The history of the sámi upper secondary school in guovdageaidnu: Language policy development

Abstract

The Sámi Upper Secondary School was founded in Guovdageaidnu in 1952 as a state-owned vocational school for the Sámi students. During the school’s 70-year history, the position of the Sámi language has changed from being an extra-curricular course to one that is as the medium of the compulsory education. During the early years, the Sámi language was used sometimes in instruction and the school organized Sámi language classes. This happened 15 years before the Sámi language was taught at the lower educational level (primary school). The Sámi language has also been used as an everyday language of communication by the Sámi-speaking teachers and students, even though the state’s official language policy favoured Norwegian in education. The position of the Sámi language has been a key question in developing education for the Sámi people. Exploring the language policy in one school can explain the dynamics of language hierarchies and challenges in indigenous education.