Intercultural Values Education in Europe. A Comparative Analysis of Norwegian and Spanish Reality

The various educational systems in Europe address the teaching of intercultural values in different ways. While in Spain, until recently, schooling in this area was conducted through Education for Citizenship and Human Rights, in Nordic countries the teaching of values is a cross-curricular affair. The aim of this study was to compare Norwegian students’ cultural values with Spanish students’ cultural values, in order to determine what influence the transmission route of these values has on student learning. The authors selected a sample of 781 Spanish students and 493 Norwegian students, drawn from the second year of Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Compulsory Secondary Education) and the ninth grade of high school, respectively. To collect the information, the authors used a questionnaire dealing with intercultural experiences and its Norwegian counterpart. Data analysis was conducted through T-statistic independent samples, using the SPSS statistical package, version 19.0. It was found that the Spanish education system transmits the intercultural values evaluated more effectively.