– It is very disturbing that so many people say that they experience bullying at school. And that this is something that has increased in recent years. It is important that we do something about this, says Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun to news. The student survey is carried out from the 5th grade up to and including the last year of the last year of secondary school. The survey is compulsory for schools to carry out in 7th grade, 10th grade and Vg1. After several years of relatively stable figures in the survey, the last two years have shown an increase in the number of pupils who experience bullying in primary school. The increase occurs at all levels. In the 7th grade, 13 percent answer that they were exposed to bullying, while in the 10th grade, 11 percent answer the same. This is shown by the Student Survey 2023: The number of students who answer that they are bullied is markedly higher this year than last year. This applies to all levels of primary school. In the 7th stage, 13 per cent respond that they have been exposed to bullying, while in the 10th stage the proportion is 11 per cent. Most pupils answer that they enjoy school. More than 8 out of 10 students in both the 7th and 10th grade answer that they feel good. In recent years, there has been a slight decrease in the number of students who say they are happy. In the group of pupils who answer that they are bullied in the 7th grade, half answer that they still enjoy school. The corresponding proportion in the 10th grade is four out of ten. Fewer pupils in the 7th and 10th grades are motivated to learn compared to the last three years. Composite reasons Nordtun believes that it is difficult to give a single answer behind the increase, but that she believes that the reasons are composite and that they lie both inside and outside the school. – But here we have to go deeper to find the causes, she says. She points out that a safe and good learning environment is important. If the learning environment is safe and good, bullying will also decrease, she says. – We know that results related to learning have clearly decreased among Norwegian pupils. It is a development we are forced to reverse, she adds. Director of Education Morten Rosenkvist together with Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun from when they presented the results of the Pisa survey. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Director of the Swedish Education Association, Morten Rosenkvist, does not want to conclude whether mobile phones lead to more bullying. At the same time, he points out that the changes in society are happening quickly and are hitting the school hard. – Digitization is an example of that. The school is becoming a place where you have to keep up with social development, but also some places are lagging behind, he says to news. He emphasizes that they are now working on a recommendation regarding mobile phone use which they will deliver to the Minister of Knowledge at the end of the month. Kari Nessa Nordtun is clear that there is a connection between mobile phone use and bullying. – A mobile phone-free school is one part of reducing the number of bullies, she says. Motivation goes down Both Nordtun and Rosenkvist point to the fact that most of the pupils are happy at school. Of the pupils in the 7th grade who say they are bullied, half answer that they still enjoy school. Correspondingly, this is about 4 out of ten in the 10th grade. The Minister of Education says they need to look more closely at why so many pupils answer that they enjoy school despite being bullied. – Here we need to go deeper into the speech and find out why the pupils answer the way they do, replies Nordtun. The Minister of Education is happy that most of the pupils are happy at school. Photo: Knut Are Tornås Although many of the pupils enjoy school, the pupil survey shows that fewer pupils in the 7th and 10th grades are motivated to learn. This is a need that has been seen over several years, the government states. Nordtun believes that the students’ motivation and learning must be improved. – It is a big challenge that both results, well-being and motivation fell. We must see these developments in context. With a school where our pupils get to use more of themselves, motivation will increase because more people will experience mastery, learning and development, she says.
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The student survey shows a large increase in bullying at school – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
