The Implementation of Scientific Literacy as Basic Skills in Norway After the School Reform of 2006

Abstract

In 2006, Norway implemented a new curriculum, which introduced basic literacy skills in every school subject. In this new curriculum, the basic skills are considered fundamental to learning in every school subject. As a consequence, since 2006, Norwegian teachers and school leaders have been grappling with how to develop and teach writing, reading, and oral communication as an integrated part of disciplinary education. Several initiatives have sought to develop literacy in school science since the introduction of the curriculum. However, teachers and school leaders are generally somewhat hesitant to explicitly address basic skills in the classroom. Some communities of teachers who discuss the purposes and qualities of writing have nonetheless been successfully established in Norway. We will discuss two approaches for the implementation of the curriculum reform. The first is based on first language (L1) literacy research, considering literacy as a general competence, however with a strong emphasis on writing in the disciplines. The second is from the science education community, with its emphasis on scientific literacy. Some of the major projects in Norway have focused on the intersection between the basic literacy skills and the process dimension of science in the main area “The Budding Researcher” in the new curriculum. We conclude that these two approaches each have their own strengths for developing scientific literacy and the basic skills introduced in the curriculum. Together, they offer opportunities for considering basic skills as both generic and discipline-specific, and for developing a metalanguage for discussing and reflecting on the teaching and learning of school science.