post secondary education dansk

Lifelong education

From daycare to primary schools: an emphasis on social skills.

Danish children begin public daycare as early as 9 months, and by age 3 98 % of children in Denmark are attending public kindergartens. Staffed by professionals with training in early childhood education, these institutions teach basic academic concepts like letters and numbers, as well as social rules like taking turns and helping others. Most of the day is spent on "free play" and activities outdoors. 

At age 6, Danish children begin their formal schooling. The educational approach in Denmark avoids class rankings and formal tests; instead, children work in groups and are taught to challenge the established way of doing things. Teachers are called by their first names. The emphasis is on problem-solving, not memorisation.

All children in Denmark have access to tuition-free government folkeskole  (people's school) until they are 16 years old. Some parents choose private schools because they are smaller, or because they have a particular educational approach.

Others choose private schools for religious reasons: Denmark is home to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim schools. English-language international schools and French and German-language schools are also available on a paid-for basis. All schools are required to follow the national government's basic requirements for primary education. 

Choosing a secondary education: Academic or trade school?

Near the end of their time in primary school, Danish children take a nationwide test to help them choose the next step in their education.

Pupils with strong academic abilities often select a gymnasium for their secondary education, where they can focus on languages, sciences, math or similar subjects to prepare them for university.

More practically-oriented pupils often prefer a trade school that can train them in high-paying skills like metalworking, electrical technology, or mechanics, or a business school where they can learn about accounting or software development.

Other pupils delay the decision for a year, choosing an efterskole  (after school) where they live away from home and study topics of interest like theatre or sports alongside their academic requirements.

Universities and "getting paid to go to school"

Once they have completed their secondary education, Danes can choose from a variety of tertiary options, including a standard university that grants bachelors, masters', and PhD degrees; a university college that awards bachelors degrees in hands-on subjects such as social work; or a public arts and architecture academy, like The Royal Academy of Music. 

Full-time students in Denmark are eligible for  Statens Uddannelsestøtte , or SU (limited income support) from the government alongside other work they do to help pay their expenses while studying. It is common for Danes to begin working in their future job roles while they are still in the process of education, either as a paid praktikant  (intern) or apprentice.

Did you know

Denmark has eight universities, nine art and performance institutions including the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and eight university colleges that award professional bachelor degrees in areas like nursing. That is pretty impressive for a country with only 5.7 million people!

Lifelong learning for fun and profit

Education in Denmark does not stop with graduation; at any given time, one out of three Danish adults age 25-64 is taking some kind of continuing education course. 

Many Danish workplaces pay for their employees' additional training, and there are also public and private providers of classes that help build business and professional skills. Unemployed people in Denmark are often required to take courses that will prepare them to return to the job market.

Denmark's public and private investment in the development of new qualifications and skills is one of the highest in Europe. The idea is to maintain a highly-qualified and well-educated workforce that can succeed in a global knowledge economy. Of course, not all education is for professional reasons. Many adults in Denmark take classes in cooking, painting, foreign languages, music, or dance just for fun. A lot of these classes are publicly funded and offered for a minimal fee.  

"Folk high schools": A fundamental part of Danish culture

Adult education is nothing new in Denmark: since 1844, folkehøjskoler or højskoler (folk high schools) around Denmark have helped ordinary people develop the skills they needed to thrive as citizens.

The schools were inspired by the influential Danish educational leader Niels Grundtvig (1783-1872), who believed that offering higher education to rural people was as important as cultivating the urban intellectual elite. Grundtvig's ideas were widely copied in other Scandinavian countries.

These days, there are 70 højskoler around Denmark, many specialising in subjects like film, design, sports, theatre, and politics.  The schools are voluntary and require no grades or exams. Many offer "live-in courses" for a week or more, and while they are not tuition-free, prices are low and the cost of attending includes room and board.

Read more about the Danish højskoler.

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Secondary education in Denmark

After elementary school, most young people in Denmark take either an upper secondary (high school) education (72%) or a vocational education (20%).

High school in Denmark

In Denmark, there are four different types of high school education. Common to them all is that they are preparatory for further study – i.e. a secondary school diploma allows the student to apply for admission to a programme of higher education. You can read more at Uddannelsesguiden (The Education Guide).

STX is a programme of general education with subjects within the disciplines of the humanities, science and social science. The requirement for admission is a passed 9th grade final examination. The programme lasts three years, and consists of a six-month basic course and a 2½-year study programme.

The HHX programme emphasises mercantile, internationally-oriented and business-oriented educational perspectives. The requirement for admission is a passed 9th grade final examination. The programme lasts three years, and consists of a six-month basic course and a 2½-year study programme.

The HTX programme emphasises technological, scientific and business-oriented educational perspectives. The admission requirement is a passed 9th grade final examination, and the programme lasts three years, consisting of a six-month basic course and a 2½-year study programme.

HF is a general secondary school-level programme that is vocationally and practically oriented. The programme is aimed at providing admission to the vocational colleges and the professional bachelor study programmes. A HF examination with an extended subject package also provides access to the university Bachelor programmes. The requirement for admission is a passed 10th grade final examination. The programme lasts two years, and includes both a number of compulsory subjects and some specialised subject packages on specific themes such as health, environment, pedagogy or economics.

There are a number of international secondary schools in Denmark. An international private secondary school is a programme of secondary school education aimed at students who wish to take an international examination. The international examination in question, such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), must also provide access to programmes of higher education in Denmark. A number of state secondary schools also offer IB.

If you are from another Nordic country and wish to take an upper secondary school programme in Denmark

The Nordic countries have entered into a mutual agreement that provides young people in the Nordic countries with access to secondary (high school) education in all of the Nordic countries on a par with the citizens of their own countries. This means that you can usually obtain admission to a Danish secondary school if you have completed primary school in another Nordic country.  

Vocational programmes in Denmark (EUD and EUX)

A vocational programme is a practical educational programme in which a large part of the teaching takes place at an internship venue, such as a large industrial company, a workshop, a kitchen or a shop.

The programme alternates between school classes and periods of practical work experience, and usually consists of a basic course and a main course. You can choose from 105 programmes with more than 300 stages or specialisations. You can take a vocational programme directly after elementary school, or later, depending on your age and background. Once you have completed a vocational programme, you will be qualified for employment as a skilled worker.

You can take an EUX programme together with the vocational programme. This gives you the same opportunities for admission to higher education as a secondary school examination.

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Most Educated Countries 2024

Most countries' education systems align with the International Standard Classification of Education, facilitating comparison of educational achievements across nations.

Canada, with 56.27% of its population aged 25 to 64 having completed tertiary education, ranks as the most educated country according to OECD 2018 data.

Comparative analysis by age shows varying trends in education support among countries, with South Korea leading in tertiary education completion among 25-34 year-olds.

One of the most telling (and important) measures of a nation's development is its education system. In developed nations, educational opportunities are plentiful and affordable, and most adults are literate and have at least a basic high school education. These countries have a high chance of ranking among the smartest countries in the world. By comparison, in still-developing nations , literacy rates and the number of people who have completed high school both tend to be lower. Underdeveloped and least developed nations typically have the lowest literacy rates and offer the lowest quality educational programs—in fact, many people in these nations may not have access to education at all.

Education levels explained

While each country has its own educational system, most conform to the International Standard Classification of Education scale , which makes it possible to compare various countries' educational systems to one another. A country’s education levels are usually broken down into three tiers: below upper secondary (preschool up to high school), upper secondary (high school), and tertiary (college/university onward).

Below upper secondary education covers three phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale, starting with preschool and ending around the time the student has undergone roughly 6-8 years of primary classroom instruction (sixth to eighth grade in the U.S. system). Upper secondary education comes next and introduces more subjects as well as courses that can prepare the student for vocational education or tertiary education. Some degree of secondary education is compulsory in most countries. The path then splits, with some students entering the workforce and others moving on to vocational training (trade schools) or other tertiary (higher) education such as certificate programs, degree programs (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate).

Which countries are the most educated countries in the world?

According to a 2017 UNESCO report, the number of students worldwide attending higher education institutions increased from 100 million in 2000 to 207 million in 2014. But which countries are the most educated? This is not as easy a question to answer as one might hope, because "most educated" is an imprecise term. For example, which would be considered more educated: A country in which 50% of the residents have completed secondary education and 25% have attained a tertiary degree, or one in which 100% of residents have completed secondary education but none have a tertiary degree?

Despite the vagueness of the concept, multiple surveys and studies have done their best to determine which countries have the most-educated population. One of the most highly regarded analyses comes from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , or OECD, which released its list of the world’s most educated countries in 2018.

The Top 10 Most-Educated Countries

The OECD list compares the percentage of each country's residents ages 25 to 64 who have completed some form of tertiary education: a two-year or four-year degree or a vocational program. Based on the OECD's data, Canada is the most educated country globally, with 56.71% of adults meeting the OECD criteria. Japan has the second-highest percentage of 51.44%, followed by Israel with 50.92%. However, it's worth noting that this list compared only the 43 countries that are members or partners of the OECD, leaving out roughly 150 countries that happen to not belong to the OCED. =Also of note is the fact that these rankings change if the data are divided by age range. For example, compare the percentages for 55-64-year-olds in the tables below with the percentages for 25-34-year-olds. Comparisons such as these offer a glimpse into which countries are increasing support for education and which may be doing less.

Percentage of Citizens Who Have Completed Tertiary Education (by Generation) - OECD 2021

The importance of education.

According to the Global Partnership for Education , education plays a crucial role in human, social, and economic development. Education can promote gender equality, reduce child marriage, promote peace, and increase a person’s chances of having a healthy life. The Global Partnership for Education considers education to be a human right, one that grants every person more opportunities in life, such as employment opportunities, better health, and the ability to participate in the political process.

Below is a table of each country’s percentage of people completing tertiary education, upper secondary education, and below upper secondary education, based upon 2021 OECD data.

• According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), education levels are as follows:
• Tertiary education is commonly referred to as college or university, but can also refer to trade schools.
• Upper secondary education is commonly referred to as high school.
• Levels below upper secondary are typically comprised of lower secondary/junior high or middle school, primary/grade school, and early childhood education/preschool.

Download Table Data

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Who is the most educated country in the world?

Based on OECD criteria, Canada is the most-educated country in the world. 56.71% of the country's adults meet the criteria put in place by the OECD.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Table A1.2. Trends in educational attainment of 25-34 year-olds, by gender (2011 and 2021) (page 46) - Education at a Glance 2022 (OECD)
• Population with tertiary education - OECD Data
• Adult education level - OECD
• The 10 most educated countries in the world - CNBC

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Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award [MA000075]

Who the educational services (post-secondary) award covers.

The Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award covers employers in the post-secondary educational services industry and their employees who fit within the classifications of the award. 

The post-secondary educational services industry means education and training provided to people over 16 years old who have exited the school education system. This includes:

• vocational education and training (VET) teaching that leads to qualifications recognised within the Australia Qualifications Framework (AQF)
• English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) teaching
• Languages Other Than English (LOTE) teaching
• English language, literacy and numeracy teaching and migrant educational programmes
• community and adult educational teaching that doesn’t lead to AQF recognised  qualifications
• undergraduate and postgraduate teaching that leads to an accredited degree or, to other higher education qualifications, that is not taught in an approved university
• foundation studies programmes or bridging course teaching where the programme or course is preparatory to or articulates with programmes of teaching leading to higher education qualifications recognised within the AQF
• employees of any student unions established for students in any of the above post-secondary educational services.

Examples of employees covered by the Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award include:

• academic teachers
• tutors and instructors
• administrative staff
• technical staff

who work in the education and training providers mentioned above.

The Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award also covers labour hire businesses and their employees who are placed with an organisation in the post-secondary educational services industry.

Check the award for full information on who is covered and the classification descriptions.

Source reference: Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award [MA000075] clauses 2, 4, and schedule A, schedule B, schedule C . 

Who the Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award doesn’t cover    

The following are examples of employers and employees who are not covered by the Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award:

• secondary schools
• maintenance staff
• cleaning staff
• teachers / professors and general staff at universities.

The Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award doesn’t cover employers and employees when they are covered by one of the following awards:

• Higher Education Academics Award
• Higher Education General Staff Award.

Check the award for full information on coverage and classifications.

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If your industry or work isn’t covered above, you can also check:

• Higher Education Academics Award summary
• Higher Education General Staff Award summary
• Teachers Award summary .

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• Download the Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award [MA000075] Pay Guide (DOCX) | (PDF) for a summary of pay rates, all allowances and common penalties in this award.

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Armenia: Transformational Peculiarities of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Higher Education System

• Open Access
• First Online: 25 April 2018

Cite this chapter

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• Susanna Karakhanyan 8  

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Global Higher Education ((PSGHE))

12 Citations

The chapter explores the nature of higher education in post-Soviet Armenia given the factors prevailing in the system—historical, political, socio-economic and international. Of particular interest is the exploration of the higher education system structure reflected by social needs, economic demands and political goals. Supported by a holistic theoretical framework underpinning three angles of analysis—horizontal and vertical diversity, external diversity as well as the organisational interrelationships—the analysis endeavours to reveal the driving forces that shaped post-Soviet Armenian higher education, the inter-influence that occurred as a result of changes taking place at the macro and micro levels of the higher education system as well as the impact of those changes on the performance of the Armenian HE in general. The results of the analysis are two-fold. First, throughout the decades the Armenian higher education has made major strides and evolved from a uniform into a diverse system responding and accommodating the diverse needs of the society. Second, albeit the strong desire and much investment in the system through a diversity of channels to make the system internationally visible, still more investments are to be made to achieve the desirable goal of international visibility while facing the challenges related to the Soviet legacy, current policymaking and implementation methodology, in particular.

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Introduction.

Schools of higher learning were initiated in Armenia as early as the ninth century and one of the first schools was Tatev Academy. From the thirteenth through the fifteenth century, the fame of some schools spread beyond the borders of the country. This included the University of Gladzor, which celebrated its 700th anniversary in 1980 under the aegis of UNESCO ( 2000 ). Historically, schools of higher learning were located in churches. Strict management rules were applied as early as the thirteenth century to ensure adequate qualifications for teachers and admission of the best students. In medieval Armenia, schools of higher learning had already begun conferring the scientific degrees of “Archimandrite” and “Rabbi” upon successful completion of oral and written examinations, and thesis defence (ibid).

Armenian schools of higher learning saw a major expansion between the eighteenth and nineteenth century to various worldwide locations such as Venice (Mkhitarian College), India (Calcutta College), Moscow (Lazarian Seminary), Tiflis (Nersisian School), Echmiadzin (Gevorkian Seminary), Madras and Rostov (ibid).

In 1920, schools were separated from the church and the whole system of education became state-owned. As elsewhere in the Soviet republics, primary, secondary and tertiary education was free, and tertiary education was elite in both social and intellectual dimensions. Considering that education has always been a central value of Armenian culture, the country enjoyed a 100 % literacy rate as early as 1960 (Suny 1996 , 36).

With the fall of the Soviet Union (SU) in 1991 and the sudden cessation of Soviet standards and rules, the first years of Armenia’s independence were marked by a vacuum in education and culture. The abrupt absence of a dominating power created social and political confusion, thus filling the vacuum with the standards of a new and more powerful country (Terzian 2010 ) mainly influenced by educational policies from Anglophone and Anglo-centric systems. In the early 1990s, Armenia made substantial changes to a centralised and regimented system that evolved with advantages and disadvantages.

The aim of this chapter is to explore the HE landscape in Armenia before and after the fall of the Soviet regime and the respective transformations reflected by social needs, economic demands and political goals. In particular, we will look at the Soviet model of institutional diversity in Armenia, followed by the main drivers of transformation after the fall of the Soviet regime and the factors that stimulated or impeded institutional differentiation (van Vught 2007 ). The chapter will culminate in a presentation of the current institutional landscape and the contextual factors affecting it.

The Soviet Model of Institutional Diversity in Armenia

Armenia became part of the SU in December 1923. Consequently, at the start of the twentieth century, the whole concept and ideology of education radically changed to become permeated with one idea: the collective self, which became more important than the individual self (Sarafian 1930 ). By becoming part of the SU, the higher education (HE) system in Armenia witnessed a cessation of the ecclesiastical era and the beginning of horizontal differentiation with the emergence of professionally oriented schools, new professionally oriented institutes, universities and art schools to serve societal needs (Sarafian 1930 ). The only university from the Soviet era in Armenia, the National University of Armenia, was renamed Yerevan State University (YSU) in 1922. It was founded in 1919 by Ministerial decree and was established based on a rich history of higher learning preserved by the church; it “renewed the ancient traditions of Armenian scholarship in language and history that during 600 years of foreign occupation had flourished only among the diaspora abroad” (NAS 2004 , 11).

From the 1920s to the fall of the Soviet regime, the system evolved in line with Communist Party (CP) directives, socialist and communist ideology and the demands of the industrialisation agenda. Higher education institutions (HEIs) in that period were purely public and free of charge. As early as at the beginning of the 1920s in tandem with the Cultural Revolution reforms that swept the USSR, technical and agricultural schools as well as workers’ universities gradually evolved into new professionally oriented institutes (e.g. in 1922 Armenian State Pedagogic Institute and in 1933 Yerevan Polytechnic Institute).

In 1930, in accordance with the government and on the basis of YSU faculties, independent professionally oriented institutes were established. Among these were the State Medical Institute, the Armenian Construction Institute, and the Yerevan Agriculture Institute. In the 1970s, a major boom in HE enrolment was recorded (Fig. 3.1 ). This could be partly explained by industrialisation policy requiring more educated employees and partly by the full transition from seven-year education to ten-year secondary education as well as massive provision for compulsory secondary education (with consideration of vocational education) for all citizens (Chabe 1971 ).

Number of HEIs with total enrolment figures (in thousands) at the start of selected academic years (Data collected from different sources: UNESCO, HE in the USSR, Monographs on HE edited by L. C. Barrows; Khudaverdyan, K. S, 1960)

Based on a strictly centralised model, the HE system was uniform. In 1988 just before the fall of the Soviet regime, there were 13 HEIs in Soviet Armenia, of which only YSU was qualified as a full university. The others were 11 professionally oriented institutes and 1 conservatorium. The schools of higher learning had a combined student body of 55,700 specialising in 103 professions leading to a 5-year diploma specialist qualification (Table 3.1 ).

During the Soviet regime, Armenia had one of the highest percentages of HE attendees per capita in comparison to other USSR republics, and science was a particularly popular field of study (NAS 2004 ). One major development during Soviet times that drastically affected HEI research capacity was the removal of research from HEIs. It was placed under the Armenian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1935. As a result of this separation, the boundaries between professional and research HEIs gradually blurred, as the only distinction between the HEIs was whether they comprehensively covered a variety of study fields or only one single field. Although the separation strictly served the Soviet agenda of supporting military-industrial complexes, it also resulted in the establishment of a rich tradition in research activities, particularly in physics, and ensured strong government support to promote education in science and engineering in Armenia. The Academy of Sciences became a centre of science and technology research providing support services to the entire SU (NAS 2004 ). Just before the fall of the regime, there were about 36 research institutions within and outside the Academy. In 1940, 11 of the 36 belonged to the Armenian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and directly reported to either federal agencies in Moscow or to local Armenian ministries (Khudaverdyan 1960 ) (NAS 2004 ).

All the HEIs were under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), with respective line ministries for the Medical Institute and the Agriculture Institute. They were state funded and followed the model of curriculum and teaching methods imposed from Moscow. The HE system was unitary with no differentiation between professional and academic programmes/qualifications and a strong bias towards the provision of practical knowledge directly linked with industry (Sarafian 1930 ).

Further, HE system uniformity was spelled out in a centralised and unified approach to HEI governance, since the only directives eligible for implementation came from a higher level, the Central CP in Moscow, and were imposed on HEIs without any right to deviate. In fact, the CP considered education too important to delegate to education professionals, and it was thus the political leaders who designed education policies and steered the respective developments (Chabe 1971 ). One of the negative impacts of such a centralised approach was a decrease in system capacity to develop and innovate. The isolated system gradually turned the HE leaders in Armenia and other Soviet republics into mere implementers with no opportunities to reflect on the imperatives coming from Moscow or question approaches related to content and methodology.

Although paralysed in the sphere of social sciences, the technical and natural sciences proliferated in Armenia. Just before the fall of the SU, Armenia enjoyed a strong body of professionals advancing research in the fields of hydro-energy, nuclear energy, radio-electronics, machinery production, precise machine-making, laser technology, biochemistry, microbiology, and light and heavy textile industry. The number of persons per 10,000 enrolled in Armenian HE was 161, compared to the overall average of 177 for the USSR (UNESCO 1990 ). From every thousand employed people, 192 and 222 had a higher and secondary professional education, respectively (UNESCO 2000 ).

Post-Soviet Transformations

After the dissolution of the SU, Armenia faced challenges related to resurrection of its identity and recovery of its economic, cultural and educational values. The country was in major need of transformation at different levels to ensure its survival and later competitiveness at the international level. The economic crisis and political tensions were priority issues to be dealt with, as they were caused by the radical change in the political system.

Firstly, the country experienced a drastic earthquake in 1988 followed by political tension with neighbouring Azerbaijan over a historically Armenian territory, Mountainous Karabagh. This geared the major investments of the Armenian government from development towards a vision of preserving the national identity and resurrecting rich historical and cultural legacy. Two major trends related to political tension evolved, which eventually had a major impact on the socio-economic development of the country. One was an inflow of refugees from Azerbaijan, and the other was the “brain drain” of Armenian human capacity to countries offering more opportunities for growth. According to CARIM, major social changes resulted from hosting refugees from Azerbaijan and other Soviet republics; there were over 420,000 between 1988 and 1991, with 360,000 from Azerbaijan alone (UNHCR 2004 ; CARIM 2013 ). The trend is still persistent with a refugee inflow from Syria. Further, a major outflow of both citizens and refugees has been registered. The 2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook estimates the number of outflowing people from Armenia to developed countries to be above 13,000. According to the State Migration Authority data as of 2013, about 42,800 people left the country in 2012 without returning. Thus, the two trends have contributed immensely to the existing lag in economic development and consequently reflected in government investment into HE.

While popular during Soviet times, Armenian industry has now declined and the country has experienced a major blow to the economy. Caused by political tension, war and blockades, most industries were closed, which led to rising unemployment and economic paralysis. In addition to economic, political and social issues, the system had to deal with the legacy of several decades of a communist regime that was deeply rooted in all aspects of life and therefore the culture, beliefs and values of Armenia (Kozma and Polonyi 2004 ) (Zelvys 2004 ). Formed throughout the 70 years of the Soviet regime, exceptionally peculiar culture and values made the transformations to the market economy and democracy complicated, leading to distortions in many cases. These factors included Soviet trust vs. Western responsibility, nihilism and negotiation vs. competition, humanity vs. professionalism, truth vs. rules, faith vs. stimulus, “universalism” vs. individualism, spirituality vs. interests and charity vs. justice (Khrushcheva and Benvenuti 2002 ).

In the 2000s, Armenia demonstrated steady economic growth until the global crisis hit the economy. According to the Index of Economic Freedom 2009 , Armenia was ranked the 39th most economically free nation in the world, and as of 2012 it had made a full transfer to the market economy (MoES 2014 ). In 2009, the real GDP rate declined by 14.1 %, followed by a slow recovery, registering a GDP growth of 2.2 % in 2010 and 4.7 % in 2011.

So, what were the changes in the HE arena based on these trends? In tandem with the changes in the political system, changes took place in HE. After the fall of the communist regime, the liberalisation of the country and a move towards a market-driven economy was the apparent trend. The first step was related to the resurrection of the Armenian identity and was registered with curricula emphasising Armenian language, history and culture. The Armenian language became the dominant language of instruction followed by English, although Russian was still widely taught as a foreign language. Because of the political tension, few and fragmented changes were possible in HE in the early 1990s.

As seen from the figure below, the enrolment of students in the HE sector remained unchanged up to 1999. Starting with the 1999–2000 academic year, a move from “elite” HE to mass education became apparent. This trend was also conditioned by the appearance of private sector providers enforced by the Law on Education adopted in 1999. The same cannot be said about vocational education providers (so-called technicums or professional colleges/ uchilishe ). This sector has remained relatively constant since Soviet times (Fig. 3.2 ).

Enrolment in tertiary education institutions in Armenia ( Statistical Yearbook of Armenia : http://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=45&year=2014 )

Massification of HE is explained by several factors: the demand for a more qualified workforce in the market, the growing prestige of HE enrolment over Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the country’s strategic priority of establishing a knowledge economy.

As can be seen from Fig. 3.3 , among the most preferred programmes offered by HEIs predominance is in humanities, education and pedagogy, economics and management, the agro/food sphere, public health and culture and arts. To a lesser extent, programmes in physical-mathematical and natural sciences are also registered as preferred. There has been a steady rise in information technologies throughout the last 6 years, which is a good sign of demand on the HE system by the labour market.

Student enrolment per major (BA level) (Statistical Yearbook of Armenia) : http://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=45&year=2014 )

One of the consequences of the granted freedom in HE provisions is the overabundance of professionals in management and economics, law, humanities and some spheres of engineering. This adds to unemployment to a major extent, taking it from 3.8 % in 2008 to 18.7 % in 2009 and beyond (NSSRA 2014 ).

According to the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia ( 2014 ), only 62.8 % of HE graduates were actually employed in 2013.

Further in terms of employment, the official demand from the labour force (for wage earners) as submitted by employers is steadily growing, while there are fewer and fewer applicants per vacant position. A high degree of unemployment is apparent and it has marred the economy of the country for two major reasons. Firstly, HEIs have continued offering traditional study programmes based on the academic standards stipulated by the government without harmonising the offered qualifications with market needs. Secondly, the market itself was and still is in the process of formation with high reliance on the personal capacities of the workforce to manage environmental and organisational changes, rather than on the education and qualifications received (Fig. 3.4 ).

Official labour force demand submitted by employers ( Statistical Yearbook of Armenia : http://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=45&year=2014 )

The period after 1998 can be characterised as a recovery period for the country in all the dimensions: economic, political and cultural. One sign was a steady increase in public spending on education until the late 2000s when the next economic crisis hit in 2009. The education sector suffered with a drastic cut of about 15 % from the original budget with no indication of recovery (WB 2013 ). Overall, according to the WB Public Expenditure Review (WB 2011 ), public funding for tertiary education was well below the regional average of 1.3 % and the OECD average of 2.0 %, taking it down to 0.3 % of GDP and 10–12 % of total education spending, respectively. Public funding for research and development (R&D) is as low as 0.2 % of GDP and the priority allocation is for the NAS, which doubly limits HEI research capacity. The 2010–2013 state budget allocated for education and science underwent a steady decline, taking the share for education and science to 2.4 % of GDP in 2013.

Considering that state allocation amounts to 23 % of the public HEI budget on average, HEIs generally cover capital expenditures and salaries from tuition fees. The budget of private HEIs is primarily based on tuition fees and amounts to 94–100 %. According to the WB Report 2013 , the tuition level in Armenia is considered relatively high if measured against the GDP and compared with lower-middle income countries on the OECD list. It is calculated at 7–37 % of GDP per capita PPP, whereas the maximum is 14 % of GDP per capita PPP in the USA (OECD, Education at a Glance, 2012). Despite the steady increase in HEI gross enrolment from 19.6 % in 2001 to 28.6 % in 2008, which compares well with the countries at a similar economic level in the ECA region (WB report 2013 ), equity of access is still a challenge.

HE Landscape in Armenia: Current State of Affairs

The reform of Armenian HE was initiated bottom-up in the early 1990s by leading scholars and top management at some leading universities. The first steps taken through pilot projects were the introduction of a two-tier degree structure, changes to curricula, and student assessment systems. In some cases, the changes were supported by international projects such as Tempus, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia, the World Bank and the United States Departments of State and Education. However, ambiguity with regard to what should be done in what sequence, as well as how and why, resulted from a lack of clear vision for educational reforms (Zelvys 2004 ) and insufficient administrative capacity for change management, coupled with a lack of MoES guidance. In fact, the trend was predominant reliance on international consultants instead of building the capacities of local change owners. This, according to Fullan and Scott (2009), may have made things worse instead of better as the use of external consultants was not cost-effective and has caused overreliance on external support at the expense of developing inner capacity (Karakhanyan et al. 2011 ).

Further, the newly introduced approaches raised the issue of legitimacy; this was caused by lack of inquiry into the context in which the diffused policy was planted (Karakhanyan et al. 2011 ). One example is the revision of the approach to governance, which authorises public HEIs to be governed by a Governing Board (GB) with equal representation by stakeholders, state employees, renowned individuals, faculty members and students. While democratic in nature, an absent preparatory phase enabling the meaningful participation of such key stakeholders combined with negligence of contextualisation later resulted in decision-making manipulation.

Another trend was the unprecedented decline in the status and prestige of scholars and researchers conditioned by decades of low payment, overload, insufficient and inadequate resources for teaching and research, and demoralising management. The once highly prestigious profession lost its attraction among youth, which resulted in an aging faculty and therefore non-relevant methods and content delivery. One of the consequences of this trend is a tendency for highly qualified staff to leave academia for more lucrative positions so that vacancies are filled by less qualified individuals.

Bologna Reforms

In the 2000s, geared towards the establishment of an independent country and a democratic society, the Armenian government began to reconsider the whole architecture of the HE system. In 2003, the MoES developed the Strategy of HE Reforms, which led Armenia to join the Bologna Process in 2005. The MoES took the initiatives at the major policy making level, while giving HEIs some autonomy to make institutional and programme level changes. In May 2005 (Bergen Communiqué), the Development Strategy of Education for 2008–2015 was adopted and put into practice. The document was revised and reinforced through adoption of the Law on the Republic of Armenia Education Development Strategy on June 23, 2011. The main objectives were reflected in the State Program for Education Development 2011–2015, which sets key objectives and strategic directions for HE revolving around widening access to HE, a national qualifications framework, enhancement of quality assurance, revising funding mechanisms, recognition and comparability of degrees, student mobility, strengthening the ties between HE and the labour market and ensuring effective governance and financial management of HEIs.

Drawing on the Strategy, the shift to a two-tier degree system (MoES decree, 2004) has been completed and almost 100 % of students below the doctoral level are enrolled in two-cycle programmes. All HEIs issue Diploma Supplements and implement the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) as of 2008, although with some difficulties. However, the move towards a two-tier degree has proved to have insufficient legitimacy for many professional sectors across the system (e.g. medicine) and required a necessary revision in 2015–2016 to align with market needs.

A new actor in the HE sector appeared as a direct result of joining the Bologna Declaration. A buffer body, the National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance (ANQA), was established in 2008 as a new governmental tool to hold all HEIs accountable for their operations and outcomes. ANQA policies and procedures are aligned with the European Standards for Quality Assurance in the European HE Area (ESGs) of the European Network of Quality Assurance (ENQA) as well as the Guidelines of Good Practices (GGP) of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in HE (INQAAHE). At HEI level, with major support from ANQA, internal quality assurance systems have been put in place and HEIs have completed the first round of institutional self-assessments. This is a move towards programme level self-assessment.

In 2011, the Armenian government adopted the National Education Qualifications Framework of the Republic of Armenia (ANQF) consisting of eight levels, and the responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of the ANQF are within the jurisdiction of the MoES. Currently, the ANQF is under revision based on the first round of its implementation and pilot evalution.

Armenia is pursuing a strong internationalisation policy. Currently, it is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Council of Europe and more than 40 other international organisations including OSCE, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, WTO, WHO and UNESCO, to name but a few. Supported by international missions, the leading HEIs are geared towards internationalisation and have been revamping their approaches to governance, administration and overall programme delivery. Internationalisation is pursued through development and integration of such dimensions as:

Integration of an international dimension into the teaching, learning and research functions of universities by developing and implementing respective policies and procedures

Identification and development of new skills, attitudes and knowledge in students, faculty and staff to promote internationalisation

Promoting scholar and student exchange and technical cooperation of HEIs

Development of ethos and culture that values and supports intercultural and international perspectives, initiatives and their quality assurance

Among the current priorities on the government agenda is the refinement of the ANQF to move to the next step of self-certification, its full implementation and respective recognition internationally. Also included are a move from academic standards to a learning outcome approach to programme development and delivery as well as a revision of funding mechanisms.

Legal and Regulatory Developments

At the legal framework level, Armenian HE is regulated by the Law on Education adopted in 1999 and the Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education adopted in 2004. The two documents clearly state the vision of HE, which is aimed at international recognition, competitiveness and full integration into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). As for regulations related to the research dimension, a new Law on the National Academy of Sciences was adopted in 2011 to ensure an autonomous legal status for the NAS. This sort of division actually created a gulf between HE and research and thus deprives HEIs of the opportunity to strengthen research functions.

The Law on Education (1999) and the Law on HE (2004) define the overall governance framework for HE in detail, but with ambiguity in favour of government control (WB 2013 ). However, due to their status, some HEIs are also regulated by the Law on State Non-Commercial Organizations and the Law on State Governing Institutions (SGIs), both adopted in 2001. The latter was not specifically developed for HEIs and does not take into account governance, autonomy and academic freedom guaranteed in education laws, thus contributing even more controversy. Given the current legal framework, the governance model can be defined as semi-autonomous (WB 2013 ).

Recently, a new trend of transitioning to foundation status has been observed. A foundation is a not-for-profit independent legal entity that enjoys the following privileges (Hasan 2007 ):

It is an independent legal entity.

It has a mission (or charter or mandate) to serve defined public (or national and societal) interests in HE and research.

As a not-for-profit public interest legal entity, it has favourable tax treatment on its incomes, assets and trading activities undertaken in pursuit of its foundation goals.

It has the autonomy to raise funds and manage its assets in pursuit of the foundation goals, for which it receives favourable tax treatment ( 2007 , p.7).

Throughout the last couple of years, six state HEIs have changed their legal status to foundation, each by individual MoES decree. Thus, public HEIs in Armenia are now legally differentiated between State Non-Commercial Organizations (SNCOs) and foundations.

The same cannot be said for private and intergovernmental HEIs, since they are less restricted in their operations. Private HEIs, depending on their status, are regulated by the Law on Education, the Law on HE, the Law on Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activity, the Law on Foundations, the Law on LLCs, the Law on Cooperatives and/or the Law on Joint Stock Company (JSCs). Intergovernmental HEIs are regulated by the Law on Education, the Law on HE and the respective legal frameworks of their counterparts in home or host countries. Table 3.2 summarises the types of Armenian HEIs by legal status as of 2015.

Diversification also affected the funding of HEIs. Public HEIs, which were previously run 100 % on the state budget, now have legal authorisation to charge tuition fees. This has been the case since 1999. By the late 2000s, the average proportion of HEI budget share coming from the government was only 20 %, with the rest coming predominantly from student fees. Paradoxically, “public” HEIs in Armenia actually receive very little state contribution (WB 2013 ). New funding mechanisms include competitive innovation funds with a target to promote HEI competitiveness. Funding mechanisms are currently under revision with a diversification goal in mind.

New Admissions Policy

The next major change was the revision of admissions policy, which moved from exams given by individual HEIs to a Centralised Admission Exam (CAE), which is both a school final and a university entrance examination. From 2005 to 2012, only state HEIs utilised a centralised admission exam process, which is organised and administered by the MoES’s State Admission Commission (SAC). In the academic year 2012–2013, private HEIs were also subject to CAE for the first time, which was a major blow to the private sector threatening a total closure of some institutions. Exceptions apply to some public HEIs that still reserved the right to conduct subject specific exams as supplementary to the CAE.

Admissions to foreign-affiliated institutions are governed by individual HEIs, although these schools may choose to use state exam scores in their admission decisions.

With the introduction of unified exams, the landscape has transformed significantly due to intensified competition among HEIs for students. As a result, weaker public and most private HEIs are now forced to revise their approaches. The choice is whether or not to merge or revise their missions and concentrate mostly on life-long learning or further education courses to become more competitive in the market.

Classification and Ranking of HEIs

With regard to the vertical stratification of HEIs, under the Soviet approach distinctions in quality were reflected in the privileged status of a university vs. an institute. Recently, the MoES has come up with new mechanisms to classify HEIs:

Ranking Web of Universities, which provides rankings per country as well Footnote 1

National classification of HEIs and ranking of programmes, based on a pilot project conducted by the MoES to classify and then rank HEI programmes within each classification.

The same trend could be observed implicitly, through the reputational stratification of HEIs broadly discussed at the society level. Such a stratification mainly places public and intergovernmental HEIs on top as the most prestigious HEIs. Recently, to move forward on the international visibility agenda, highly prestigious universities have been invited to establish branch campuses in Armenia as exemplified by the MoES’s invitation of Moscow State University. Despite a history of about 25 years, private HEIs have not been able to live up to the standards expected by society. The main indicator for the public at large is the quality of teaching staff, availability of resources and, most importantly, national and international recognition of awarded degrees.

Vertical stratification could also be described as promoted by national accreditation, which serves as an accountability tool for the government and a tool for financial allocation. According to the ANQA revised procedures (2015), regardless of HEI legal status, those that fail to obtain accreditation will be deprived of state funds and will have limits set on tuition fees to be charged. This will become effective as of 2018. Thus, the new stratification tool has the potential to substantially change the HE landscape.

Organisational Interrelationships

Last but not least, an aspect of diversity worth elaborating on is organisational interrelationships. Although not very significant in the context of the developing Armenian system, these alliances create synergies in teaching and learning, research and community outreach activities. Interrelationships in the context of Armenia are promoted in the following ways:

Static—empowered by buffer bodies or international organisations;

Dynamic—natural evolutions based on the needs of the HE system and society at large.

With regard to the static, in its quest to develop a quality culture, ANQA tirelessly invests in the capacity building of different stakeholders. Capacity building events and peer reviews organised by ANQA actually create a collaborative culture and establish a firm platform for a quality education dialogue.

SCS, Footnote 2 through its grants, promotes research projects that bring together faculty members from different HEIs and, in some cases, industries. The same applies to international projects like Tempus, Erasmus+ and Twinning, which actually bring together HEIs to collectively pursue project objectives. As a natural evolution to this process, for example, the International Association of Educationalists (IntAE) has been established to bring together professionals from Armenia, Georgia and Europe.

The dynamic form of interrelationships revolves around the establishment of industry-university collaborative partnerships, merging HEIs and partnership agreements. A prominent example of an industry-university collaborative partnership is Synopsis, which is the Silicon to Software™ partner for innovative companies developing electronic products and software applications. Additionally, it offers courses in microelectronics at the bachelor and master levels and the degree is awarded with its collaborative partners which include such IT leaders as YSU, SEUA, and RAU (Slavonic). Most graduates of this partnership are then hired by Synopsis itself.

A recent trend of merging HEIs is gradually becoming apparent. Currently, this form of interrelationship has been registered only in the private sector with some HEIs merging to serve the same purposes. However, at the government level there are also plans to merge public HEIs to achieve economies of scale.

Classification of HEIs 2014–2015

The HE system in the 1990s was characterised by only 1 full university, 11 professionally oriented institutes and 1 conservatorium. The new Law on Education adopted in 1999, however, allowed for a diversity of HE providers to enter the market. Thus, as seen from Fig. 3.5 , from 1999 to 2008 a new type of HEI mushroomed. The initiators were mainly private entrepreneurs (e.g. Armenian diaspora to the USA, leading professionals in different fields like law and economics) and former leaders of public HEIs. Table 3.2 illustrates the diversity of HE providers as of 2015.

Distribution of HEIs and number of students ( Statistical Yearbook of Armenia : http://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=45&year=2014 )

However, having set no boundaries on private initiatives, the system found itself with an abundance of private providers with quality levels that are still largely questioned. Starting in 2008 with persistent MoES efforts, the number of private HEIs was reduced from 98 in 1999 to 63 in 2013 and 57 in 2015. The decline in the number of private HEIs was due to (1) toughening licensure criteria; (2) university mergers, which were applied in very few cases; and (3) imposing state unified entrance exams on private HEIs. The steady decline in enrolments is mainly explained by the decline in birth rates throughout the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s.

Currently, the HE system in Armenia consists of public, private, intergovernmental and transnational HEIs. At the national level, the executive authority to elaborate and implement government policies is the MoES, which tends to its mandate in cooperation with regional and municipal authorities. State HEIs operate under the responsibility of several ministries but most of them are under the supervision of the MoES. In total there are 26 state HEIs, of which 16 with 14 branches are under MoES jurisdiction; 4 HEIs were founded by intergovernmental agreements and partly funded by the MoES; 2 HEIs are under the Ministry of Defence, and one HEI is under each of the following ministries/bodies: Police, Ministry of Emergency Situations and Mother See of Holy Etchimiadzin. Footnote 3 Of all the public HEIs, YSU has a special distinction as the only Armenian HEI with its own separate provision in the Law on Higher and Professional Education and a separate mention in the national budget (Table 3.3 ).

As demonstrated above, driven by the vision of internationalisation and the demands of the market economy, the HE landscape is gradually becoming diverse with three full universities qualified as comprehensive as well as specialised universities, institutes, academies, a conservatorium and research institutes to meet a diversity of needs.

Private HEIs are out of the scope of MoES jurisdiction to a considerable extent; however, the government imposes accountability mechanisms. Intergovernmental institutions are universities established on the basis of agreement between two countries, for example, the American University of Armenia, the Russian-Slavonic University of Armenia and the French University of Armenia. The trend of promoting transnational providers is escalating with the introduction of academic programmes within the framework of existing HEIs (e.g. the Armenian University of Economics is hosting a programme from the United Kingdom). This also involves Armenia hosting worldwide leading university branches (e.g. Moscow State Lomonosov University), thereby bringing in a more diverse range of HEl providers.

All the HEIs are degree-awarding entities. All the private HEIs accredited by the MoES starting from 1999 under the old accreditation policy issue state-standard diplomas, which qualifies the graduates as the same level as those from public HEIs. However, the trust in degrees awarded by private HEIs is much lower in the labour market and society at large.

Conclusions

For the last century and a half, HE in Armenia has been driven by ideological and political factors and undergone major transformations resulting in system differentiation at horizontal and to some extent vertical level.

The first major transformation was compelled by the change to a Soviet and socialist ideology and industrialisation agenda when joining the USSR in 1923. Driven by the imperatives of the Soviet regime, there was a radical cessation of the ecclesiastic nature leading to the establishment of professionally oriented HEIs outside the church to meet the demands of society. As shown in Table 3.1 , this resulted in the emergence of a full university as well as professionally oriented institutes and a conservatorium. The system was predominantly characterised by uniformity and was centrally planned and controlled by the government, with no opportunity for any other types of HE providers (e.g. private).

With the collapse of the Soviet system, HE in Armenia has undergone a major transformation at the horizontal level. The institutional landscape has expanded, not only in numbers but also in types, to include such HEIs as academies, professionally oriented universities, educational centres (foundations) and research institutes within National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NASRA); this is very different to the landscape in 1991 (Table 3.1 vs. 3.2 ). Further, the system evolved to host HEIs with diversity in terms of legal status: public, intergovernmental, transnational and private, which could further be differentiated between for-profit and not-for-profit providers. The contextual factors affecting the alteration of the institutional landscape are mainly related to the move to a market economy, national identity resurrection and the internationalisation agenda promoted by the government.

To achieve international visibility and respond to the changing trends in HE, the transformations entailed the encouragement of private, intergovernmental and transnational providers. On the other hand, concerned with the rapidly increasing number of private providers with questionable quality, the government took steps to regulate the market newcomers by introducing accountability tools, for example by setting strict regulations and licensing and accreditation policies. This has led to the closure or merger of private and poorly performing public providers. Another example is the extension of centralised admission policy to private providers, which eventually compelled the latter to reorient their missions. Thus, the stimulators for horizontal differentiation could be summed up as driven by market demands for modernisation of qualifications and massification of HE as well as the government agenda for accountability, funding, internationalisation and recognition of qualifications.

Vertical differentiation is increasingly becoming a major concern for the government, HEIs and stakeholders. HEIs are becoming part of international and national rankings and classifications to enable measurement of achievements and comparative analysis of those achievements throughout time and across systems. Among the steps leading to vertical differentiation is the government attempt to invite highly ranked HEIs to establish branch campuses in Armenia (e.g. Moscow State University).

In sum, the transformations in the Armenian HE system have come in the form of differentiation at diverse levels. Considering that the drivers behind this differentiation are predominantly market requirements and political strategies at the government level leading to international visibility, the HE system is predominantly governed by a balance of national and global forces leading to convergence. Although it is still premature to speak about the level of convergence in actual implementation practices, HEIs in Armenia are becoming more convergent with those at the European level through such major tools as the NQF and its alignment with EQF, the independent quality assurance and accountability system, operationalisation of the credit transfer and accumulation system and a move towards two-tier education (bachelor and master).

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Karakhanyan, S. (2018). Armenia: Transformational Peculiarities of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Higher Education System. In: Huisman, J., Smolentseva, A., Froumin, I. (eds) 25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries. Palgrave Studies in Global Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52980-6_3

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As economic outcomes have improved for young americans with and without college degrees in the past decade, pew research center finds perceived value of college is a mixed bag.

By Marjorie Cortez

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He is the second superintendent-in-residence for LaFetra, joining Candace Singh in further enhancing the college’s commitment to excellence.  

Schaefer’s appointment highlights a significant development for both the University of La Verne and the Bakersfield community. It promises a fruitful partnership aimed at advancing education and fostering community engagement.   

“I believe education is the great equalizer.  I am excited for the opportunities that will continue to be provided to the Kern County community from having a major academic presence established by the University of La Verne,” said Schaefer. “Anything I can do to promote the availability of academic programs will enhance the overall community.”  

His dedication to educational leadership and community outreach is admirable and will inspire future generations of educators and leaders in education at the University of La Verne and throughout the Bakersfield region.  

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Primary and lower secondary education

Primary and lower secondary education is integrated within a single structure and is provided by:

• Municipal schools ("Folkeskole")
• Private schools
• Continuation schools

Compulsory education lasts 10 years (grades 0 to 9) with an optional grade 10.

Read more about primary and lower secondary education:

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Blog The Education Hub

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/16/new-rshe-guidance-what-it-means-for-sex-education-lessons-in-schools/

New RSHE guidance: What it means for sex education lessons in schools

R elationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a subject taught at both primary and secondary school.  

In 2020, Relationships and Sex Education was made compulsory for all secondary school pupils in England and Health Education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools.  

Last year, the Prime Minister and Education Secretary brought forward the first review of the curriculum following reports of pupils being taught inappropriate content in RSHE in some schools.  

The review was informed by the advice of an independent panel of experts. The results of the review and updated guidance for consultation has now been published.   

We are now asking for views from parents, schools and others before the guidance is finalised. You can find the consultation here .   

What is new in the updated curriculum?  

Following the panel’s advice, w e’re introducing age limits, to ensure children aren’t being taught about sensitive and complex subjects before they are ready to fully understand them.    

We are also making clear that the concept of gender identity – the sense a person may have of their own gender, whether male, female or a number of other categories   – is highly contested and should not be taught. This is in line with the cautious approach taken in our gu idance on gender questioning children.  

Along with other factors, teaching this theory in the classroom could prompt some children to start to question their gender when they may not have done so otherwise, and is a complex theory for children to understand.   

The facts about biological sex and gender reassignment will still be taught.  

The guidance for schools also contains a new section on transparency with parents, making it absolutely clear that parents have a legal right to know what their children are being taught in RSHE and can request to see teaching materials.   

In addition, we’re seeking views on adding several new subjects to the curriculum, and more detail on others. These include:   

• Suicide prevention  
• Sexual harassment and sexual violence  
• L oneliness  
• The prevalence of 'deepfakes’  
• Healthy behaviours during pregnancy, as well as miscarriage  
• Illegal online behaviours including drug and knife supply  
• The dangers of vaping   
• Menstrual and gynaecological health including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and heavy menstrual bleeding.  

What are the age limits?   

In primary school, we’ve set out that subjects such as the risks about online gaming, social media and scams should not be taught before year 3.   

Puberty shouldn’t be taught before year 4, whilst sex education shouldn’t be taught before year 5, in line with what pupils learn about conception and birth as part of the national curriculum for science.  

In secondary school, issues regarding sexual harassment shouldn’t be taught before year 7, direct references to suicide before year 8 and any explicit discussion of sexual activity before year 9.  

Do schools have to follow the guidance?  

Following the consultation, the guidance will be statutory, which means schools must follow it unless there are exceptional circumstances.   

There is some flexibility w ithin the age ratings, as schools will sometimes need to respond to questions from pupils about age-restricted content, if they come up earlier within their school community.   

In these circumstances, schools are instructed to make sure that teaching is limited to the essential facts without going into unnecessary details, and parents should be informed.  

When will schools start teaching this?  

School s will be able to use the guidance as soon as we publish the final version later this year.   

However, schools will need time to make changes to their curriculum, so we will allow an implementation period before the guidance comes into force.     

What can parents do with these resources once they have been shared?

This guidance has openness with parents at its heart. Parents are not able to veto curriculum content, but they should be able to see what their children are being taught, which gives them the opportunity to raise issues or concerns through the school’s own processes, if they want to.

Parents can also share copyrighted materials they have received from their school more widely under certain circumstances.

If they are not able to understand materials without assistance, parents can share the materials with translators to help them understand the content, on the basis that the material is not shared further.

Copyrighted material can also be shared under the law for so-called ‘fair dealing’ - for the purposes of quotation, criticism or review, which could include sharing for the purpose of making a complaint about the material.

This could consist of sharing with friends, families, faith leaders, lawyers, school organisations, governing bodies and trustees, local authorities, Ofsted and the media.  In each case, the sharing of the material must be proportionate and accompanied by an acknowledgment of the author and its ownership.

Under the same principle, parents can also share relevant extracts of materials with the general public, but except in cases where the material is very small, it is unlikely that it would be lawful to share the entirety of the material.

These principles would apply to any material which is being made available for teaching in schools, even if that material was provided subject to confidentiality restrictions.

Do all children have to learn RSHE?  

Parents still have the right to withdraw their child from sex education, but not from the essential content covered in relationships educatio n.  

You may also be interested in:

• Education Secretary's letter to parents: You have the right to see RSHE lesson material
• Sex education: What is RSHE and can parents access curriculum materials?
• What do children and young people learn in relationship, sex and health education

Tags: age ratings , Gender , Relationships and Sex Education , RSHE , sex ed , Sex education

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