The Danish School of Education is a modern postgraduate university school that conducts research and offers research-based postgraduate programmes within the entire field of education studies. Our aim is to enhance the overall quality of research and training in education, learning and competence development in Denmark and globally. Read about

• The school in brief: Facts and background
• Research
• Programmes of study
• External and international relations
• Organisation

The school in brief: Facts and background

The Danish school of Education is behind almost half of the educational research in Denmark. Some of the biggest and most productive research environments in the fields of didactics and pedagogy are at the Danish School of Education.

The school employs approximately 200 researchers in permanent positions and a total of 400 permanent staff. Approximately 4,000 students are enrolled in our programmes, making the Danish School of Education the largest university school in Europe within its field.

Most research and study activities are located at the campus in Emdrup in the northern part of the capital of Copenhagen. The campus covers 31.800 square meters. Other teaching activities take part in Denmark's second largest city Århus.

The school is one of Denmark's youngest. It was originally established as the Danish University of Education on 1 July 2000 by the merger of the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, the Danish National Institute for Educational Research, the Danish School of Advanced Pedagogy and the Danish National Centre for Technology-Supported Learning.

On 1 June 2007 the DPU merged with the University of Aarhus and changed status from independent university to a university school at the University of Aarhus. The university school continues to work within the overall framework described on this page.

Research

The Danish School of Education is a research-intensive university school. The vision for the school is to become an international leader in the field of education and a dynamic centre of research and education in pedagogy, learning and competence development.

Approximately 200 researchers are permanent employees at the Danish School of Education. In addition, there are a number of project researchers in fixed-term positions. The Danish School of Education is behind almost half of the educational research in Denmark according to the report "Contributions to Country Background Report" by Carsten Elbro and Jens Rasmussen.

Providing professional knowledge
Our research covers the entire field of educational studies and comprises all areas of education. The school focuses on giving a solid base of evidence to educational knowledge, day-care centres, primary and secondary schools, vocational programmes, adult- and continuing education, and further- and higher education. We focus on the development of eight core research areas:

• Didactics within the entire education system
• Competence development in a lifelong perspective
• Pedagogy for groups with special needs
• The education of teachers and social educators
• Comparative education policy
• The use of media and ICT in education
• The development of educational research methods, including the development of methods of assessment and measurement
• The continuing development of educational theory

The researchers approach the field of education from various educational backgrounds, for example, sociology, psychology, anthropology, pedagogy, science, mathematics, information technology, history of ideas, theology, economics and neuropsychology. Each individual researcher deals with research tasks related to his or her field of study, but from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Please explore the research at the School further here.

Programmes of study

The Danish School of Education offers over twenty postgraduate programmes that live up to national and international standards for qualifications in the fields of education and learning. Approximately 4,000 students are enrolled. In addition, there are about 100 students enrolled in the PhD programme. We ensure the quality of the programmes by basing the teaching on the School's own research.

The student body comprises new graduates of Bachelor programmes, experienced social educators and teachers, consultants and self-employed people with their own companies who wish to have professional input to help them tackle complex tasks in firms and organisations. The majority of students have used their qualifying examination for a few years before choosing to continue their studies, a fact that contributes to making them attractive employees when they have completed their studies at the Danish School of Education. Entry to the programmes requires an academic Bachelor's degree, a professional Bachelor's degree or a college qualification.

The study programmes can be divided into four main categories: Master of Education programmes, Master of Arts (Education) programmes, PhD programmes and continuing education. You can read more about the different types of programs by selecting Study in the menu on the left. Please explore the studies at the school further here.

External and international relations

The Danish School of Education collaborates with a number of public and private players in Denmark and abroad: Municipalities, schools, day-care centres, ministries, University Colleges (CVUs), private companies and universities abroad, to name but a few. We are also involved in international cooperation on research projects launched by international organisations. 40 pct. of the Danish School of Education's basic funding comes from externally financed research projects.

We have collaborated with the Danish Federation of Early Childhood Teachers and Youth Educators (BUPL), the Greenland Home Rule, LEGO, Novozymes, the National Union of Nursery and Childcare Assistants, the Danish Bankers Association, Microsoft, Local Government Denmark (LGDK) and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Internationalisation
Our vision at the Danish school of Education is to be an international leader in our field. We strive to achieve this goal by entering into cooperative agreements with universities and research centres abroad and by establishing exchange agreements for our staff and students. We want to be part of an international research environment that can attract and retain competent researchers from Denmark and abroad and we encourage all members of our academic staff to spend a period teaching abroad. International relations are handled by the International Office.

We have a strong commitment to promoting the European dimension in higher education and actively participate in European Union funded activities, such as Socrates/Erasmus, Tuning Educational Structures in Europe and Erasmus Mundus.

In response to a Danish initiative the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) has decided to establish an education- and research network on Lifelong Learning under the direction of the Danish School of Education. The network consists of nine European and nine Asian universities and has been named the ASIA-EUROPE Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning. The network involves, among other activities, the exchange of students and teachers within the field of education between Europe and Asia.

To keep up with activities at the DPU and the latest developments in the field of education the DPU Education Quarterly is the right place to look. This electronic newsletter written entirely in English will keep you informed of the latest research projects and international cooperation at the DPU. At the same time it is your chance to follow the latest trends in educational research and the international  educational debate. You can subscribe to the Quarterly here.

Advisory role
The Danish School of Education has an advisory role in relation to the educational policy system. When political questions about e.g. workplace learning, teacher education and Danish pupils' skills are on the agenda, the school qualifies the debate with relevant research results. In other words, we communicate and disseminate relevant knowledge in a form that can inspire political debate and, put into practice, can be of benefit to society. We expect our researchers to participate in both the scientific and the public debate.

Organisation

The Danish School of Education was established on 1 July 2000 by the merger of the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, the Danish National Institute for Educational Research, the Danish School of Advanced Pedagogy and the Danish National Centre for Technology-Supported Learning.

On 1 June 2007 the DPU merged with the University of Aarhus and changed status from independent university to a university school at the University of Aarhus. The university school continues to work within the overall framework described on this page.

Research at the school takes place in three departments, in a centre and in a number of cross-disciplinary research programmes.

• The Department of Pedagogy
• The Department of Learning
• The Department of Curriculum Research
• The Centre for Research in Compulsory Schooling

Management
The board of the University of Aarhus is the highest authority of the school and is responsible for the overall leadership, direction and management of the school as an institution of higher education and research and for setting down guidelines for the school's long-term strategic policy and planning. The daily manager of the school is the Dean.

Academic Council
The school appoints an Academic Council which expresses its opinion to the Rector on the internal allocation of funds and on key strategic research and education schemes and plans for knowledge sharing. The Academic Council also confers PhD degrees and higher doctorates and makes proposals to the Dean for the composition of the expert committees that assess applicants for academic positions.

The Student Council
Students have a direct influence on policy and the decision-making process at the school through a Student Council. The Student Council promotes the interests of all students enrolled at the school.

Other units within the Danish School of Education

The Danish National Library of Education is our on-campus library and one of the largest research libraries in northern Europe specialising in the field of education. It serves the needs of all students and staff at the school as well as being open to the general public.
Tel. +45 8716 1360, www.dpb.dpu.dk

The Centre for Children's Literature is an independent unit within the school. It conducts and disseminates research, provides library resources and runs a school for authors of children's literature.
Tel. +45 8716 1314, www.cfb.dk