Folk High School

Folk High School

Folk high schools (Danish: Folkehøjskole; Finnish: kansanopisto and työväenopisto or kansalaisopisto; German: Volkshochschule and (uncommon) Heimvolkshochschule; Norwegian: Folkehøgskole; Swedish: Folkhögskola) are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and in Germany and Austria. The concept originally came from the Danish writer, poet, philosopher and pastor Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872). Grundtvig was inspired by the Marquis de Condorcet's Report on the General Organization of Public Instruction which was written in 1792 during the French Revolution. The Revolution had a direct influence on popular education in France. In the United States, a Danish folk school called Danebod was founded in Tyler, Minnesota.

Despite similar names and somewhat similar goals, the institutions are quite different in Germany and Sweden as opposed to the traditions in Denmark and Norway. Folk high schools in Germany and Sweden are in fact much closer to the institutions known as folkeuniversitet or folkuniversitet in Norway and Denmark which provide adult education. However, unlike the folkuniversitet, folk high schools in Sweden are not connected to a regular university. The Finnish työväenopisto or kansalaisopisto (called arbetarinstitut in Swedish) are also part of the educational Folk tradition.

Other countries have been inspired by Grundtvig's concept of popular education. In Africa, the United States and India, a few schools have been built upon Grundtvig's principles for education.