness of students concerning
knowledge in the subject of crafts appears to be limited to the classroom. The former division
of the subject into the two types of crafts is still widespread.
Arts and Crafts
Norway: According to the findings from the Norwegian evaluation31 of the national
curriculum of 1997, most of the teachers in Arts and Crafts are women with general teacher
education, aged 50-65. In their teaching, these teachers put great emphasis on the formal
curriculum, but even greater emphasis on their own experiences. As for content, pictures and
drawing are prioritized. Newer elements of the subject, such as film, media, architecture and
design do not get much attention from the teachers. Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) is rarely used in Arts and Crafts education. Great emphasis is put on the
students’ creativity, sense of aesthetics, practical skills and co-operation between students.
The students claim that they often get ideas from other students. Co-operation between
subjects, such as project work, is seldom included in the teachers planning. The students
think that the subject is interesting, and many also find it useful. Students point out the joy of
manufacturing everyday articles and that they learn to use tools and machines, even if
construction and maintenance work is less emphasized in education in the subject. Girls like
most to work with textile and clay, while boys prefer wood and metal work. These differences
are also found among female and male teachers.
Students show little interest in theory, traditional art and architecture. This can be interpreted
that students prefer the practical and creative aspects of the subject. Students claim that they
have little influence on what should be worked with, and that they seldom are involved in the
planning. Text books and other literature seem to play a subordinate role in the subject.
The conclusion from the Norwegian evaluation of Arts and Crafts is that the subject is
characterized by old traditions, and that the new aspects and work procedures which are put
forward in the national curriculum, are not strong in practical education.
In Norway, the students´ final marks in Arts and Crafts are consistently on a very high level –
something the subject shares with the other practical and artistic subjects. The marking
31
Kjosavik et.al. (2003)
14
differences between girls and boys are about the same as in most other subjects in Norwegian
schools. But differences in marks in Arts and Crafts between students with different social
background (level of parents´ education) are somewhat smaller than in most other subjects32.
Apart from marks and marking statistics, there are no Norwegian studies of what students
actually learn and perform in the Arts and Crafts subject.
Music
Sweden, NU-03: The results in music are only partly comparable with 1992. As a result of the
Syllabus 2000, the subject of music was given a very different emphasis by the change in
focus from knowledge about music to actually playing music. The knowledge test, which was
included in the evaluation,33 is identical to a corresponding test from 1992, and shows
deterioration in students’ knowledge of music, which is entirely in line with the shift in focus
in the syllabus for the subject. Students’ interest in music is very great according to the studies
of both 1992 and 2003. At the same time the majority of students regard the subject of music
as less useful. According to the students themselves, the subject of music functions as a
“breathing space where one can relax and be oneself”. At the same time there are indications
that the subject is perceived as non-modern and that there are shortcomings in its breadth “the
music I like doesn’t come into the lessons”. There appears to be a clear difference between
much of the music enjoyed by youngsters and the music taught in the school. Gender
differences in final marks, in favour of girls, are large and have increased since 1998, when
the current grading system was introduced. The evaluation, moreover, shows that young
people who practice music very much in their leisure time and who come from academic and
culturally aware homes tend to get higher marks. Learning outside school is enormous and
equivalence in grading in the subject can as in physical education and health be questioned.
Physical education and health
Sweden, NU-03: Physical education and health has focused much more specifically on health
issues since 199234. The results are thus hardly comparable over time. The general picture,
however, are a large proportion of students regard physical education and health as fun – the
most enjoyable subject – useful and interesting. Of the subjects who were evaluated, physical
education and health is the most obviously “boyish” subject in the compulsory school. There
are more boys than girls attaining the highest grades, and they enjoy it and consider that they
are involved and able to influence content. But there is an increasing group of boys (compared
with earlier studies) who appear to consider that the subject is not something for them. The
subject has a clear focus on physical activities and there is little discussion and reflection over
e.g. health and life style. The influence of sporting associations still appears to be great. In
general terms, it can be stated that the focus on physical activity which typifies the subject,
32
Hægeland et.al.(2005)
The so-called “Columbus test” intended to measure knowledge of music from different cultures and eras.
34
As a result of which the subject’s name was changed from “sports” to “physical education and health” in
connection with the introduction of the national curriculum of 1994.
33
15
and which is characterized by positive and active participation, is an important basis for
obtaining a passing mark in the subject. “The only thing you have to do is to wear the right
clothes and then you get a pass.” It is worth noting that students may obtain higher marks
even though they may not be able to find their way around in a wood with the help of a map
and compass or that they cannot swim. In addition, it is the students who are active in sports
contexts in their recreation, which itself are linked to socio-economic background, who attain
the highest marks in the subject. Learning outside school is as great, and whether conditions
exist for equivalent grading in the subject can be discussed.
Physical education
Norway: According to the Norwegian national curriculum, the main areas of the subject
Physical Education are play, sports, dance and outdoor adventure activities, all of which shall
be equivalent activities. The evaluation of the curriculum of 199735 show that play and sports
are well taken care of in education, outdoor adventure activities somewhat less, and dance
even more so. The majority of teachers think that have not sufficiently taken care of dance.
That play and sports are the most central components is confirmed by both students and
teachers. A greater emphasis on dance and outdoor adventure activities in the formal
curriculum seems to occur somewhat more frequently than before the reform, but these two
activities still have a small place in practice.
The students like Physical education, and the teachers mean that they get an especially good
personal contact with the students in this subjects. According to the teachers, student
influence is relatively great, especially when comparisons are made with what students
maintain on their own influence in other research, where all school subjects has been
studied36. Furthermore, students claim in the interviews that they experience a large degree of
participation in decision-making concerning the content of education in the subject, and that
they are allowed to choose between different activities in the lessons. However, the
researchers mean that student participation and student co-operation is less emphasized than
what is presupposed in the formal curriculum.
Female and male teachers emphasize activities in the subject differently. While 71 per cent of
female teachers say that play is well taken care of in their teaching, this holds fore merely 53
per cent of male teachers. As far as sport is concerned, 49 per cent of female teachers, and 64
per cent of male teachers, mean that they have taken care of this area in a sufficient way.
Outdoor adventure activities is taken care of by 39 per cent of female teachers, and 27 per
cent of the male ones, while the corresponding figures regarding dance are just 18 per cent of
female teachers and 8 per cent of male teachers. These gender differences must, however, be
seen in the light of the fact that there are more female than male teachers that teach the subject
in the lower grades. This especially is valid for play, which is most relevant in the lower
35
36
Jacobsen et.al. (2002)
Helland & Næss (2005).
16
grades. Among students, girls are more open for varied activities in Physical education than
boys. Boys want more of ball sports in teams, while girls value dance to a far greater degree.
However, there is little interest among students for gender-separate education.
Teachers are very oriented towards content and not much oriented towards pedagogy in the
subject. In other words, ways of working and ways of teach, get little attention.
Teachers feel that Physical education is a good ground for learning in other subjects, a
conscious means of recreation during the school day. As an arena of bringing up the
objectives, content and use of other subjects, much is left undone. Teachers mean that the
common and general objectives in the formal curriculum are less important for their teaching,
but that they emphasize objectives for the different grades. One of the objectives of the
subject is that students should work with issues like body functions, sound food and life style
diseases. A majority of teachers disagree that students should work with ”theoretical” issues
of this kind in the subject.
The evaluation discloses a huge need of further education of teachers in the subject, especially
in dance and outdoor adventure activities. The Norwegian researchers maintain that the low
formal educational level of teachers teaching in the subject, contribute to a ”hidden
curriculum”, affecting practice in Physical education to a large extent. However, these
components have contributed to a somewhat greater teacher co-operation within the subject,
and also between subjects. Furthermore, the researchers claim that the number of hours for the
subject in the time-table is too small that the students can get an education in accordance with
the objectives of the national curriculum.
In Norway as well as in Sweden, the subject Physical Education stands out as being the only
subject where boys get higher final marks than girls. Furthermore, differences in marks
depending on parental level of education, are far smaller than in other school subjects37.
Home and consumer studies
Sweden, NU-03: The results in home and consumer studies are only partly comparable with
those of 1992. Since 1992 the subject has put greater emphasis on consumer issues, and in this
respect goal attainment based on statements from students is assessed as good; three-quarters
of the students consider that they have learned to become more aware and critical in their
choices and standpoints. This picture is also strengthened by the results from the “problemsolving test” in year 5, where a clear improvement can be seen between 1998 and 2003 in
students’ ability to critically examine and evaluate statements and relationships in a consumer
context38. Also the ability of students to work together in groups is trained in the subject and
this is assessed as being very good. On the other hand, the subject of home and consumer
37
38
Hægeland (2005), working paper, not published
Choice between ecologically cultivated and “ordinary” bananas
17
studies continues to show shortcomings in terms of the goal of gender equality, not only in
terms of the distribution of work in the group – this hasn’t changed since 1992 – but also the
priority given by teachers to the gender equality perspective. Gender differences in both
performance and marks are very great, to the advantage of girls. The subject is considered by
many students and parents to be relatively important and useful – compared with science
studies – art, music and crafts. One difficulty, however, is the lack of student influence, which
can be connected to the continuing use of traditional forms of teaching, instruction followed
by work in a group. The lack of student influence also stands in sharp contrast to students’
explicit interest in current issues concerning health, food and consumption.
The Norwegian Marking Statistics on the Practical and Artistic
Subjects
There are considerable differences between subjects in final marks in Norwegian compulsory
school. In table 3 Norwegian language is compared with the marking level in the practical and
artistic subjects. The differences in marks in grade ten i Norwegian compulsory school do not
necessarily reflect that students perform better in some subjects than others, but rather that
there are different traditions of assessment in different subjects, and also between written and
oral subjects including subjects which are based on other modes of expression. The oral
subjects – which in Norwegian terminology include the practical and artistic subjects - have a
higher level of marking than the written ones. The highest mean marks are found in Physical
Education, Music, Home Economics and Art and Crafts. In these subjects, no form of external
– neither oral nor written – external assessment exists.
Table 3
Mean marks for student’s class work in the aesthetic subjects and in the
subject Norwegian language in 2002 – 2004. Graduates lower secondary
schools 2002 – 2004. Scale 1 - 6.
Subjects
Norwegian Language
Physical Education
Music
Home Economics
Art and Crafts
2002
2003
2004
3,8
4,3
4,1
4,3
4,2
3,8
4,3
4,2
4,3
4,2
3,8
4,4
4,2
4,4
4,2
18
As is seen in Figure 1, marks in the practical and artistic subjects in Norway consistently are
on a high level, where almost only the upper parts of the marking scale are used.
45
40
35
30
Norwegian Language
25
Physical Education
Music
Home Economics
20
Art and Crafts
15
10
5
0
2
1
Figure 1
3
4
5
6
Graduates from lower secondary schools (grade ten) by marks awarded
for class work in the aesthetic subjects and in the subject Norwegian
language 2004. Scale 1 - 6.
Girls get better marks than boys in all subjects in all subjects at the end of compulsory school,
with the exception of Physical Education. This pattern is exactly the same in Norway and
Sweden.
Table 4
Mean marks for boys and girls class work in the aesthetic subjects and in
the subject Norwegian language in 2004. Graduates lower secondary
schools 2004. Scale 1 - 6.
Subjects
Norwegian Language
Physical Education
Music
Home Economics
Art and Crafts
Boys
Girls
3,6
4,5
4,0
4,1
4,0
4,2
4,2
4,4
4,7
4,5
19
A summary of important findings concerning the practical and
artistic subjects
The following summary of important findings concerning the practical and artistic school
subjects are very much based on the findings from the Swedish evaluations from 2003, and in
some cases, 1998. Where the Norwegian findings support or deviate from the Swedish
conclusions, this is especially commented upon. Generally, it can be said that central and
common findings from the evaluation of these subjects concern their important function in
students´ life at school; difficulties in introducing new aspects (such as digital communication
or health issues) in hugely traditional forms of teaching; increasing differences in
performances between girls and boys; and severe problems of equivalence in assessing and
the marking of students´ achievements. The findings from NU-03 and US-98 concerning these
subjects could be summarized in the following seven points.
Students’ skills in being aware and critical when making choices, critically examining and
assessing statements and conditions, and co-operating, are good. Consumer awareness can be
regarded as high. Also, students show in practical situations (home and consumer studies) and
in group tasks (the problem-solving tests) good or very good skills in co-operation. The
Norwegian evaluation of Physical education confirms that this subject also is one of school’s
few arenas for developing student co-operative ability – although the researchers claim that
this objective is not sufficiently achieved.
The practical and aesthetically oriented subjects are for many students both interesting and a
source of enjoyment. This is confirmed in both the Swedish and Norwegian evaluations. A
large proportion of students would also like to spend more hours on these subjects. Especially
he subjects of physical education and health, and home and consumer studies are valued
relatively highly by both students and parents – they are seen as more useful ad valuable than
i.e. the scientific subjects’ biology, physics and chemistry.
Changes in or more detailed goal descriptions have had insufficient impact in a number of the
practical and aesthetically oriented subjects (gender equality in home and consumer studies;
communication activities in art; health aspects in physical education and health;
Reflecting on work processes and what they produce in crafts). The reformed Swedish
syllabuses of 2000 lay down additional knowledge goals, which aim at incorporating the
changes that have taken place in the surrounding world such as new technology, changes in
social patterns and living conditions etc. Aspects such as gender equality, drugs, body culture
and consumption, manipulation of digital graphics, modern music genres etc are all examples
of this. The evaluation results do indicate that such elements in teaching in the practical and
aesthetically oriented subjects, namely art, home and consumer studies, physical education
and health, music and crafts are given lower priority. This holds for the Norwegian findings as
well, according to which elements such as film, media, design and ICT in Arts and Crafts, and
open-air activities, dance, sound food and life style issues in Physical Education, are given
20
considerably lower priority by the teachers. The overall results of both Swedish and
Norwegian evaluations thus provide reasons for discussing the practical and aesthetically
oriented subjects’ capacity to identify and impart knowledge to students in line with the most
recent syllabuses and with overall developments in society. If we look at how these subjects
have been incorporated in teaching, the question must be put as to whether they have kept up
with the times. This evaluation indicates that a deeper discussion is needed on how the
national goals in the steering documents for the practical and aesthetically oriented subjects
can be transformed into concrete teaching.
The problems of assessing and awarding marks in the practical and aesthetically oriented
subjects are large, and equivalence in this respect is unsatisfactory. A significant proportion of
Swedish students consider they have not been informed about the goals of the teaching and
what the requirements are for different grades. The Swedish findings of the evaluation show
that close to 30 percent of the students state that they do not have any discussion with the
teacher about how they are progressing in the practical and aesthetically oriented subjects and
that in these subjects there are shortcomings in the extent to which the contents of the
syllabuses are clarified for students, indicates a communication problem concerning
assessment which can have an impact on the legal rights of students. In Home and consumer
studies, as well as in Physical education and health, approximately only one out of every four
students says that teachers do not give them a fair mark. Without a dialogue on student
performance, there is a risk that students have an incorrect view of how they have developed
and how they can make further progress in the subject. The Norwegian marking statistics
show that there is a very skewed distribution and little discrimination in the marks that
students get, which also can be seen as an indication of severe assessment problems.
Altogether, these findings must be considered as alarming.
The evidence on the impact of social background on achievements in the practical and artistic
subject is somewhat contradictory. One the one hand, the impact of the student's socioeconomic background seems to add to the above-mentioned indications of injustice in
assessment and marking in these subjects: In Physical education and health, students who
practice sports very much in their free time attain higher marks than those who do not, and in
Music students who play an instrument or participate in choral activities get higher marks. In
both cases, this holds for both boys and girls. At the same time the occurrence of recreational
activities of this kind are in many cases related to socio-economic background. Thus, the
Swedish evaluation of the subjects of Music and Physical education and health, show that
students with good cultural and educational resources at home have a great advantage in terms
of obtaining a higher mark, compared with students who have fewer of these resources. At the
same time, the Swedish study on visual creativity in Art from 1998, indicates that the skill of
expressing oneself in ”alternative” ways, such as images, music or crafting, are skills that both
are possible for schools to develop, and that these skills are not connected to the traditional
social class boundaries of society. The empirical evidence from Sweden is somewhat weak on
this issue, but the Norwegian statistical evidence on marks in the subjects Arts and Crafts and
21
Physical Education confirms the tendency. This is a very positive signal, since social
background normally is highly connected to good achievements in “traditional” ways of
expressing oneself, in words or in writing. Furthermore, the Swedish youth researcher Johan
Fornäs39 has studied the learning processes that take place in Music and young people playing
rock bands. Fornäs et. al. has identified complex learning processes, both in areas that
normally are highly prioritized in school – such as administrative and cognitive skills – but
also other kinds of competencies, such as the development of common social norms and
values, a reflexive self-knowledge, and expressivity. Thus, the practical and artistic subjects
therefore can have an important role – or at least a great potential - within the area of social
equity.
The findings indicate that at least some practical and artistic school subjects may have special
problems in terms of teaching quality and teacher quality, as perceived by the students
themselves, but also in terms of formal teacher education. The Swedish evaluation shows that
while students provide an overwhelmingly bright picture of how they experience their
teachers and teaching, these figures are considerably lower for the subjects of Home and
consumer studies, Art and Music – but to some extent also for Physics, Chemistry and
Mathematics. This concerns the students´ judgments of how well the teacher teaches, whether
they (the students) receive the help they need, and to what extent that teachers have time when
they (the students) are wondering about something in the subject. The Norwegian studies
show that the subject of Physical Education and health suffers from huge problems in formal
teacher competence.
In all the subjects of the compulsory school, girls, with the exception of physical education
and health, get higher marks than boys – the practical and artistic subjects are more or less
outstanding when it comes to reinforcing these differences: In Sweden, Home and Consumer
studies and Art are the two school subjects which have got the largest – and steadily
increasing – differences in marks and appear as true “girlish” subjects, while Physical
education and health is the one and only typical “boyish” subject. An interesting observation
comes from the evaluation of Craft: In Textile Crafts in Sweden, which is chosen by 85 per
cent of girl students and where 85 per cent of the teachers are female, the marks are
considerably higher than in Woodwork and Metal Crafts, which is chosen by 85 per cent of
boy students and where 85 per cent of the teachers are male. This might – or might not –
indicate that the gender of the teacher in the practical and artistic subject might contribute to
the equity in marking between boys and girls that can be observed, and that seems to be
especially evident in these subjects in Sweden.
39
Fornäs et.al. (1989)
22
Concluding remarks - the structure of school subjects in future
compulsory school and in future teacher education
From the afore-mentioned discussion and findings, we think that there needs to be a
discussion on the role and structure of various subjects and their role in future school
education. Not least, this concerns the role, function and status of the practical and artistic
school subjects. Even though the mission of the school in terms of providing knowledge is
organised on the basis of traditional school subjects, it is not self-evident that either the
content of the subject - or activities in the school - must be organised in a traditional way.
There may be other more modern and relevant ways of organising learning than the traditional
division into subjects. More subjects such as e.g. art, music, crafts and language share an
emphasis on communicative aspects. Other subjects, not just social and science studies, have
an orienting function such as literature (in Swedish), music and art. Different subjects focus in
different ways on ethical issues and fundamental values, examples of this are religious
studies, history, home and consumer studies, and also physical education and health. Some
subjects are characterised by complicated and for many students difficult concepts and
relationships, e.g. music, chemistry, physics and mathematics; these concepts and
relationships might perhaps be more understandable if, for instance, they are linked to current
global questions and social phenomena, or consumer issues of importance for students. Yet
another interdisciplinary dimension could be that the compulsory school gives clear and
legitimate expression for forms of expression that are action oriented or based on the senses,
as happens most frequently in subjects such as crafts, music, art, home and consumer studies,
and physical education and health.
23
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