Vestmannaeyjar community embraces school project

A 10-year school research project in Vestmannaeyjar is halfway through and has drawn strong support from residents, parents and school staff, the town’s mayor told Morgunblaðið.

“Ignite the Spark” (Kveikjum neistann) is a research and development project that has been running for five years and has now reached the middle years of primary school. The project was developed by Hermundur Sigmundsson, a professor at NTNU in Trondheim and the University of Iceland.

It is based on research into children’s learning and focuses on reading and mathematics, as well as planned physical activity, training and time for pupils to work on tasks that particularly interest them. The first group of pupils to take part has moved from the youngest stage into the middle years, making the project halfway complete, Mayor Íris Róbertsdóttir said.

Róbertsdóttir said the project had been well received by pupils, parents, school staff and the wider community. The local library supports it by sorting books for pupils, and residents follow its progress. She said the approach suited Vestmannaeyjar and that strong school staff were important to its results.

Several municipalities and schools have looked into the project. It has been introduced at Lindaskóli in Kópavogur, while other schools have expressed interest. Education Minister Inga Sæland has said she wants to make it easier for municipalities to choose the approach, Róbertsdóttir said, adding that support is needed to implement such a broad change to the school day.

The project puts greater emphasis on reading and mathematics at the outset, with pupils working towards skills at their own pace. Róbertsdóttir said pupils at the school had performed better in reading than comparison groups in the research, and that pupils, staff and parents were satisfied with the project.