The Hjalli model is a teaching method for kindergarten and elementary school, created and founded by Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir in 1989. It is now an independent scholarly organisation, Hjalli Ltd, which operates 14 kindergartens and three elementary schools around Iceland with service contracts in 11 municipalities. The total number of children in our schools is over 2000 and around 450 employees.
“Children at Hjalli model schools receive training in all human qualities as we believe that all children should have all the possibilities in the world regardless of their gender.”
Methods
The Hjalli model promotes a system where the children work in small single sex groups for the biggest part of their school day. This serves to liberate them from traditional gender-roles and stereotypical behaviour, and to make sure that girls and boys get even attention and equal opportunities in the classroom. The children receive training in all human qualities and the focus is on empowering gender through compensation work so they become independent and self-assertive individuals, but not least so they gain a positive, tolerant and compassionate disposition towards themselves and others.
“Our teachers emphasize original and
unusual projects and new experiences
to heighten the development of
the brain at the child‘s important
period of development.”