INCLUDE - Inclusive Educational Rights

Pupils displaying violent behaviour are a serious and growing challenge in contemporary Norway. In 2024, one in four Norwegian primary school teachers reported experiencing violence or threats in the workplace. Incidents of violence undermine the safety, well-being, and learning of pupils, while also negatively affecting teachers’ job satisfaction and working conditions. However, violence is also likely to reduce the quality of learning and social relationships among pupils who behave violently. In consequence, the rights of everyone in the school community are put at risk unless violence is handled adequately and in a manner that implements and maximises all rights of everyone involved. 

INCLUDE addresses these challenges by creating a framework for educational rights and their implementation in compulsory education (ages 6-14). First, the rights of all individuals involved, that is, pupils who behave violently, their peers and teachers, are established. This includes rights beyond education and bodily autonomy, such as children’s rights to development and social inclusion, as well as teachers’ labour law rights. These rights must be balanced against each other to ensure that everyone’s rights are respected to the greatest extent possible. The rights of each individual may also need to be balanced. For example, when a pupil behaves violently, the right to bodily integrity may conflict with the right to education or social inclusion. 

Second, INCLUDE investigates weaknesses in the current Norwegian legal framework. One weakness is vague language and definitions. The law uses the term "insult" («krenkelse»), but it is unclear what constitutes an insult and what kind of behaviour falls under it. For example, to what extent do the pupil's age, the presence of neuropsychological divergences, and the situation preceding the violent act, such as the behaviour of peers, influence what constitutes an insult and how the teacher is expected and allowed to act? A key question is also whether the current Norwegian legal framework complies with human rights obligations, notably the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Third, INCLUDE examines how teachers, school leaders, and administrators perceive and practise the rules on violence in schools, including the gaps, inconsistencies, and uncertainties they face in their daily school environment. 

Fourth, INCLUDE investigates how young persons perceive the rules regarding violence in schools and how schools deal with it. INCLUDE will also include young people's voices in the research to enrich the research questions, investigate young people’s perceptions of current rules and practices, and gain insight into how rules and practices could be improved.  

In collaboration with three municipalities, Alver, Bergen, and Øygarden, INCLUDE seeks to develop strategies to address both actual and perceived regulatory gaps and to improve knowledge and awareness of educational rights. 

Work packages