Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford

Almost everything we do is arts related. The children learn through the arts. It is part of their lives. Free play is very
important. They learn to make choices. We encourage the children to use their imagination. Their work is always their
ideas. Working with the arts is an important form of communication.
I think within the school system, pre-primary school is definitely the most creative. In the pre-primary school you are
free to experiment with everything. I think the compulsory school teachers need to learn from the pre-primary school
teachers. Teachers want to come here. It is a nice place to work. It is a good place to let your ideas grow. I really try to
support the staff. We encourage and support creativity. The atmosphere and attitude affects the mood and then this
view spreads across the school. In the town there are 6 pre-primary schools and we all share our practice. Two days
per year the pre-primary school is closed to pupils and we can have a meeting and bring someone from the university,
but it is expensive, maybe 120,000 ISK for 4 hours. So as much as possible we try to use the talent of the staff here.
And participate in courses the town offers. These only cost around 30,000 ISK. But there are very few offers in the
arts. They had an offer ‘Dance for Children’.
The final vignette (1.9.5) is for a preschool that follows an Icelandic early years’ philosophy
known as Hjalli 12 . The preschool separates boys and girls for learning. They have highly
developed assessment techniques and take the children to professional exhibitions. They
employ specialist arts teachers to work with the children.
Vignette 1.9.5We give students the freedom to shape their world
This pre-primary school operates under Hjalli pedagogy – an Icelandic early childhood theory of learning that
promotes outdoor learning and discourages giving toys to children, instead favouring the development of a child’s
imaginative potential. Boys and girls are taught in separate classes but mix socially at points throughout the day.
The school has been operating since 2007.
They encourage the employment of specialist teachers and have specialist teachers for art, music and computers.
The children are encouraged to work with open materials and to make the most of the inside and outside
environment.
The children are regularly taken to museums and exhibitions.
The principal of the school has noticed the impact on pupils and teachers; “Parents say that their children talk a lot
more. They notice that the children are calmer and creative and that they are more curious. We have had a lot of
comments that the children’s behaviour has improved. They use space imaginatively. It is very positive to not have
toys. We give the children real things. The children do plays and sing and dance every day. We provide open
clothes that they turn into costumes. They make puppets. Teachers who come here notice that the children are
more positive to one another.”
“The staff work closely together. The children are well-behaved and independent. They have good self esteem.
There seems to be a challenge though when the children go from here into the compulsory school. One parent told
me, “My son got bored so quickly in compulsory school. He started closing his mind to things.” We give students
the freedom to shape their world.”
“Teaching in the pre-primary school is exceptional, then there is a gap between the compulsory school.”
12 http://www.hjalli.is/ The Hjalli pedagogy is mostly known for its method of segregating girls and boys in
preschool classes to liberate the children from traditional sex-roles and stereotypic behaviours. Children at the
Hjallastefnan preschools receive training in all human qualities as we believe that all children should have all the
possibilities in the world regardless of their sex. The Hjalli pedagogy only uses open ended material instead of
traditional toys and believes that positive discipline is the way to train social skills. The Hjallastefnan organization now
runs nine preschools in Iceland; Akur, Ásar, Hjalli, Hólmasól, Hraunborg, Laufásborg, Litlihjalli, Litluásar and Vollur.
Hjallastefnan also runs three elementary schools for students up to nine years old; Hafnarfjörður, Reykjavík and
Vífilsstaðir.
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