The Danish School Acts of 1814 and the Emergence of Mass Schooling in Denmark

This paper treats the impact of the Danish Schools Acts of 1814 and the emergence of mass schooling in Denmark in the 19th century. That all children in the Danish realms in principle were schoolchildren had been established already in the 1730s. But in the first part of the 19th century, the absolutist state sought the principle seriously implemented. In 1814, the Danish King Frederik VI enacted a set of schools laws. The acts of 1814 set out the framework for children’s education in the Danish monarchy, but the laws did not create schools; they primarily regulated diversity and confirmed an already ongoing process. Although schools came to resemble each other more, there were still large variations. Economy, politics, chances, and local enthusiasm as well as resistance had an impact on the results. Therefore, there was not a single Danish school system in 1850, but many thousands schools systems, one for each parish and town.