Icelandic school principal gives societal systems a failing grade

The principal of Rimaskóli, an Icelandic school, has issued a strong critique of societal systems, stating they are failing to adequately support schools, particularly during periods of upheaval. She argues that recent statistics concerning student performance and graduation rates from 2016-2024 do not point to a lack of ability within individual primary schools. Instead, she attributes these outcomes to broader societal weaknesses in providing necessary support structures.

Several factors have contributed to the increased challenges faced by schools. The principal highlights the impact of global conflicts leading to a rise in refugees arriving in Iceland, resulting in more diverse, multilingual, and complex student populations. Simultaneously, challenging economic conditions have affected households, and school classes have grown larger without corresponding increases in support for the education system. The number of students with foreign-born mothers has nearly doubled, leading to larger class sizes and more frequent behavioral issues, while the system struggles to fund the extensive support and specialized services required.

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So the systems of society as such get a failing grade, considering how they embrace the schools in this changed reality we live in.

Compounding these issues, the education system has even faced cuts in certain areas, such as textbook development, a concern that has been ongoing for two decades. This reduction particularly affects the ability of teachers to educate children from immigrant backgrounds who have limited Icelandic language proficiency but access only older learning materials. The principal emphasizes that the system lacks adequate provisions for these children, and there is no clear guidance on how to best support them as schools increasingly enroll students from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

Furthermore, the school system, as a primary point of contact, is often left to manage children while they await appropriate services within the broader welfare system. This occurs without the school possessing the necessary resources or specialized expertise. The principal notes that primary services are consistently burdened with tasks that should ideally be handled by other parts of the welfare system, leading to significant backlogs in those areas. She calls for a stronger vision and strategy in educational policy to address these systemic shortcomings.

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We, as a first-level service, always end up with the tasks, and there are just waiting lists in the other systems.