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| From
Iceland to Vinland
By Alexander Dalziel, SPARK Correspondent |
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Dr. Jean Brown | |
One thousand years ago, Leif the Lucky brought a
bit of Iceland to the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador. More recently, Dr.
Jean Brown
Despite the recent
surge of interest in Iceland, Dr. Brown noticed that “education was not being
studied.” So, with funding from the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’
Association, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Department of
Development and Rural Renewal, and Industry Canada, along with help from the
Centre for Telelearning and Rural Education, she did a comparative study of
education in rural Iceland and in School District #2 (Northern Peninsula and
Southern Labrador).
Dr. Brown’s work was
not an individual effort. “I knew that if I was to use a traditional research
design ... it was going to take an awful long time to discover what I
discovered. Instead, the research design was to have a study tour, in which
educators and key organizations from around the province would be invited to be
part of. They would become researchers ... and be given tasks that were
particular to their expertise.” Because of this team effort, aspects of labour,
administration, technology, and curriculum received specialized attention.
Iceland is well
known for its high level of literacy. What Dr. Brown found was a tantalizing mix
of parallels and dissimilarities with Newfoundland. “If you look at the island
of Iceland, you will see that they have small, remote, rural communities, just
as we do. They are often isolated with very difficult geographical conditions
which make the providing of education really difficult. So why have they got 100
per cent literacy while Newfoundland has the lowest in Canada?”
The difference, she
found, lies in the Icelandic model’s emphasis on pre-school education, municipal
involvement, and the professional development of teachers.
Dr. Brown, citing research in early
childhood development, believes that pre-school is an important ingredient in
Iceland’s success. “There are four levels of schooling, and the first level is
pre-school. That’s quite different from Newfoundland. Outside of the urban areas
in Newfoundland, you’ll find very few pre-schools. They can’t afford to operate
them.”
This is primarily
because pre-school is completely privatized in our province. The situation in
Iceland is very different: “In any community, (pre-school) has to be provided.
Its costs are shared between the municipality, the parents and the state.”
This division of
labour is also evident in the decentralized decision-making process. In Iceland
the role of the local community is crucial. “Municipalities are responsible for
education. That is a big difference. In a small community, there wouldn’t be a
school closure unless the municipality itself decided,” Dr. Brown explained. “In
Newfoundland, there is no role whatever for the local municipal government in
running schools.”
Iceland makes a
serious investment in its teachers. “The kind of ongoing, short-term modules for
professional development has really been lacking in our province. In law, such
courses have to be provided in Iceland. We can learn from that kind of
professional development model.”
Iceland’s status as
an independent nation is the foundation of their educational thinking. “One of
the main things is the difference between being a province and being a country.
(I) realized how much independence and control they truly have. They have really
strong public and social programs ... education is free all the way to and
including post-secondary.”
According to Dr.
Brown, the structure of Iceland’s educational system has deep roots:
“(Icelanders) come from a tradition of an emphasis on literacy that goes back
many generations. Iceland’s Lutheran Church inculcated a deep appreciation of
literacy, because “every person was
supposed to be able to read the Scriptures.” Because of this heritage, “the
access to and emphasis on reading is much stronger in Iceland than in this
province.”
Finally, a good dose
of self-awareness has helped the Icelanders reach their educational goals. “I
found that, as a society, they value their culture and really work at the
preservation of culture.” This, in particular, has given music and art a central
role in Icelandic curriculum: “There’s a lot more emphasis on
Is the Icelandic
model applicable to this province? Dr. Brown isn’t sure: “I don’t know if we (in
Newfoundland and Labrador) value the school in the community enough. If it came
to an increase in our taxes, would we be willing to follow the Icelandic
example?”
If the answer is
affirmative, the Iceland of today might yet again form a part of the
Newfoundland and Labrador of tomorrow.