In 2011, the Research Council of Norway was been commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Research to establish a Knowledge Centre in the field of educational research. The new centre was officially launched on 16 May.
The purpose of the centre is to compile systematic reviews of national and international research of relevance for all levels of the educational system: kindergarten, primary school, upper secondary school, higher education, and adult learning.
In her remarks at the official opening, Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen said: "The Knowledge Centre will enable us to compile, synthesise and utilise the steadily growing body of international knowledge about education and will provide an important contribution to the foundation for Norwegian education policy."
Centre director Sølvi Lillejord stressed the importance of the centre as a meeting-place for researchers, practitioners and the authorities and as a voice in an informed, knowledge-based public debate on education issues.
The Knowledge Centre for Education will:
- compile and present systematic knowledge reviews in an open, easily accessible database;
- adapt the knowledge base to meet the needs of practitioners in early childhood care institutions, primary through upper secondary school, higher education institutions and adult learning, as well as the public administration and developers of education policy;
- compare national and international educational research and disseminate the best available knowledge about education issues;
- identify research frontiers and knowledge gaps in Norwegian educational research and raise awareness of the importance of quality and relevance;
- enhance competency in and capacity to compare and summarise research findings, in cooperation with Norwegian and international researchers and Research Council programmes.
International knowledge base
The Knowledge Centre will gather the most important knowledge produced internationally in the field of education and present it for Norwegian users on the centre website. The presentations will be divided into main findings (in Norwegian), summaries and complete reports (in the original language).
The website is under construction, and will be available in both a Norwegian and English version.
