Curriculum for the elective subject of Volunteer effort (IFA1-01)

The elective shall contribute to help pupils, individually or as a group, strengthen the desire to learn and experience a sense of mastery through practical and varied work. Elective subjects are interdisciplinary subjects that contribute to comprehensive and contextual learning.

Volunteer work has long traditions in Norway. It is found in most social arenas such as sports, cultural activities and cultural institutions, elder care, child and adolescent work, at organizations and in politics. Volunteer work allows everyone the possibility to participate in meaningful activities that benefit society. The local community will need active people in the future who are willing to contribute their time, resources and knowledge to solve problems and create value in society. The elective subject of Volunteer effort shall provide young people with the opportunity to participate actively in their local community.

Learning in the subject shall allow pupils to identify the need for volunteer work in their local community. They shall also learn to use their skills, resources and knowledge to plan, implement and complete tasks and measures to that end. This work will focus on local needs while strengthening the pupils’ sense of belonging in the local community. The subject shall provide pupils with knowledge about the background and conditions for volunteer work and practical experience creating something valuable for others. Knowledge about ethical guidelines, communication and interaction are included in the subject. This work aims to allow pupils to experience being valued for their effort. Interest in the subject shall help develop the pupils’ awareness of the importance of volunteer work and the social value it has for society.

The elective subject shall allow pupils to map out the need for such work in their local community. Based on findings from their initial investigations, the pupils shall work together to find effective measures to cover these needs, after which they will be able to implement these measures and evaluate the results of their actions. This work shall allow pupils to interact and communicate with different operators at learning arenas in the local community and to participate in places where the activity occurs.

The elective subject gathers its main elements from the school subjects Social Science and Religion, Lifestyles and Ethics, but it can also gather elements from Natural Science, Food & Health and Physical Education.