A study counsellor’s report from Denmark

Blog post by Maria Ojasti, study counsellor at Helsingin aikuisopiston peruskoulu

In Denmark, the study counsellor is the first person you talk to

HF-VUC, an adult education centre in Roskilde, has both basic education and upper secondary education. The first person applicants are sent to is the study counsellor. During my Erasmus+ week, I mostly follow the work of Lena, the study counsellor for basic education. I am lucky, because on Monday a person who wants to become a student comes to the study counsellors’ office. She is a middle-aged Indian woman, and her son is with her. The applicant already speaks Danish quite well, even though they have only lived in the country for two years. She has completed the language school studies required for basic education, and she has completed the Basis level of basic education at another school. She said she wants to get into vocational school quickly. You can apply to vocational school after the G level (grades 7–8). For upper secondary education, you need the F, E and D levels. The woman seems motivated and keen. Lena prepares her timetable for August. She chooses Danish and mathematics at G level, 20 hours in total. 20 hours is enough to apply for a student grant and loan.

The school has its own social worker who can help with money matters, and the study secretaries also help with forms. This woman does not need help, because her clever son helps his mother when needed. The course fee is 270 Danish kroner, or 36 euros. I think that is a very reasonable fee for almost half a year of studies. The guidance is really warm and respectful. Lena is amazed by how well the applicant speaks Danish and also praises her son. This applicant is planning vocational studies after the G level. Lena says that many immigrants go into care work, especially elderly care.

Jens, the study counsellor for upper secondary education

Inclusion is still used in Denmark, but students with special needs are taken into account very well. By law, a person with a diagnosis (autism spectrum, dyslexia or a mental health diagnosis) gets their own mentor teacher for support. Jens is the study counsellor for upper secondary education at HF-VUC and specialises in students with more challenges or students with dyslexia. First, he tells me about the Danish system. To get into upper secondary education, you need slightly better grades. The grading scale is different from ours: -2 and 0 are fail grades, and the pass grades are 02, 4, 7, 10 and 12. On this scale, 7 covers quite a wide range. The school also has online teaching at all levels, and it is quite popular. However, Jens always asks students carefully if they are disciplined enough to manage independent online studies and if they understand that teacher support is not as immediate online. Still, HF-VUC offers support to both online students and students who study on site. Teachers also give extra support in all subjects according to a set timetable, and in mathematics, for example, a maths organisation also helps. I wonder if there is anything like this in Finland? Not many immigrants continue to upper secondary education. According to Jens, Danish politicians would like fewer students to go to upper secondary education and more to go to vocational studies.

Jens clearly enjoys his work. But he says that the growing number of difficult cases is a burden, and sometimes there is a day without a single positive case. The biggest problem at all levels is the same as ours: students’ absences for different reasons. The most difficult cases do not come to the study counsellor, and students may even be afraid to get in touch because they think they will be told off for their absences. Students should book a time with the study counsellors in advance and briefly describe the reason for their visit. Students often want, for example, to rush to the next level before they are ready. The study counsellor then explains why rushing is not a good idea and gets students to think about whether they are ready to spend at least 10 hours on homework every week. As an example of a difficult case, Jens tells me about a talented student with a drug problem who did not take part in the spring exams. Now it is too late to take part in the exams. He will come to talk with the study counsellor tomorrow, and in the autumn he will have fewer lessons and take the exams next year.

Jesper and Morten

At exactly 10.30 on Thursday, I go to see Jesper, the social worker, who shares a room with the study counsellors. We get coffee, and Morten joins us. Morten is a special needs teacher and mentor. His role is to organise the teaching of a class of students on the autism spectrum. They study at upper secondary level. Some students in this class also have a diagnosis of ADHD or a mental health condition. Subject teachers teach them, and Morten is also in the lessons. One of his tasks is to plan the education so that it meets the students’ needs. The days must not be too long, social moments need to be facilitated and the passing of time must be clearly visible on a special clock. It shows how many minutes of the lesson are left. Morten needs to make the students feel safe, so that they find it easy to come to him. Admission is also a long process. Students must have a diagnosis, and the school also checks whether the student is really motivated and really able to take part in the teaching.

Jesper raises an interesting point: people on the autism spectrum may feel and show more easily than neurotypical people that they are disturbed by something, such as noise, uncertainty or an environment that feels unsafe. However, all of us are burdened more or less by the same things. This is why, for example, the special clocks that were first bought only for the classes of students on the autism spectrum are now in all classrooms. This also makes me think about how we plan our own teaching. We should take students with different sensitivities into account. After all, at our school we rarely know what diagnoses, traumas and experiences our students have.

Students in the class for students on the autism spectrum get a lot of encouragement. For example, raising their hand can be very difficult, so they also need to practise that. School starts with a getting-to-know-you exercise. Even though students on the autism spectrum do not usually like surprises, they are not told about the exercise in advance. This way, they do not get too nervous about it. However, it is explained to them before the exercise is done.

My day at HF-VUC has once again been extremely rewarding. I sit for a while in a lounge chair in the school library and then go off to explore. I am writing this in my Airbnb room in Karin’s house. It is 21.07, and my rewarding Erasmus+ week has come to an end.