The Norwegian Education Mirror 2022

There are 20 Sami kindergartens and 9 kindergartens with Sami sections, attended by a total of 800 children. Many of the staff in Sami kindergartens say that they perceive the increased rights linked to Sami kindergarten provision as the most important change in the current framework plan. Despite considerable engagement, Sami kindergartens feel that it is more challenging to work with the Sami language than with Sami culture and tradition (Homme et al. 2021).

All kindergartens in Norway must work with Sami language and culture. Most kindergarten do this by celebrating the Sámi National Day on 6th February. How the National Day is celebrated varies between kindergartens. Some kindergartens just mark the day itself, while some organise one or two Sami weeks, or a Sami month, centred around the Sami National Day. Beyond this, Sami culture is not a central perspective in Norwegian kindergartens.

Staff in kindergartens are calling for a quality-assured scheme to include Sami language, culture and tradition in kindergartens, which would be more comprehensive than their expertise currently allows for. Many staff members say that they have little knowledge about Sami culture, while others say they would prioritise Sami language and culture if there were Sami children in their kindergarten (Homme et al. 2021).