1. No category

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1. Key indicators and benchmarks
(age 18-24)
2. Tertiary educational attainment
(age 30-34)
ET 2020 Benchmarks
3. Early childhood education and care
(4-years-old until the starting age of compulsory education)
4. Basic skills
Reading
Low achievers (15 year-olds; Mathematics
Level 1 or low er in PISA study)
Science
Initial vocational training
(IVET)
5. Learning mobility
Higher Education
a. Students participating in
Leonardo da Vinci programmes
as a share of vocational students
at ISCED 3
b. Erasmus inbound students as
% of student population in host
country
c. Inbound international degree
mobile students as % of student
population in the host country
2010
2013
11.0%
8.0%
41.2%
43.4%
Europe 2020 target /
EU28 average
Trend
Denmark
Europe 2020 headline target
1. Early leavers from education and training
2010
2013
▼
13.9%
12.0%
▲
33.6%
36.9%
Benchmark
EU target: 10%
National target: <10%
EU target: 40%
National target: >40%
91.9%
09
98.3%
12
▲
92.1%
09
93.9%
12
95%
15.2%
09
14.6%
12
▼
19.7%
09
17.8%
12
15%
17.1%
09
16.8%
12
▼
22.3%
09
22.1%
12
15%
16.6%
09
16.7%
12
=
17.8%
09
16.6%
12
15%
0.9%
0.9%
12
=
0.6%
0.7%
12
-
2.4%
12
:
-
1.2%
12
7.5%
8.1%
12
▲
6.0%
6.9%
12
6. Employment rate of ISCED 3-6
recent graduates (age 20ISCED 3-4
83.5%
81.9%
▼
77.4%
75.5%
82.0%
79.0%
▼
72.1%
69.5%
ISCED 5-6
84.8%
84.3%
▼
82.7%
80.9%
32.5%
31.4%
▼
9.1%
10.5%
8.1%
7.9%
12
▼
5.5%
5.3%
€ 8,584
€ 7,492
11
▼ €6,063.74
e
€6,297.16
11, e
€ 9,162
€ 8,205
11
▼ €7,022.35
e
€6,650.87
11, e
€ 14,593
€ 15,987
11
▲ €9,764.30
e
€9,474.80
11, e
34) having left education 1-3
years before reference year
7. Adult participation in lifelong learning
(age 25-64)
82%
b
15%
Other ET 2020 Indicators
a. General government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
b. Annual expenditure on ISCED 1-2
8. Investment in
education and training public and private
ISCED 3-4
educational institutions per
pupil/student in € PPS
ISCED 5-6
78.8%
07
79.8%
11
▲
60.7%
07
64.7%
11
31.0%
09
42.0%
12
▲
25.0%
09
26.0%
12
:
7.8%
12
:
:
16.9%
12, EU17
:
38.7%
12
:
:
33.2%
12, EU13
:
:
:
:
42.3%
a, EU18
:
:
11
:
:
43.5%
11, EU13
83.5%
81.6%
12
▼
60.6%
63.0%
11
:
15.7%
12
:
:
19.9%
12, EU17
:
49.9%
12
:
:
43.3%
12, EU17
:
14.2%
12
:
:
23.6%
12, EU17
:
54.7%
12
:
:
40.9%
12, EU17
High qualification
:
+10.8%
:
:
+12.4%
Medium qualification
:
-10.1%
:
:
+2.1%
Low qualification
:
+13.9%
:
:
-13.2%
:
37.0%
:
:
:
:
86.4%
:
:
84.6%
EU19
46.5%
46.1%
50.1%
50.4%
12
Digital competences
Problem solving in
technology rich
environments
9. Transversal
competences
a. Pupils in grade 4 (ISCED 1)
using computers at school
Entrepreneurial
competences
Foreign language skills
Literacy
b. Individuals aged 16-74 with
high computer skills 1
c. Low achievers
(no or insuff. computer experience)
2
d. High achievers
(PIAAC level 2 and above)
e. Individuals aged 18-64 who
believe to have the required skills
and knowledge to start a
business
f. ISCED 2 students at
proficiency level B1 or higher in
first foreign language3
g. ISCED 2 students learning
two or more foreign languages
Low achievers
(< PIAAC proficiency level 2)
High achievers
(PIAAC proficiency level 3 and >)
10. Basic skills of adults
Low achievers
Numeracy
(< PIAAC proficiency level 2)
High achievers
(PIAAC proficiency level 3 and >)
11. Skills for future
labour market
Projected change in
employment 2010-2020 in %
12. Teachers
12
a. Teachers aged >50 teaching in public and private at
ISCED 2-3 - as % of total teachers teaching in ISCED 2-3 4
b. Percentage of teachers who undertook some professional
development activities in the previous 12 months
13. Vocational
Percentage of vocational students at ISCED 3
education and training
12
12
▼
12
Source: Cedefop: 11 / EAC: 5ab / European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC): 9f / Eurostat (COFOG): 8a / Eurostat (ISS): 9b / Eurostat (LFS): 1,
2, 6, 7 / Eurostat (UOE): 3, 5, 8b, 9g, 12a, 13 / Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 9e / IEA TIMSS: 9a / OECD (PIAAC): 9cd, 10 / OECD (PISA): 4 / OECD
(TALIS): 12b
Notes: 07 =2007, 08 =2008, 09 =2009, 10 =2010, 11 =2011, 12 =2012, a= unweighted average, b= break, e= estimate, p= provisional.
= having carried out 5-6 specific computer related activities. Caution is advised when interpreting comparability over time, due to developments in the
implementation of questions related to computer skills, 2= results cover people who have no computer experience or failed the ICT test, 3= average of skills
tested in reading, listening, writing, 4= in some Member States, ISCED 3 includes level 4 (CZ, EE, ES, IE, NL, FI, UK), while in others (IT, LU, NL) only public
institutions figures are reported.
1
2
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Figure: Position in relation to highest (outer ring) and lowest performers (centre)
Source: DG Education and Culture calculations, based on data from Eurostat (LFS 2013 and UOE 2012) and OECD (PISA 2012). Note: all scores are set
between a maximum (the highest performers visualised by the outer ring) and a minimum (the lowest performers visualised by the centre of the chart).
2. Main challenges
Denmark is one of the EU’s best performers regarding the headline target on tertiary attainment, and also the
early school leaving rate remains below the EU average. However, in other areas such as students' basic skills,
education outcomes are only average despite the generous budget allocation. Sources of concern include
relatively high drop-out rates from upper secondary vocational training and education, and insufficient
apprenticeship places although they make up a strongly integrated component of the dual vet system in
Denmark.
The 2014 European Semester country-specific recommendation (CSR) on education and training focused on: (i)
improving educational outcomes, in particular for young people with a migrant background, and the effectiveness
of vocational training; (ii) facilitating the transition from education to the labour market, including through a
wider use of work-based training and apprenticeships.
3. Improving resource efficiency and effectiveness
3.1 Investment in education
Denmark’s expenditure on education is high. General government expenditure on education as a proportion of
GDP stood at 7.8 % in 2012 compared with a 5.3 % EU average. Public expenditure per student1 is also well
above the EU average at every level of education. As education outcomes are no better than in comparable
countries that spend less, the government is taking a number of measures to improve spending efficiency. To
speed up completion of tertiary studies and save costs, the new ‘Grants and Loans Scheme (SU) and the
framework for higher education programmes are being implemented gradually from 1 July 2014 to 1 January
2016. This includes incentives to stimulate early entry to higher education, more stringent criteria regarding
progress in studies for receiving state education support (SU) and a new framework for higher education
programmes that supports the active completion of studies and a bonus for faster completion. Overall, the
reform is expected to produce a net benefit for the public finances of DKK 2.2 billion by 2020 — assuming an
expected increase in labour supply of around 5 900 people.
In 2013 the government proposed a reform of vocational education and training (‘Skilled for the future — better
and more attractive vocational education and training programmes’), which will be implemented in 2014-16. The
suggested increase in government spending of DKK 3 billion for 2014-20 is aimed at increasing completion rates
so that two out of three students complete vocational education and training (VET) courses in 2025.
In 2013 the government also reached an agreement on a reform of state provided compulsory education
(primary school), which will take effect in the school year 2014-15. The reform will mainly be implemented by
making better use of existing resources in the municipalities. Municipalities’ total budgets will be raised by DKK
204 million in 2014 and the DKK 407 million yearly from 2015, and by 1.8 billion DKK from 2014 to 2017 to
1
Measured in purchasing power standard.
3
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cover extraordinary expenses. The reform includes DKK 1 060 million in separate funding for competency
development of school leaders, teachers and pedagogues.
3.2 A focus on teachers
The 2013 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)2 provided the following main findings for
Denmark:
•
Denmark has the highest proportion of teachers in the EU using information and communications
technology (ICT) for student projects or class work (74 %). Only 15 % of teachers work in schools whose
school leaders report a shortage of qualified staff (compared to an EU average of 36 %). In terms of selfassessment of effectiveness, a high proportion of teachers feel they can motivate students who show low
interest in school work (82 % compared to a 71 % EU average).
•
While the proportion of teachers who are never formally appraised (9 % according to their school
leaders) is below the EU average (16 %), the number who have never received feedback in their current
school is slightly above the EU average (22 % compared to 17 %). The proportion of teachers who have
undertaken some professional development activities in the last 12 months (86 %) is on a par with the
EU average. The same applies to the perceived status of the profession: 18 % of teachers think their
profession is valued in society.
•
By contrast, the proportion of teachers taking part in a formal induction programme during their first
regular employment (27 %) is well below the EU average (49 %). Less than 30 % of teachers reported
undergoing any formal induction training at the beginning of their career in Denmark. Male school
leaders are clearly in the majority in Denmark (68 % compared to an EU average of 69 %).3
As part of the agreement on improving academic standards in folkeskole (municipal primary and lower secondary
schools) in 2013, the government has allocated DKK 1 billion in 2014-20 to boost the supplementary training of
4
educational staff in folkeskole.
4. Increasing employability
4.1 Work-based learning, apprenticeships and adult learning
The level of participation in vocational education and training (VET) by upper secondary students is slightly below
the EU average (46.1 % as against 50.3 % in 2011). The high drop-out rate from vocational education and
training (almost 50 %)5 is linked to the lack of apprenticeship places and inadequate basic skills among students.
The transition from school to the labour market has become more challenging for young people. In 2013 the
employment rate of recent upper secondary graduates6 decreased to 81.9 % (82.7 % for those born in Denmark
and 74.8 % for those born abroad). There has been an increase in the number of young people neither in
employment, education or training (NEETs), although the level of 6.0 % (15-24 years) in 2013 is still low by
European comparison.
Denmark is the EU leader in adult participation in lifelong learning with a rate of 31.6 % in 2012 compared with
an EU average of 9 %. More women participate in lifelong learning (37.8 %) than men (25.4 %). There is no
significant difference between people born in Denmark (31.6 %) and those born abroad (31.5 %).7 The Survey of
Adult Skills (PIAAC8) shows that adults (aged 16-65) in Denmark perform significantly above the EU average in
numeracy and above the EU average both in literacy and in problem solving in technology-rich (ICT)
environments. The proportion of adults with no ICT experience is very low (2 %, compared to an EU average of
12 %). The performance of young people (aged up to 29) with upper secondary education is almost as good as
that of those with tertiary education. However, the gap is quite large in literacy proficiency between people born
in Denmark and abroad compared to the EU average. Access to enterprise-provided vocational training is also
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/talis.htm.
TALIS 2013 http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/talis.htm.
Denmark’s National Report 2014 on the implementation of Education and Training 2020.
‘Faglært til Fremtiden — Bedre og mere attractive erhvervsuddannelser’, Danish Ministry of Education, October 2013.
People aged 20-34 leaving education 1 to 3 years before the reference year.
Eurostat, LFS 2011.
Volume I of the Education and Training Monitor (chapter 6) provides an overview of the results of the survey. Skills levels are presented
either in terms of average scores or the proportion of adults at a given proficiency level in literacy or numeracy (level 1 to 5) or problem
solving in technology-rich (ICT) environments (level 1 to 3 or no ICT experience).
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high, with 85 % of enterprises reporting having been offered such courses (compared to an EU average of
66 %).9
The previously mentioned reform ‘Skilled for the future — better and more attractive vocational education and
training programmes’ focuses on improving the quality of teaching in schools providing vocational education and
training through application of the European Quality Assurance Framework (EQAVET), making the education
environment more attractive to young students, clarifying entry requirements and offering specific courses for
those who do not meet the admission standards. The reform also strengthens the role of guidance centres and
trade committees to better match vocational education and training with labour market needs, provides special
incentives to increase the number of training places in companies and provides better access to further education
and new vocational education and training programmes for adults. More graduates from vocational education
and training will be able to move on to higher education programmes.
In 2013 the Danish government concluded an agreement with social partners aimed at reducing the high dropout rate in vocational education and training programmes, increasing the number of students who get
apprenticeship places in industry and improving standards. Fifty placement centres were established and teacher
training in companies is being supported. The agreement will be closely monitored, e.g. through an indicatorbased surveillance system. Under the agreement, DKK 3.1 billion is being allocated over the 2013-16 period.10
In 2013, the ‘Leo Larsen report’ presented 12 recommendations on how employment services and the education
system can: better prepare in identifying the skills needed for 200 000 jobs to be created in the next 20 years
via public investments (in the metro system, construction of hospitals, a tunnel to Germany); work more closely
with recruiting companies; and provide direct programmes for job seekers.
In 2013 the government proposed a new package stimulating job rotation, apprenticeships and vocational
education in order to combat youth unemployment. DKK 300 million was allocated for education for the
unemployed who lost their unemployment benefits in 2013 and DKK 600 million to tackle youth unemployment
between 2012 and 2016. Political agreement on ‘Growth Plan DK’ in 2013 meant that DKK 1 billion was
earmarked for 2014-17 to significantly upgrade the skills of the labour force, partly in an effort to keep
manufacturing enterprises and jobs in Denmark.11
The Danish Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan presented to the European Commission in April 2014 focuses
on youth up to the age of 29 years, and includes measures such as education, help with the transition to jobs
and the upgrading of skills in preparation for an ordinary education.
4.2 Modernising and internationalising higher education
Denmark’s tertiary education attainment rate is well above the EU average (43.4 % compared to 36.8 % in
12
2013). More young women (51.8 %) than men (35.2 %) have a tertiary education. The employment rate of
recent tertiary graduates13 was 84.3 % in 2013 compared to an EU average of 80.7 %.
The government set a national target for 60 % of young people (30-34 years old) to complete at least one
tertiary education programme by 2015 (25 percent of these should be long-term degrees). The Agreement on
the 2012 Budget Bill for 2012 resulted in DKK 420 million being allocated for higher education in 2012 and DKK
630 million in 2013. Lengthy study periods at tertiary level are a long-standing characteristic of the Danish
higher education system. Denmark also has some of the longest average transition periods from lower secondary
to upper secondary level and from higher education to work (on average tertiary graduates were nearly 28 years
old before they started work in 2011; in 2001 this figure stood at nearly 29 years).14
In June 2013, the Danish government launched an action plan to promote internationalisation in higher
education. The plan sets an ambitious target — that a minimum of 50 % of graduates from Danish higher
education institutions will have studied abroad or have had an internship abroad by 2020. The plan also focuses
on ways to attract and retain the best international students.
9
10
11
12
13
14
Source: Eurostat, CVTS 2011.
Denmark’s National Report 2014 on the implementation of Education and Training 2020.
Danish National Reform Programme 2014.
Source: Eurostat (LFS).
People aged 20-34 leaving education 1 to 3 years before the reference year.
Report of Dansk Industri and AE — Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd: ‘Kortlægning af veje og omveje i uddannelsessystemet’.
5
DENMARK
On 1 July 2013, Denmark introduced a new accreditation system, which is based on the accreditation of entire
institutions rather than individual education programmes.
A Quality Expert Committee was set up in 2013 to produce recommendations at the end of 2014 on improving
the quality of higher education. The first report, published in April 2014, states that: the quality of teaching and
study programmes in higher education should be raised; all students should acquire competencies that can be
translated into relevant employment (especially in the private sector); and there should be greater coherence in
higher education, so as to prevent overlaps in the education system, wasted time and duplicating education.
4.3 Transversal competences, skills relevance, learning mobility, new ways of teaching and new
technologies
Computer use in schools in Denmark is comparatively high (78.8 % of students in their fourth year of formal
school education use computers at school (the average for countries for which data is available is 60.7 %).
Likewise, the ICT skills of the population are above the EU average. As regards entrepreneurship, the proportion
of the population that believes it has the required knowledge to start a business is 31 % (against an EU average
of 42 % in 2012). According to a Cedefop forecast, the Danish employment pattern up to 2020 will see an
increase in demand for high- and low-skilled jobs, whereas the demand for medium-skilled jobs would fall
significantly. This forecasted employment pattern is in marked contrast to the overall EU forecast of a positive
demand for medium-skilled people and a negative trend for the low-skilled.
The Danish qualifications framework for lifelong learning (NQF) was referenced to the European qualifications
framework (EQF) in 2011. The national implementation of the qualifications framework was completed in 2013,
e.g. with information about the framework on the Education Guide, and an indication of NQF/EQF levels on
diplomas, and certificate and diploma supplements. 15 Validation of non-formal and informal learning takes place
in all parts of the Danish education system, and Denmark already largely complies with Council Recommendation
2012/C 398/01.
The government has allocated DKK 500 million in 2012-15 for strengthening and increasing the use of ICT in
folkeskole. The main focus will be on developing the market for digital learning materials to make more highquality products available to support the integrated use of ICT in teaching. As part of the agreement on
improving academic standards in the folkeskole, Denmark’s ‘EMU’ educational portal will be developed into a
dynamic knowledge portal for school education.
As part of the folkeskole reform, a number of initiatives are being introduced to ensure more and earlier teaching
of foreign languages. All measures will take effect at the start of the 2014 school year: students will learn
English from their first year of school (currently not introduced until the third year). There will be one weekly
lesson in the first and second years. In order to strengthen the teaching of a second foreign language, German
or French will be moved forward to the fifth year of education and made mandatory.16
5. Tackling inequalities
5.1 Starting strong: improving early childhood education and care and tackling early school leaving
The early school leaving rate remains below the EU average (8 % compared to 11.9 % in 2013) and has
decreased significantly in recent years (from 11.0 % in 2010). Denmark does not have a specific early school
leaving strategy but a set of preventive and compensatory measures, e.g. the provision of early childhood
education and care, an attendance detection system, and assistance for students with learning problems.
Nevertheless, upper secondary school completion rates were 41.3 % in 2013, below the 46.7 % EU average, and
drop-out rates high, especially in vocational training and education.17 Denmark has a high rate of participation in
early childhood education and care (97.9 % in 2011 compared to an EU average of 93.2 %).
In 2013, the development, pilot and research programme, ‘Fremtidens Dagtilbud’ (early childhood education and
care of the future) was initiated. The objective of the programme is to obtain new knowledge about the effects of
15
16
17
Denmark’s National Report 2014 on the implementation of ET 2020.
Denmark’s National Report 2014 on the implementation of Education and Training 2020. At present German language classes are offered
to students as an elective subject in form levels 7-9. As an alternative to German, individual students may be able to select French
language classes as an elective subject in form levels 7-9, Source: Eurypedia.
Commission Staff Working Document ‘Assessment of the 2014 national reform programme and convergence programme for Denmark’.
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targeted educational work in childcare and daycare facilities. Under the 2014 Finance and Appropriation Act, KK
280 million has been allocated over a period of four years for preventive action regarding vulnerable children and
young people. DKK 55 million of this amount will be spent on initiatives targeted at vulnerable children in ECEC.
The projects will be launched in 2015.18
In September 2013, the Danish government set a number of targets in the area of social affairs, e.g. that at
least 50 per cent of vulnerable children and young people were to have completed a youth education programme
by the age of 25.
From 2012 to 2014, the Ministry of Education completed two successful initiatives to reduce the drop-out rate:
‘The Quality Patrol’ and ‘The Retention Caravan’. ‘The Quality Patrol’ focused on the educational measures in
individual vocational schools that had a positive impact on the drop-out rate.
5.2 Basic skills of students
The results in the 2012 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 19 show that the
proportion of low achievers is around the EU average in science (16.7 % compared to 16.6 %), and lower in
reading (14.6 % compared to 17.8 %) and maths (16.8 % compared to 22.1 %). Performance in all three fields
remained broadly stable between 2009 and 2012, but performance in maths is worse than in 2003 and 2006.
Boys still slightly outperform girls in science, although the gap was less than in 2009. There is a very large
performance gap between students born in Denmark and first-generation migrants, and even larger between
those born in Denmark and second-generation migrants.
As mentioned in section 3.1, in 2013 the government reached an agreement on a reform of primary school
education, which will enter into force as in the school year 2014/2015. The reform introduces more teaching
hours in core subjects such as Danish, English and maths, and complements them with practical lessons, e.g.
art, music and activity-based education, physical exercise and other social, personal and digital skills. There will
be targeted in-service training of teachers and professional development of school leaders.
18
19
Denmark’s National Report 2014 on the implementation of ET 2020.
http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm.
7