Key competencies and basic elements of education are intended to inform all school work and be integrated into all learning and teaching.
Equal emphasis should be placed on key competencies and specific competencies for the relevant subject or field of study. The organization of lessons, assignments, and subjects should be such that it tests students’ ability to express themselves and listen to others, communicate information and tasks in a variety of ways, master the use of creative and critical thinking, apply independent working methods and collaboration, and utilize diverse sources of knowledge and analyze and communicate information.

Chapter 18 presents competency standards for key competencies, which are divided into five chapters, namely:

• Expression and communication, where students train their skills in communicating tasks and topics in a variety of ways and conveying their point clearly and audibly, expressing their thoughts and opinions in the most diverse ways possible, and participating in conversations and debates.
• Creative and critical thinking, where students train their skills in asking critical questions and using critical thinking, drawing conclusions, and applying reasoning.
• Independence and collaboration, where students train their skills in working independently and in collaboration with others in a responsible and democratic manner, receiving guidance and criticism, and collaborating in a constructive manner.
• Utilization of media and information, where students train their skills in working with the reliability of information, responsibility in information gathering and dissemination, analyzing sources of different media, demonstrating ethical responsibility, and applying critical thinking.
• Responsibility and assessment of their own learning, where students develop their skills through responsibility and self-knowledge towards their own learning and learning interests, working methods, performance and goal setting as a guide and the ability to realistically assess their work and results.

All the competence criteria of the key competences are important for safeguarding democracy and the ability to take a stand on ethical issues. In this way, human rights are also safeguarded, which contribute to creating a society of equality, sustainability, health and well-being. All these aspects are basic components of education, along with literacy and creativity, and should be integrated into all school work, learning and teaching.

Chapter 2 of the National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools discusses six basic elements of education. They are all interconnected in education and school work and are dependent on each other. By thinking about school work from the basic elements of education, a more holistic view of it can be created.

• Health and well-being, how to promote health and promote well-being and well-being with an emphasis on a positive and realistic self-image, exercise, nutrition, rest, mental health, mental and physical well-being, good communication, safety, hygiene, sexual health and understanding of one’s own emotions and those of others.
• Equality, how to promote equality education and create opportunities for everyone to develop on their own terms in a spirit of respect and equality.
• Democracy and human rights, how to promote student participation in a democratic society with an emphasis on respect for the human dignity of each individual as well as the human rights of all.
• Literacy, how to promote the ability to understand, utilize, reflect on, and engage in reading a variety of texts and information in order to achieve one’s goals, develop one’s knowledge, and the potential to participate actively in society.
• Sustainability, how to promote education for sustainability in all learning that aims to enable people to address issues related to the interaction of the environment, social factors and the economy in the development of society, while also strengthening global thinking and approach.
• Creativity, how to promote diverse creative work in schools and how creativity is integrated into all subjects and all school activities, both in formal and informal learning, leisure and social activities.

Working with key competencies and basic elements of education supports diverse and instructional teaching methods.

In order for students to achieve the desired competency standards, it is necessary to ensure that the school’s operating methods, subjects, organization and conditions promote the greatest possible interest in learning and the best possible academic performance. In a school community where there are students with different needs, it is the responsibility of teachers to create conditions that encourage learning and listen to the ideas that each one has to offer so that students feel safe and purposeful. Emphasis must be placed on respecting and valuing everyone’s ideas and on ensuring that there is space for all students to develop professionally and socially and to train in democratic working methods. Responses to students’ ideas and their different solutions have a decisive impact on the culture in the classroom and other learning environments, as well as on students’ respect for everyone’s contribution to creating a strong learning community. Students need to be aware that mistakes create opportunities to learn from, analyze what went wrong, and thus strengthen understanding of the subject.

In classrooms, work areas, and outdoor learning environments where students have access to a variety of processing methods for individual and group projects, all necessary learning materials, aids, technology, models, and tools must be accessible and students must be taught how to handle and use them responsibly and safely. The same applies to school libraries and other information centers where students can access books, publications, and technology.

Outdoor education provides an opportunity to utilize the senses by connecting topics to various aspects of learning areas and subjects in parallel with physical education. Thus, outdoor education is a good addition and opportunity for integrating subjects and learning areas. Diverse physical education takes place outdoors, especially in natural environments. Outdoor education provides a good opportunity to connect health education and sustainability in lifestyles. Students need to know, understand and respect nature and their immediate environment, man-made or natural.

A good understanding and knowledge of language, whether spoken or sign language, is the foundation of active democratic participation, communication and learning.

Language is the foundation of all school work, and teachers and school staff play a key role in supporting students to increase their Icelandic language skills in all areas of study by using Icelandic and their other language resources in diverse, creative and effective ways in their studies and social interactions. This helps to create an atmosphere of curiosity and interest among all students regardless of their language background, while striving to support communication between students and a growing understanding of the language of the subjects.

The aim of teaching Icelandic as a second language is for students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds to acquire and learn Icelandic so that they can pursue a comprehensive education in Icelandic schools. By systematically considering the breadth and depth of vocabulary as well as language use in all subjects, increased opportunities for learning are supported for all students.

It is important that every school lays the foundation for a reading culture with high-quality and diverse reading instruction and good access to diverse reading materials in a well-equipped teaching space and school library. Students need to be given the opportunity to build and acquire vocabulary for subjects and areas of study, to be trained in its use and to be able to apply it in speech and written text in different situations. A rich vocabulary is a prerequisite for language and reading comprehension, and good reading comprehension and good reading fluency are key components of literacy. A good reading culture in schools places reading and literacy high on the agenda and places both in a meaningful context for students in all subjects and areas of study.

The competence standards of subjects and fields of study are divided into several categories. The categories are not isolated within their field but rather parts of an integrated whole where each category can benefit from the others, within and between subjects and fields of study. Opportunities for integration are diverse and call for teaching methods where students are allowed to utilize and transfer the knowledge, skills and abilities they possess. Integration refers to subjects that are related, for example, to students’ daily lives and interests and have interfaces with the competence standards of many subjects and fields of study and the local community of the school.

The headings of the competence criteria can facilitate the planning of subject integration and provide an overview of the focus areas of the competence criteria for each subject or field of study.

Each school has the discretion to decide whether subjects are taught separately or integrated, but care must be taken to ensure that the curriculum is as comprehensive as possible.

Teaching methods should be as diverse as possible. They should be characterized by subjects that give students the opportunity to develop their independence and the ability to organize their own learning process and activities and to add to their knowledge of their world of experience. Teaching needs to be organized in a way that moves from what students know to the unknown, from strong support for students to their independent work. Thus, students’ project work should be based on democratic working methods, reflection, development of solutions, communication and collaboration with fellow students and teachers, observations indoors and in the school’s immediate environment, opportunities to experience and draw conclusions from their experiences, and participation in researching, presenting and verifying hypotheses. Space must be created for play and creativity in all learning and the necessary atmosphere and learning environment must be created. Ways need to be found to encourage students to think, exchange opinions and debate, consider many aspects of a given issue, and teach and train students to express themselves and take others into account when solving problems in large and small groups.

The teacher or teacher and students together need to select learning materials, tasks and subjects with the intention that students can use the skills, knowledge and skills they possess to solve them. The learning materials, tasks and subjects chosen need to be based on the competency standards and learning objectives being worked on at each time, be realistic and worthwhile, arouse interest and have meaning and value for students.

Emphasis should be placed on formative assessment and it should be integrated into teaching and learning. The main purpose of formative assessment is to provide students with feedback and guidance in a constructive manner throughout the learning process, while also providing parents with information about their children’s progress at any given time. The goal is for students to know where they are in the learning process and where they are going, and to receive guidance that will help them bridge the gap between them. When formative assessment is used, teachers and students need to be clear about the competency standards, learning objectives and assessment criteria that underpin the learning process, as well as the criteria for success.

Through formative assessment, both teachers and students receive regular information about their learning progress and whether the teaching has been effective. It is crucial that the information is used to improve learning and teaching so that students achieve their goals.

To assess a wide range of student competencies, it is important to use a variety of methods, tasks and subjects that provide the most comprehensive picture of student competencies. Assessment data must be accompanied by clear criteria that form the basis of the learning. With clear criteria, everyone should be clear about what competencies, knowledge and skills are being assessed and what is expected of students.

It is important that the weight of assessment data is determined in advance, is available at the beginning of the study period, and is in accordance with the organization of studies and teaching.

Teachers’ professional and objective assessment of students’ performance is the basis for their assessment. It is important that teachers can justify assessment results and provide assessment data that shows what the assessment is based on. During the learning process, teachers need to inform students and parents regularly about the students’ academic status and progress in their studies based on the competency standards and learning objectives that are being worked on at any given time. In this way, students are best prepared for the subjects that form the basis of assessment.