Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig

Danish historian, pastor, educational philosopher, writer, and politician Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872) ranks highly among his country’s most significant citizens. His pastoral work challenging and reforming the Danish Lutheran Church, his writings introducing Danes to the rich history and culture of their Viking forebearers, and his advocacy promoting pride in a distinctly Danish worldview made him a legend in Denmark, still popular over 150 years after his death. Grundtvig’s greatest contribution to education was his folk high school model for institutions designed for popular enlightenment. Folk high schools provided rural residents skills needed to become active contributors to a democratic society. By providing instruction in subjects including Danish language, history, literature, and storytelling in a residential environment – what Grundtvig collectively called education for life – the folk high schools played a leading role in preparing Denmark’s citizenry for a successful transition from an absolute monarchy to a democratic constitutional monarchy. Grundtvig’s folk high schools and his education for life philosophy have been exported successfully in several forms around the world to train citizens to respect diversity, promote democratic values, and gain new skills and talents they can use to make their lives and communities stronger.