[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-593520-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-593520-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","outside-the-box-the-danish-folkehojskole-as-educational-innovator","Outside the box - The Danish Folkehojskole as educational innovator","","The article examines how Denmark’s folkehojskole, a non-vocational residential model sometimes described as “people’s universities,” has provided educational and social value for more than 170 years. Drawing on a 1978 visit and later discussions, it describes student-run practical learning through negotiated projects, public examinations, and broad liberal education requirements, supported by extensive public funding and scholarships.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/outside-the-box-the-danish-folkehojskole-as-educational-innovator/593520/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/outside-the-box-the-danish-folkehojskole-as-educational-innovator/593520.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jasmine","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-08","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the folkehojskole model described in the article?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It is Denmark’s “people’s universities,” providing residential adult education without awarded marks or vocational qualification, focused on general liberal learning.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How do students complete learning activities and demonstrate their experiences?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Students are engaged in negotiated group projects and later arrange self-organized “public examinations” by inviting community members to question and assess their learning.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How is the Danish folkehojskole funded, and what conditions must be met?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The Danish government subsidizes a large share of capital and operational costs, with additional local support; qualifying schools must avoid vocational skills and grading, remain residential, and run for set durations with broad-syllabus requirements.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},593520,1792077404,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":106,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":79,"read_time":143,"preview_page_count":4},2336478487870,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 53, Number 2, July 2013  \nOutside the box:  \nThe Danish Folkehojskole as educational innovator  \nJohn Collins Private researcher Merungle Hill, NSW  \n170 years on, the Folk High School continues to supply Denmark a valued educational and social service. Does the modern Folk High School system offer Australian educators a model of relevance?  \nOther goals, other systems  \nTravelling between various Scandinavian adult educational institutions in 1978, I picked up a couple of hitchhikers, Danish students returning to their school after a short vacation period. As weneared the Funen Island harbour village, which was their destination they invited me to visit their school. What I saw there thirty-five years ago continues to energise my ideas of what constitutes a good education and to yield fresh insights into what is possible and desirable about organised learning activities.  \nOutside the box: The Danish Folkehojskole as educational innovator 337  \nThe “school” my hitchhiking acquaintances attended was in fact an old Greek inter-island ferry. The students had decided, in negotiation with their teachers and the school authorities to purchase the vessel. When I arrived they were busily learning ship-wrighting skills in order to make it seaworthy and capable of housing a crew of twenty. Their next step was to learn motor maintenance, sailing and navigation skills because they had decided to sail the boat to a third world country (Venezuela) to take part in developmental projects for several months. They would then sail the boat back to Denmark where it would be sold.  \nOn their return to Denmark students were expected to arrange their own “public examinations”. A public examination consisted of each student hiring a community hall in their home community on a specific evening. They would advertise the fact that they had recently returned from several months abroad and believed they had learned something of benefit to modern Danish society. Members of the public were invited to attend the community hall to interrogate the student and to assess if there was something of value in the student’s experience they could take away from the encounter.  \nThe Danish government subsidised this educational enterprise to roughly 85% of its capital costs and up to roughly 80% of its operational costs. Various local government bodies often provided scholarships to support local youths to attend courses. Banks loaned funds to students to cover costs of attendance. Unemployed students were allowed to continue their benefits while attending such schools.  \nIn the process of involvement in their school the students gained no qualification but learned important skills in communication and negotiation, living in co-existence, and of course many areas of mathematics and geography and various trades. They also learned an awful lot about themselves. They were caught up in a group project and learned to plan, to execute and revise plans. They emerged from their educational experience with runs on the board, confident of their ability to learn, and more respectful of others and themselves.  \nThe “school” I first visited on Funen Island was one of 110  \nFolkehojskole (literally, people’s universities) in Denmark at the time.  \n338 John Collins  \nThis one was organised by the Tvind organisation, which was later to withdraw from the association of folkehojskoles. Other schools were run by church organisations, political parties, sporting associations, local government agencies, or industry groups. The institution of the folkehojskole had been a significant part of the Danish educational scene since the 1840s and had been exported with varying degrees of similitude to other Nordic and northern European countries and after 1878 the USA where it played a proud part in the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1993 the world’s largest folk school was founded in Nigeria.  \nIn May 2012 I had an opportunity to revi","cbCaifHGTwIoY3dZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifHGTwIoY3dZ","pdf",154767,"English","# Outside the box: The Danish Folkehojskole as educational innovator\n## Other goals, other systems\n## Funding and conditions for qualification\n## Daily operations and learning activities\n## Outcomes and educational value","[{\"question\":\"What is the folkehojskole model described in the article?\",\"answer\":\"It is Denmark’s “people’s universities,” providing residential adult education without awarded marks or vocational qualification, focused on general liberal learning.\"},{\"question\":\"How do students complete learning activities and demonstrate their experiences?\",\"answer\":\"Students are engaged in negotiated group projects and later arrange self-organized “public examinations” by inviting community members to question and assess their learning.\"},{\"question\":\"How is the Danish folkehojskole funded, and what conditions must be met?\",\"answer\":\"The Danish government subsidizes a large share of capital and operational costs, with additional local support; qualifying schools must avoid vocational skills and grading, remain residential, and run for set durations with broad-syllabus requirements.\"}]","Outside the box - The Danish Folkehojskole as educational innovator | PDF",18]