læreplan

Læreplan is the official framework that defines what students should learn in a school system. In Norway, the term refers to the national curriculum that sets goals, content, assessment, and organization for primary and secondary education. Læreplanen guides what is taught, how it is evaluated, and how teaching should be structured across schools.

The Norwegian curriculum is organized into two main parts: the Overordnet del, or the overarching part, and the Fagspesifikke læreplaner for each subject. The Overordnet del outlines shared aims, values, and fundamental skills, such as democracy, human rights, sustainable development, and grunnleggende ferdigheter (basic skills) in reading, writing, oral expression, numeracy, and digital competence. The fagspesifikke læreplaner specify the knowledge and skills that students should master within individual subjects like Norwegian, mathematics, science, and foreign languages.

A notable feature of recent revisions is the inclusion of kjerneelementer in each subject, which summarize essential competencies students should demonstrate by certain grades. The curriculum is developed and published by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and is legally binding for public schools. Schools may implement local or school-specific adaptations that align with the national goals, and assessment practices are designed to reflect the aims of the læreplan. The term encompasses both longstanding national guidelines and ongoing updates, such as major reforms undertaken to modernize content and pedagogy.