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Folk high schools are institutions of adult and continuing education, common in Germany and in the Nordic countries, among which they are most common in Norway.
The word is in Danish: folkehøjskole, in Norwegian: folkehøyskole/folkehøgskole/folkehøgskule, Swedish: folkhögskola, and in German: Volkshochschule.
Features
The common features of different folk high schools are:
- Usually one year in duration
- Boarding school
- A large variety of subjects
- No finishing exams
- Focus on self-development
- Pedagogical freedom
In general, there is a differentiation between Christian folk high schools and free-thinking schools.
History
The first folk high school was founded in Rødding, Denmark, in 1844, on initiative of Kristen Kold and inspired by the educational thinking of Nicolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig. It was sparked by a need to educate the uneducated and often poor peasantry, who could not spend neither the time nor money to enroll at a university.
Sweden
The first group of folk high scools in Sweden were established in 1868. The folk high schools of today are mainly situated in remote areas, often on the countryside. There are today around 150 folk high schools spread around all parts of the country. Education is free and eligible for standard student funds. After graduating, the student will be eligible for studies at a university.
Some schools have cooperation with schools in other countries, allowing exchanging students, as exemplified by Södra Vätterbygdens Folkhögskola near Jönköping.
Germany
A Volkshochschule in one of the German-speaking countries usually provides non-credit continuing adult education in:
- general education
- vocational education
- political education
- German as a second language (especially for immigrants)
- different foreign languages
- different forms of art
- information technology
- health education
- preparatory classes for school exams (especially for the Abitur or Matura)
This type of Folk high school is currently most widespread in Germany. Due to its offering of preparatory classes for school exams, the German Volkshochschule also fulfills the educational function of adult high schools in other countries.
External links
- Information about Folk High Schools in Austria
- Information about Folk High Schools in Denmark
- Information about Folk High Schools in Germany
- Information about Folk High Schools in Finland
- Information about Folk High Schools in France
- Information about Folk High Schools in Norway
- Information about Folk High Schools in South Tyrol
- Information about Folk High Schools in Sweden
- Information about Folk High Schools in Switzerland
School types | Education in Denmark | Education in Finland | Education in Germany | Education in Norway | Education in Sweden
Folkehøjskole | Volkshochschule | Université populaire | Folkehøgskole | Folkehøgskule | Uniwersytet ludowy | Folkhögskola
"Folk high school"