Educational improvement initiatives and their fate: The story of the first 10 years of compulsory education governed by the City of Reykjavík 1996–2005

• Main Authors: Sigurðardóttir, Anna Kristín, Óskarsdóttir, Gerður G., Jónsdóttir, Guðbjörg Andrea, Gísladóttir, Ingunn, Stefánsdóttir, Steinunn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2022
• Subjects: compulsory schools; policy; educational improvement; decentralization; educational evaluation; grunnskóli; stefnumótun; menntaumbætur; dreifstýring; mat á skólastarfi; Dewey; Reykjavík; Reykjavíkurborg; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/3483

Policy-making and reform initiatives by public authorities, the state or municipalities to improve education are links in the development of schools and educational systems worldwide. However, comprehensive contemporary reports on the implementation of educational policy issues and analyses of their fate or impact are rare.In this paper, the focus is on policy-making and initiatives for improvement in the municipality of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, at a current milestone in the country´s history of education. In 1995 a new law regulating compulsory education (from age 6 to 15) was confirmed, including a switch of responsibility for the operation of schools from the state to the municipalities – in the spirit of decentralization.The aim of this paper is; (a) to portray educational improvement projects within the compulsory system in Reykjavík, undertaken by the city during the first 10 years after the transfer, 1996–2005, including policy-making, policy preparation, and implementation as well as coherence within activities and among participants; and (b) to shed light on the fate of the improvement initiatives at the school sites, based on available research results and other information. Under investigation are five main areas of emphasis in the city’s 10-year scenario for the schools: individualized and cooperative learning, inclusion, support of student self-image and social skills, school–community relations, and finally, school autonomy and equality in their operational context. Many ideas about educational change, especially as regards teaching and learning, are indeed rooted in century-old theories – for example, Dewey’s and Key’s – as well as in traditional Icelandic educational concerns (Dewey, 1916/1966; Key, 1902/1911; Loftur Guttormsson, 2008a, 2008b). Ideas and expectations concerning policy-making were collected every year, at meetings either with teachers and other staff in the 40 schools in the city or with representatives from different groups, including parents. School heads were involved ...