The Norwegian Education Mirror 2022
Teacher competence
In order to be employed as a teacher in a primary and lower secondary school, one must have a teaching qualification or another approved form of education. In particular subjects, a certain number of university credits are also required in order to be able to teach.
Many teachers do not meet the qualification requirements for the subjects they teach
There are many teachers with approved teaching qualifications who do not meet the qualification requirements for the subjects they teach. This proportion is highest in English, where 31 per cent of teachers do not meet qualification requirements. In mathematics, this number is 19 per cent, while it is lowest in Norwegian, with 14 per cent. In Norwegian sign language, 17 per cent do not meet qualification requirements.
English in Years 1–7 as a particularly high proportion of teachers who do not meet the qualification requirements. 39 per cent lack the required university credits.
Qualification requirements for teaching various subjects
Teachers who teach Norwegian, mathematics, English, Sami and Norwegian sign language must have taken 30 university credits relevant to that subject in order to be able to teach at primary school level, and 60 credits relevant to that subject in order to teach at secondary level.
These requirements also apply to teachers who teach in Sami and Norwegian sign language.
Teachers who qualified before 1st January 2014 have a dispensation from these requirements until 1st August 2025.
The proportion of teachers who meet the qualification requirements has increased steadily since 2015–2016. The biggest increase has been at secondary school level. From 2015 to 2021, around 24,000 primary and lower secondary school teachers have received offers of further education in subjects with qualification requirements.