Eurydice

The Norwegian Committee on Skill Needs (Kompetansebehovsutvalget) is appointed by the Norwegian Government to analyse Norway's future competence requirements. In June 2023, the committee released a report report that delves into the challenges and opportunities of the country's green transition, and the corresponding skills needed to navigate this shift.

The Danish government has presented a green paper on a reform of the primary and lower secondary education. The purpose of the reform is to strengthen and free the primary and lower secondary school (Folkeskolen) from a number of requirements and regulations. Based on the green paper, the Minister for Children and Education will enter a dialogue with practitioners, stakeholders and political parties. The first negotiations about the reform are expected to take place early next year. 

The green paper focuses on five major areas: 

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education is continuously working towards enhancing the consistency and strength of various forms of direct social support for students. A range of measures adopted in the 2022-2023 academic year allowed to expand the number of beneficiaries, increase scholarships, and introduce new support options for displaced students. 

Students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds face significant underrepresentation in both the overall higher education system, as well as in the most competitive study programs within higher education.  

The reform of the initial education and qualifying system of secondary teachers defines the organisation and contents of the programmes aimed at the acquisition of compulsory 60 ECTS required to obtain the teaching qualification. 

In fact, consecutive or concurrent with an ISCED 7 programme in one of the subjects taught at school, the initial education for secondary teachers consists of: 

Now, almost all schools provide education to pupils with special educational needs. Approved in May and effective from September 2023, the amendment to the school law introduced a catalogue of support measures which represents a huge step forward in inclusive education. From 2026, the provision of support measures will be nationwide and will concern all schools and school facilities. 

The Swedish government has decided on an expanded assignment to the ongoing Vocational Development Inquiry. The task is to propose the introduction of a new form of vocational training at upper secondary level, to strengthen the connection between education for adults and working life. The assignment is to be reported on by February 2024. 

In 2023, Croatia started the most substantial revamping of its primary education system in the past thirty years. The project – bearing the name Whole-Day School - will be implemented in the first phase as a four-year pilot project in 62 schools. During its pilot stage, all programmes, elements and activities will be prepared, implemented and externally evaluated. The full implementation of the project is envisaged for the 2027/2028 school year. 

Challenges faced 

For the 2023-2024 school year, the Portuguese Ministry of Education is moving forward with a first set of measures to reduce and simplify school procedures, methodologies and administrative processes.  

The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research has appointed an expert group to investigate how digital learning analytics can be utilised for improving the learning processes. Digital learning analytics is about using digital technology to sort, analyse and interpret data on learning and pupils’/students’ activities to gain new insights.