Icelandic teachers’ union calls for long-term school vision

Iceland’s teachers’ union is calling for a broad public discussion on the future of education and says the country needs a long-term plan for its schools. The union presented its proposals at a meeting on Wednesday, according to mbl.is.

Magnús Þór Jónsson, chair of the Icelandic Teachers’ Union, or KÍ, said teachers were ready to discuss how to improve schools and strengthen the education system for the future. He said some things were working well while others needed improvement, and that the union was not seeking to defend the status quo.

“We are putting points into a conversation we want to have with all the main stakeholders in the school system,” Jónsson told Morgunblaðið. “We want to sit down and look closely at the Icelandic school model and what we want to get out of it.”

At a press conference at Réttarholtsskóli, a school, KÍ presented its vision for developing education under the title “Blásum byr í seglin.” The union said the aim was to build on what works and improve areas where there are shortcomings. It described the presentation as its first proposal setting out priorities for reform across Iceland’s education system, while stressing that it did not have all the answers.

The union said education needed a response to results from assessments, an ongoing teacher shortage, increasingly diverse student groups, rapid technological change and rising demands on schools. Artificial intelligence is also expected to change teaching and learning.

KÍ said Icelandic schools were at an important turning point and that short-term fixes should give way to a clear long-term vision based on knowledge, the experience of education professionals and broad public agreement.

The proposals cover education from preschool through upper-secondary school, as well as music schools. Priorities include a strong teaching workforce, inclusion and equality, diverse learning pathways, literacy, curricula and teaching materials, class sizes and staffing, assessment of school activities, and funding that reflects schools’ actual responsibilities.

KÍ also wants preparations to begin immediately for an education policy extending to 2036, arguing that such a policy should last longer than any government.

The union’s vision does not specifically address a proposal to lengthen the school year, which the education and children’s affairs minister presented to the government in the spring. Two other proposals presented at the same time, phone-free primary schools and changing grades from letters to numbers, have already been implemented.

Jónsson said the central issue was the quality of education. He said there was no evidence that the length of the school year or the number of school days or lessons was a decisive factor, but added that KÍ was willing to discuss any issue people wanted to raise.