– I usually play with Legos or play billiards, says Asgeir Rannem. The fourth-grader at the Jåtten after-school program (SFO) in Stavanger is one of around 150,000 children who go to SFO in Norway today. But there is no requirement that the employees here have formal education. – If we want to have good after-school education, then it is a question of the employees’ competence. That is what is golden, says manager Mona Skaaren at Jåtten SFO. She has been in demand for skills development in after-school education for almost 30 years. From autumn 2023, it will be possible for the first time to study after-school pedagogy in Norway. Then you can take a bachelor’s degree in after-school pedagogy at the University of Stavanger (UiS). In 1993, Mona Elise Gjøse Skaaren helped start up Jåtten SFO in Stavanger. Today she works as a department manager. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news Great interest in the study After school head Skaaren has worked together with UiS, Stavanger municipality and other after school staff to develop the pilot for the new degree. – The study is focused on the after-school program as a subject area. It is an area of expertise that has not been taken seriously, she says. The bachelor’s degree is to be online-based with a couple of sessions a year, so that students and after-school staff around the country can study. The plan is 20–25 study places. University lecturer at UiS and initiator Svanaug Lunde says they have been contacted by people from all over the country who want to know more. – I think such an offer is necessary. Evaluations show that there are very large differences in quality at SFOs, she says. Child and youth worker Henrik Bergseth at Jåtten SFO believes it is important to have an SFO education. – Just like within teacher training, you get theory that you can link to practice. It is very interesting. The 21-year-old says that he could well have taken the bachelor’s degree if he had not already started his teaching studies. Henrik Bergseth is a child and youth worker at Jåtten SFO in Stavanger. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news – Need a status lift After-school care is an offer that the municipalities are required by law to provide (external link). At the same time, it is up to the individual municipality what requirements they see and how much they want to invest in after-school care. This means that there are big differences in quality today. – After-school education needs a status boost, they need us to invest in skills development. This basic education is a start, says Lunde. – This is the beginning of an investment in after-school education, says university lecturer Svanaug Lunde at the Learning Environment Center, UiS. Photo: Marte Skodje / news She says that higher education degrees within after-school pedagogy have been common in Sweden, among other places, for several decades. Norway lags behind. National initiative The aim of the after-school program is to be something other than school and kindergarten. Last year, SFO received a national framework plan for the first time. The framework plan (external link) sets requirements for how the after-school arrangement should be, and Lunde believes that an after-school education is a step on the way to meeting the requirements set by this plan. Children at Jåtten SFO play outside. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news The fourth graders have gathered outside to play. Ellen-Kristine Olsen Hommeland (9) says that she likes to think the days here are nice. – I think it’s very nice because it’s almost no work and we can almost do what we want. – Do you learn anything at SFO? – I am learning to care for others and such, she replies.
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The University of Stavanger creates a bachelor’s degree in after-school pedagogy – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
