Chapter 12. Education

This is an excerpt from the Worktrotter's Guide to Denmark.
 

This chapter will help you with issues regarding kindergartens and schools. And while we are on the topic of “education”, we’ll also cover education for adults.

12.1 Kindergartens and schools

Children in Denmark are offered child care from the age of six months. At this point most children start attending a nursery. From the age of about three they go to a kindergarten and from the age of about six they go to school. For all age groups there are possibilities for child care during business hours which gives both parents the possibility to work full time.

Note: Those waiting for their CPR number and who therefore cannot enrol their children in the public day care facilities or schools will notice that due to the missing demand (all Danish children are either at nurseries, in kindergarten or at school), hardly any recreational activities are offered for children during working hours on weekdays. But there are ample possibilities to visit museums and other interesting places focussing on children. See Section 17.2.

The following sections will first outline the options offered by the Danish child care and school system, then international schools, and finally offer some words of advice to those who are still unsure about what to choose. You will also find brief information about the schools run by the German minority in the south of Denmark.
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Excerpt published also in the Copenhagen Post

What speaks in favour of Danish schools?
- Danish schools may promote other skills than those from your own school system. Children learn more freely and without pressure. There is an emphasis on creativity, perception, learning through experimentation, independence, autonomy, assertiveness, etc.
- Children learn to speak Danish fluently, they integrate into the Danish school system, they are in contact with Danish culture, and they learn the Danish mentality. For you, as parents, this might make your own integration easier.
- In the classes, there is greater stability than in international schools where the class composition is constantly subject to change.
- The school costs are considerably lower than at international schools. You only pay for the after-school care.

What speaks for international schools?
- The school system may resemble that of your country of origin more closely making the adjustment phase shorter.
- The children are in a language environment that is familiar to them from either home or from other countries your Worktrotter path has taken you to.
- If you plan to return to your country of origin, the transition might be easier if the child arrives from an international school rather than a Danish one.
- Children and parents alike will find it easier to make contacts in an international community. Moreover, it is easier for parents to engage in parents’ evenings and parent-teacher conferences, etc.
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Contents of Chapter 12. Education
12.1 Kindergartens and schools
12.1.1 The Danish system
12.1.2 Foreign children in the Danish system
12.1.3 International schools
12.1.4 Danish or international?
12.1.5 German minority schools
12.1.6 Holidays
12.2 Financial aspects
12.3 Adult education
12.4 Marks in the Danish school system

Find more details and all you need to know about the Danish education system in the full version of the
Worktrotter‘s Guide to Denmark.

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