Adult Education and Indigenous Peoples in Norway. International Survey on Adult Education for Indigenous Peoples. Country Study: Norway.

Overview & Synopsis

Adult education for indigenous peoples in Norway was examined. First, information on government institutions, indigenous organizations, international agencies, and nongovernmental organizations engaged in adult education for Norway's indigenous peoples was compiled. Next, questionnaires and survey techniques were used to research the policy and practice of adult education for the Sami people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Special attention was paid to the following topics: (1) Samis and Sami education; (2) principles and organization of adult education; (3) adult education for Samis in all-Sami organizations, Norway, Sweden, and Finland; (4) needs and target groups of adult education (language, culture, vocational education, computer technology, higher education, gender and education, short-time educated people, and people involved in reindeer husbandry); and (5) organizing and responsibility. The study established that, because of a longstanding policy of assimilation, Norway's adult Sami population has not received an education built on its own language and culture. Although the assimilation policy is now officially abolished, its effects will likely remain for a long time. Adult education specifically designed and organized for Samis is acutely needed, according to the researchers. (The bibliography contains 65 references and 32 Web sites. The addresses of 70 institutions concerned with adult education for Sami people are appended.) (MN)