ASSITEJ Magazine 2019

forced to abandon the use of their languages and
culture, particularly in public contexts. In Norway,
under “Norwegianization,” Sámi children were not
allowed to use their own language in school, and
in some cases were sent to boarding school in
order to become more Norwegian (Minde 2005).
This history indicates that some social difference
has been inherent to Nordic society for almost
200 years. It also indicates that the educational
system has been understood as a suitable vehicle
through which policies aimed at addressing these
differences can be implemented.
As Nordic children become increasingly diverse by
consequence of migration, they also engage with
the world (including the world beyond the Nordic
region) through digital media. Recent research
from Norway for example indicates that 96% of
children and young people aged 9–17 own their
own mobile phone. Norwegian children also spend
on average a little under four hours per day on
the Internet (Staksrud and Ólafsson 2019). In fact,
resonating strongly with the earlier images of
autonomy and adventure, Nordic children have
been categorized as “supported risky explorers”
of the Internet. This is because, by comparison
to children in other European countries, Nordic
children are supported in developing the skills
they need to explore and deal with the risks they
encounter online (Helsper et al 2013). At the same
time, in 2018 19% of Norwegian children aged 11–17
said that they missed out on sleep or food because
of the amount of time they spent on the Internet,
and almost one in four children experience
something that bothers them online (Staksrud and
Ólafsson 2019).
References:
Gullestad, Marianne, Invisible
Fences: Egalitarianism,
Nationalism and Racism,
Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute, 8(1),
45–63, 2002.
Helsper, Ellen J, Kalmus,
Veronika, Hasebrink, Uwe,
Sagvari, Bence and De Haan,
Jo, Country Classification:
Opportunities, Risks, Harm
and Parental Mediation,
London, LSE, EU Kids Online,
2013.
Legatum Institute, Distinct
models of success: Nordics
and the Anglosphere, London,
Legatum Institute, 2013.
Web.
Minde, Henry J, Assimilation
of the Sami – Implementation
and Consequences,
Aboriginal Policy Research
Consortium International
(APRCi), 196, 2005. Web.
Nordic Council of Ministers,
In the Shadow of Happiness,
Copenhagen, Nordic Council
of Ministers, 2018.
Staksrud, Elisabeth and
Ólafsson, Kjartan, Tilgang,
bruk, risiko og muligheter.
Norske barn på Internett.
Resultater fra EU Kids Online-undersøkelsen
i Norge
2018, Oslo, University of Oslo
EU Kids Online, 2019. Web.
Information:
Living the Nordic Model
is an interdisciplinary
research project funded
by UiO: Norden at the
University of Oslo. The
project explores the lived
everyday experiences of
“the Nordic Model” from
the perspectives of its
citizens and institutions.
It also explores Nordic
childhood(s) from historical,
psychological, educational,
sociological, gender, and
media studies perspectives.
For more information see:
https://www.uio.no
Living the Nordic Model.
Processes of migration and digitalization in
particular, combined with differences in socioeconomic
status and ethnicity influence Nordic
children and childhood(s). While the ideals of
autonomy, adventure and equality continue to
be connected to the social imaginary of Nordic
childhood, the policies that are implemented in
order to support the achievement of these ideals
need to take account of the diversity of children
and childhoods that constitute the lived everyday
experience of the Nordic model.
16 Towards the Unknown – Confronting the Present