More intervention and improvement needed within the working conditions of teachers from private and independent schools in Denmark as they are lacking in comparison to those in public schools.
Nicole Hauser at her office at Aarhus University. Image By: Lindo Mlombo.
By: Lindokuhle Mlombo.
Working conditions of teachers in Denmark seem to have various differences. Especially when comparing those from private and public schools as they range from having a huge gap between their salaries to having limited access of teaching resources.
They are all teachers doing the same kind of job however their working conditions are a little bit different from one another.
In a report conducted by world view on schooling in Denmark it is clearly indicated that there’s multiple options of education in the country. The country’s options for education are public, private, youth school and homeschool. Worldview is a public service program that equips k-12 and community college educators and resources to help in engaging with the interconnected and diverse world. It does multiple research projects around the world including research on education systems.
Within those schooling options in Denmark comes the issue of teachers having different working conditions even though they are practicing the same job. Especially those in private schools. Working conditions include salaries, work hours, treatment in the workspace, terms, and conditions of employment and access to work resources. They are the mental and physical conditions that employees are exposed to in their workspaces.
The different working conditions are indicated in the private and public schools. As teachers or lecturers from private schools face more difficulties compared to those in public schools. Despite them having the same job. Their salaries are not even on the same range and their accessibility to great teaching resources is not the same compared to those in public schools.
According to education GPS at least 76% of teachers in Denmark see the opportunity to influence and contribute to children’s development and society as a great motivation to continue in their profession. Regardless of their working conditions. Education GPS is part of the OECD (organisation for economic cooperation and development) a forum where governments of 37 democracies collaborate to develop policy standards and promote sustainable economic growth.
Trade Unions and FSL.
However, there are also organisation that are fighting for the greater course of teachers. That is trade unions. Just like the Frie Skolers Laererforening which is also known as FSL, which represent private and independent teachers.
Frie Skolers Laererforening (FSL) is a trade Union that represents teachers from private schools. Their name which is in Danish directly translates to Free schools Teachers Association. The union has been operating for 49 years and will be turning 50 in 2024.The trade union was formed after it was noted that teachers in private and independent schools had more struggles compared to those in public schools in terms of teaching conditions. This was noted during the time in which public and private schools were co-operating within the same trade unions. However, those in private hardly benefited from those unions and it was then decided that they should have one solely focused on teachers from private and independent schools.
Working conditions of private school teachers compared to those in Public.
Mikkel Hvid, Chief of communications at Frie Skolers Laererforening (FSL) standing inside their Buildings. Image by: Lindo Mlombo.
Mikkel Hvid who is the chief of communications at the private school teacher’s trade union also mentioned it.
“In most of the times as a trade union we are faced with the unfortunate challenges of having to constantly fights for better access to teaching resources for teachers in private schools” said Hvid. However, sometimes accessibility to resources is determined by the financial capacity of the school.
The European commission’s 2023 education and training monitor mentioned that the degree of municipal capabilities combined with the schools’ financial capacity contributes to the different kinds of working conditions in Schools and municipalities.
Teachers in Denmark often also work more hours compared to most countries. The 2023 education and training monitor by the EU indicated that normally Danish teachers work 38.9 hours which is slightly above the EU average of 37.5 working hours. Teachers in private school also face issues of hard workload which adds to the number of hours they work.
Their workload often exceeds the number of hours they should be working which also disturbs them in properly preparing for their lessons,” said Hvid. Meaning that they work more hours than they should be. With an intense workload at the same time.
Usually in public schools the workload can be a choice and they do have resources to help ease the work. While in private they are given the extra work, and they must obey the orders on their school leaders.
“Teachers have to be very loyal to their schools as each school has special ways and values in which they work by, and teachers must stick to them,” said Hvid. Meaning that teachers in private schools are too restricted by their agreement with the school.
Hvid also mentioned that “most of the teachers they represent are fired each year because of that reason”. For not showing loyalty to their schools. Hence, it is more difficult for them to have better working conditions as they are restricted and cannot fully make any demands. Besides through the help of trade unions.
Also, another major difference between public and private schools that has an influence on the working conditions of teachers is parents. They have more access to teachers in private schools and in public that is normally not the case.
“Many teachers feel that parents put a lot of pressure on them since it is a private school, and they pay a lot of money,” said Hvid. They frequently contact the teachers which pressures them and their comfort within their workspace.
This creates a huge gap between private and public schools even though they are doing the same job. Hence, the need of an independent trade Union such as FSL to close the gaps.
One of the major gaps between independent and public-school teachers is that of salaries. Mikkel mentioned that “private school teachers earn 10 000 to 20 000 Danish kroners less a year compared to public school teachers”. Which is one of the things that FSL is working towards making a change in.
Aarhus lecturer: public institution.
Nicole Hauser at the Aarhus University Offices. Image by: Lindo Mlombo.
Nicole Hauser from Switzerland an assistant lecturer at the Aarhus University also slightly stated the great working conditions that exist within public institutions. As she is currently working for one herself.
Hauser mentioned that her working conditions at the university have been good and fair ever since she started working there from June 2023.
She mentioned that she has even been assigned with a mentor who helps her navigate things around her work. Which is something that most private institutions do not normally do.
Nicole Hauser working in her office at the Kemmi building in Aarhus University. Image by: Lindo Mlombo.
“The University is very progressive in multiple ways,” said Hauser. They provide such things as teaching trainings for lecturers to help assist them in knowing how to navigate their lessons. Their working hours are also well balanced giving them enough room for the trainings.
“The university provides fair working hours with a good salary as well and time to rest as we receive six weeks of mandatory holidays,” said Hauser. She was simply stating that in her institutions she is able to balance out her work and time off.
She has also experienced bad working conditions before in her previous job as a lecture in the United States. Hence, she can recognise and explain the good space she has in her current institution.
Hauser mentioned that in her previous job as a lecturer before she came to Denmark, they would constantly have to fight for better working conditions. Multiple of her colleagues would even be forced to work unpaid hours. Hence, she is appreciative of her current job.
Improvements towards better working conditions.
When it comes to improving the working conditions of teachers in independent and private schools several things are being considered and are being done.
Organisations and trade unions like the FSL are constantly coming up with solutions. For example, they have a procedure that they do where they ask the members what needs to be improved, then they work towards it.
Through the help of their union representative, they are still trying make even more improvement on the salaries that teachers from private and independent schools are being paid. They are working on being paid on the same level as public school teachers if not more.
“We have around 71% teacher members in the union compared to public school trade unions where they have around 95% members,” said Hvid. Gaining more members that can be represented by a trade union is one of the solutions needed into achieving better working conditions.
A major issue that most private teachers’ trade union face is that they must make an agreement with each school. Whereas in public school it is done as a collective agreement for all schools. That is one of the issues they want to tackle before fair working conditions can be achieved. Having a once off meeting and agreement for all the private schools.
Also, in most cases, the agreements for better working conditions that are made with the private schools tend to be fair for all parties. However not all of them comply with the agreements. So, making sure that the schools stick to their agreements with the teachers and trade unions is one of the goals needed to be achieved.
Plans for the future.
According to the EU commissions’ Education and training monitor report of 2023 most teachers in Denmark are elderly people. The reason is that most young people are not interested in becoming teachers due to the working conditions and that needs to be changed.
The plan is that more young people should be encouraged into taking the career because they can be innovative and introduce better working conditions.
FSL also stated that they are working towards achieving the same salary as in public schools for their representees. Meaning that for future plans a high and stable salary is what is needed for private and independent schools.
More compliance and collaboration from different educational institutions and organizations could also help improve the working conditions.
Link to Video explainer: https://youtu.be/HoHhTQVclDA