1. ELFE Conference Brussels
A presentation of the LOSA project Nordland County, Norway
ELFE Conference
Brussels
Presentasjon av oss
Jeg: General overview of the project
Hilde: Presenting her fields of study in more detalis
Me: Summing up.

2. LOSA ”Local education in cooperation with local working life” Or
”Secondary education in Rural areas”.
Originally called District School model when it was started

4. The Main Objectives of the Project was:
To give young people at the age of 15 to 16 in rural districts the possibility to attend upper secondary education in their local communities
To reduce the drop-out percentage among first-year-students from rural districts
To enable young people to stay at home as long as possible
To strengthen and increase cooperation between working life, local authorities and educational institutions
1) The first point is talking about the facts that young people from remote areas don’t take secondary education at the same rates as young people from towns or more densely populated areas
2) Drop out: 48% of the dropouts in our county are students living in remote areas I will return to this moment later related to the results of our project
3) Its costly for the parents to have their children living in the towns. And often the students are sosially isolated in the bigger towns
4) Companies have problems with employing skilled persons in the remotes areas.

5. Based on 3 different fields of learning:
The field of web-based education: The students work individually with the different subjects. They are taught by their teachers by the use of telephone, , chat-programs and by active use of web-boards
Classrom-based education:
The students are supervised by local instructors, by fellow students for the benefit of cross-curricular cooperation.
The participation of the local firms is essential in the project. They are offering vocational training to the students to the one they are having in ordinary schools
Local firms: which give in-firm training related to the specific aim.

6. Partners in the LOSA project.
2 main schools: Saltdal Upper Secondary School and Nordland Upper
Secondary School of fisheries offer 10 different foundation courses
3 local communities: Træna, Beiarn and Værøy
The students are formally administered by the two main schools
4 small cooperating local secondary Schools introduced in 2003
The students are administered by the local schools and recieve ICT-education in the subjects which the local schools can not offer themselves
SVS: 7 foundation courses: Arts,Crafts and design, Electrical Trades, Engineering and Mechanical Trades. Woodworking trades, Sale and service Trades and general and Business studies
NFS: 4 courses: Health and social care, Hotel and Food processing trades and Agriculture, fishing and Forestry Trades

7. Saltdal uss and Nordland uss:
Main schools :
Saltdal uss and Nordland uss:
Responsible for the educational organization and providing ICT- teachers
3 local Municipalities : With one local instructor and local companies with skilled vocational instructors
4 small local secondary schools:
Lofoten Archipelago – very popular tourist area
Distances: 2 hours with speedboat from the mainland to reach this small Island

8. 8 local firms with skilled vocational instructors
Saltdal upper secondary school Responsible of administration, curricular organization and teachers
Local instructor
Seven students representing three fields of study
700 hundred inhabitants mostly living of fisheries
The total number of students have increased from 12 when we started in 2001 up to 93 this year.
This term we have around 120 local vocational places of work or companies
8 local firms with skilled vocational instructors

9. Organizing the school year
2 week terms:
Weeks of practice: Vocational training in local firms.
Week of theory: Working with ICT
Every week 2 lessons of physical education, 2 lessons of optional subjects.

10. Participants in the Art, Craft and Design studies
Working on the ELP ”Its Learning”
Weeks of theory
Weeks of practice in local firms
Experiences and reflections

11. Participants in Art, Craft and Design trades
16 students in..
6 different municipalities and secondary schools with…
6 local instructors and…
About 30 local firms or practical instructors
4 teachers teaching drawing, colour, shape and art history ( located to main schools) 4 teachers in general studies ( located to main schools)

12. Map over Participants 4 students 1 local instructor 7 local firms
1 student 1 local instructor 2 local firms
2 students local instructor local firms

13. Its Learning, our digital classroom
All theory connected to different subjects
Theoretical and practical tasks
Communication: chat forum
Participants
Links
Status for each student

14. Weeks of theory
Students are working on there own using ICT, Its learning, books and other sources.
Both theoretical and practical tasks
Communication via internet and phone

15. Weeks of practice in lokal firms and with practical instructors
This can be…
Florists
Photographers
Hairdressers
Colour shops
Craftsmen
Doudjier ( lappish craftsmen)
Designers
Artists
People with knowledge to special tecniques and art- materials

16. Experiences and reflections
The subjects distinctive character a challenge connected to e-learning
Working on their own and structuring their own school day a challenge for the students
The triangle of using ICT, ordinary classrooms and local firms
New possibilities to young students in rural districts
The LOSA project in the future some reflections…

17. Evaluation of the ”District school model” - A NETWORK SCHOOL
Worked out by Høgskolen in Nesna (teachers’ training college)
The main purpose of the evaluation was to find:
To which extent the education is qualitative comparable to
ordinary upper secondary education (foundation course
level)
To which extent this educational model can contribute to a
general increase in the standard of education in small
municipalities

18. Main Conclusions.
- The project has to a high degree attained most of the general objectives.
- The cooperation between school and the local working life has been strengthened
- The implementation of this model represents something new in Norway and it has been valuable both with regard to a general development of the remote districts and as an educational resource for students in upper secondary school everywhere.
Drop-outs: 2002 and 2003 no dropouts
Last year 78% of the students moved to towns to attend the second year of sec. school

19. From project to permanent education
In 2003 the Nordland County council made this decision:
”The county council consider the ’district school model’ to be of major importance for the development of a decentralized upper secondary educational organization in Nordland”.
The county council has decided to pursue the ’district school model’ in Træna, Værøy, Beiarn and at Andøy, Lødingen and Knut Hamsun upper secondary schools at a permanent basis.