School Stress in Denmark
Many Americans consider Denmark to have a highly developed education system. It’s regarded to yield successful students without the “school stress” that’s common among students of other countries. Denmark tested above average in The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s research in all three categories: math, reading, and science. They’re also ranked among the top in the world in terms of happiness. An interview with Danish students from Tietgen Business School gives further insight into the student experience in Denmark.
The school system is completely free, from the lowest level, all the way up to college education. In Denmark, the majority of children begin in Preschool, while it’s not required. This is followed by the compulsory Primary and Lower Secondary School. Generally students study in these levels from age 6 to 16. Next, there is the optional Upper Secondary School, which can take many forms depending on the student. This is a vocational program, in which students study a specific trade for a varying number of years, based upon which degree a student wants to gain. The age group attending Upper Secondary School is 15 to 21 years. Other countries call this level College or University.
Students from Upper Secondary School shared their experiences throughout their time in Denmark’s school system. One concern they never mentioned was worrying about paying for their education. All education is free, paid for through taxes. In fact, most students are actually paid by the government to attend Upper Secondary School.
While paying for school isn’t an issue, the majority of students work at least one job, some work two. The students reported that they didn’t find it difficult to balance employment with learning. This led to the question of workload. Balancing family, friends, work, sports, and fun activities with homework can prove difficult for students worldwide. It was certainly something these Danish students had to work to balance, but a law actually helped them. They were referring to a law in Denmark that limits the amount of time students can spend on school work outside of class to 10 hours a week.
By Ashton Gerlach
Regardless of the limited workload and free school, there are still expectations and pressure put upon students. When asked about school stress, a Tietgen student, Oliver, simply said, “It’s normal.” Joanne, an 18 year old student said, “Expectations are more personal… It depends on how much you want to put into your work. Most students put a lot of hard work into school. Still, society does put pressure on students to go to University or higher education.” Their application process to higher education includes a heavy emphasis on grades. If a student’s grades don’t meet the required point, they can take a test to be considered for the school. The schools are fairly competitive, making good grades a priority.
Oliver said that during “the transition from lower school, there’s a lot of focus on learning and acquiring more knowledge. Then, when you start 9th grade, it’s all about passing the exam so you can go to high school.” That’s the one thing all students interviewed to agreed on: If they could change one thing, it’d be that there’s “too much focus on getting a specific grade.”
The importance placed on grades is a growing problem, as it’s causing Danish students stress. How this issue should be addressed, is a question the students struggled with. When the Charger asked Joanna this, she said, “That’s a tough question. I think the students can always, to a certain degree, help each other.” At Tietgen, the student community is very strong. They feel a responsibility to care for those they study alongside. If a student seems overwhelmed, others can help them. There are school sponsored activities like parties and sports events that encourage a sense of community.
Oliver thought it was more of a societal issue, saying, “If you want to change the pressure on students, you’d have to change the whole system” and “It’s hard to change that way of thinking.” At the end of our conversation, these students decided society as a whole was making their stress high. It is a societal norm in Denmark to have high expectations of children in the educational system. Those interviewed didn’t know exactly how to change this in order to make student’s experiences better. They hope with help from their school and the spread of awareness, stress of students will be relieved.
Despite advances in education, student stress is still a problem in Denmark.
Students hard at work. Image courtesy of Pexels. Covered by license CC0. No attribution required.
Student completing school work. Image courtesy of Pexels. Covered by license CC0. No attribution required.
"Society does put pressure on students," said Oliver, a Tietgen student.
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The Charger, December 2017
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