1. Comenius Regio Project
Approaching Delinquent Behavior at School
Greece- Norway
Best practices from Greece
Topics:
1) General School Rules
2) Illegal Behavior
3) Integration
4) Bullying
5) School Support System
3. Best practices, from Archangelos
1. A pupil can only be absent from school for a specific amount of hours/days during a
school year in order to be able to pass the class. Absence must be documented by
parents or a physician
2. Pupils who are late for class must bring a written confirmation from the headmaster in
order to enter the lesson
3. All pupils must attend the morning assembly in the school yard before the lessons start
4. The pupils cannot leave school grounds during recess or during the school day
5. The pupils must pass their exams in all subjects to be able to move on to the next grade
6. Pupils maintain their student status during their holidays so they are responsible for
their actions. The school community have the right and the authority to punish the
students when they return to school.
4. Potential transfer to Fyllingsdalen
1. Many Norwegian teachers want clearer and more specific rules for how much absence that can
be accepted during a school year. However, rules and regulations for absence are decided by the
government, and not by individual schools
2. Many pupils at Fyllingsdalen are late for class in the morning. We have already carried through a
project where pupils who were late for class had to bring a written confirmation from the
school’s administration in order to be able to enter the lesson. Unfortunately, the number of
latecomers did not decrease.
3. The morning assembly in Archangelos seems to strengthen the school’s unity and is a great forum
for information. The climate in Bergen/Norway makes it hard to transfer this practice. Also, we do
not have any indoor premises that are big enough to fit all the pupils.
4. Being able to prevent pupils from leaving school grounds during the day would probably decrease
the number of latecomers. Since we do not have a fence surrounding the school this would
demand considerable resources (staff).
5. During our project period a new law/regulation has been enforced. The main rule is that all pupils
now have to pass ALL their subjects in order to move on to the next grade. We are very pleased
with this new rule!
6. We think that it is a very good idea that pupils maintain their student status during the holidays.
However, the law does not allow us to punish students for actions committed on their spare time.
6. Best practices, from Archangelos
• Surveys have been conducted among pupils in
Archangelos and at Fyllingsdalen
• The pupils are open about the fact that they do
things that they know they should not do
• It is clear that pupils in both schools face challenges
that are typical of youth culture and delinquent
behavior (e.g. the use of alcohol).
7. • Teachers in Archangelos are close to the pupils
and have much contact with individual pupils.
• Teachers and pupils are often in the same places
and it is easier for the teachers to be aware of
what is going on among young people.
• The pupils must answer to the school for what
they do in their spare time.
• The police station is located near the school and
there is close contact between the Archangelos
police and school.
8. Potential transfer to Fyllingsdalen
• We could encourage closer ties between teachers
and pupils. For example by talking to individual
pupils more often, or by being more visible
during recess.
• The police station in Fyllingsdalen is located near
our school. We already cooperate with the police,
but this cooperation could be closer and more
frequent. We have already discussed the need for
the police to come and visit our school more
often in order to engage in preventive work.
10. Best practices, from Archangelos
In Greece there are various ways to organize
education of students with special needs:
• Special Schools
• In special classes in ordinary schools
• In ordinary classes in ordinary schools
• Homeschooling
11. Potential transfer to Fyllingsdalen
• In Norway, integration into mainstream classes
and schools is considered as the best solution for
pupils.
• In Bergen there is now talk about closing down
on of the last remaining special primary schools.
Several parents of disabled kids advocate that
special schools in some cases is the best solution
for the pupils.
• Perhaps we should learn from Greece, and accept
a greater diversity of offers depending on the
individual students’ needs.
13. Bullying
The Norwegian Council of education’s definition of bullying is:
• “Repeated negative or ‘evil’ behavior from one or more pupil
directed against a pupil who is unable to defend him- or herself.”
• Repeated teasing in an unpleasant way is also defined as bullying.
To be defined as bullying, this should be repeated 2 – 3 times a
month.
• The last survey from our school, in 2011, showed that out of 410
pupils, 10 say they are bullied several times every week, 5 once a
week, 8 of them 2 – 3 times a month.
• According to the Norwegian anti bullying program, the Olweus-
program, more than 60 000 children are bullied at schools in
Norway. Link to the program’s international website:
http://www.olweusinternational.no/
14. Best practices, from Archangelos
• In Norway, the extent of bullying is examined
through surveys every year.
• In Greece there are no such studies.
• This project has created a survey that can be
used to find out more about bullying at
school.
• The teacher in Archangelos are close to the
students to try to discover the bullying and do
something about it.
15. Potential transfer to Fyllingsdalen
• It can be difficult for teachers to detect bullying,
and the survey made in this project may also be
used at Fyllingsdalen Secondary School to get
additional information on the topic of bullying
and identify factors that may be difficult to
detect.
• Closer contact with students, as seen in
Archangelos, where teachers and students are in
the vicinity of each other during breaks, may help
prevent bullying.
16. School support system
Website reference: http://arbere.eu/school-support-system
Margarita Basdara
Thor Eirik Haugstad
17. School support system
• In Greece there aren’t any social services at school to provide help to students or
parents, if there is a problem of behavior.
• When there is a problem in the classroom, the teacher who faces the problem has
the responsibility of its solution. He has to advise the student by himself or herself.
When he/she has difficulties in dealing with the particular matter, he/she
cooperates with the class teacher or other teachers.
• If the problem is very serious, the head teacher calls the teachers’ council to
decide about the solution to the problem. Sometimes punishment is imposed on
the student. Other times, parents are invited to school to discuss the problem.
• In our school there is also a psychologist who offers her services for 2 days as a
part of a pilot project.
• In some difficult cases and when the school can’t find a solution, the teachers ask
for the help of the police.
• In fact, there is a social service in Municipality of Rhodes but they deal mostly with
severe cases. They cannot offer immediate solution to problems we face.
18. Best practices, from Archangelos
How to solve problems when there is no support system:
• Great teacher involvement
• The principal is present among the students
• The principal's office is located in the school and the
there is an open door policy to teachers and students
all day
• The police are present and active in the community
and at school
• It has established contact with private professionals,
some of whom have participated in our project
19. Potential transfer to Fyllingsdalen
• The close contact between teachers and pupils, where
teachers take personal responsibility for the pupils, is
similar to our system of ‘contact teachers’.
• The close contact between the principal and everyone
at school, is something we have mentioned several
times. We believe the personal involvement of the
principals shown in Greek schools is exemplary.
• We see, unfortunately, that with the increasing amount
of documentation requirements and tasks being added
to the management in Norwegian schools, it may be
difficult to copy what we have seen in Archangelos.
20. Thank you!
We want to thank you for having been given the opportunity to
participate in the project.
We learned a lot about the project’s focus area, as well as a lot
about the school system and the country of Greece.
It has been a challenging time for Greece, and we see that it has
affected our colleagues greatly. We are therefore particularly
grateful that they have taken the time to complete this project
with us.
