Violence in Danish schools is becoming more common, according to a new nationwide survey of teachers that links rising classroom conflicts to a rapid push for inclusion without matching resources. The findings highlight growing pressure on Denmark’s public schools as more pupils with special needs are taught in mainstream classes, often without extra staff or tailored support.
Survey shows violence in Danish schools is becoming routine
The new survey, carried out by Denmark’s Teachers’ Union in cooperation with national broadcaster TV 2, paints a picture of everyday tension in many classrooms. More than half of the teachers who responded say they are expected to include more pupils with diagnoses such as ADHD and autism this school year than last, while over 80 percent report that they do not have the resources needed to make inclusion work.
According to the same survey, 54 percent of teachers in ordinary classes say they experience violent episodes between pupils on a daily or weekly basis. Earlier in 2025, a similar survey put the figure at 41 percent, suggesting a sharp increase in less than a year.
Teachers also report more noise, more disruptions and lower well-being in the classroom. Many say they struggle to balance the needs of pupils with significant support needs and the rest of the class, especially when there is only one adult in the room.
The survey is based on answers from more than 1,800 teachers and preschool class leaders in the municipal folkeskole. While it reflects perceptions rather than official statistics, it adds to a broader body of data from the Teachers’ Union indicating that violence, threats and high absenteeism have all become more common in Danish schools in recent years.
Inclusion without support leaves pupils and staff exposed
At the centre of the debate is the question of inclusion: the long-standing goal that children with special needs should, as far as possible, attend their local mainstream school with the right support. In practice, teachers say, that support is often missing.
One case that has attracted attention is that of six-year-old Eddie Dufke, who has infantile autism and moved from a kindergarten with dedicated support to a mainstream class with no fixed extra hours. His experience illustrates how pupils with significant support needs can thrive on some days and struggle on others when specialised help is missing, with consequences not only for their own learning, but also for classmates and the wider classroom environment.
Helsingør Municipality is one of several that aim to include almost all children in mainstream classes, regardless of diagnosis, disability or other challenges. Teachers and parents do not necessarily oppose that goal. Instead, they point to a gap between political ambitions and the reality in classrooms, where too few adults are expected to handle increasingly complex groups of pupils.
Teachers call for more adults and better classroom design
Teachers’ representatives argue that the current model leaves both pupils and staff vulnerable. They describe situations where one child’s behaviour can dominate an entire lesson, while classmates lose out academically and socially.
Many teachers say they still support the principle of inclusion, but only if it comes with more trained staff and better conditions. They call for:
- two adults in classes with several pupils who have significant support needs;
- specially trained pedagogues who can de‑escalate conflicts and help children withdraw before they reach a breaking point;
- classrooms and school buildings designed so that pupils who are overstimulated have access to quiet spaces.
Without these changes, they warn, inclusion risks turning into exclusion – for the pupils with special needs, who may end up staying at home, and for their classmates, who experience more disruption, anxiety and in some cases direct violence.
Families feel the cost of failed inclusion at home
Parents of children with special educational needs say the consequences do not stop at the school gate. When school days end early or are marked by conflict, families must reorganise work, childcare and everyday routines.
One mother quoted in the survey, Sheryll Dufke, describes how difficult school days for her son with autism often spill over into the afternoon and evening, requiring her to leave work early and manage more conflicts at home, a pattern echoed by other families of children with special needs.
Families in similar situations warn that this pattern can lead to stress, financial strain and, in the longer term, weaker attachment to school for the child. They also worry about the impact on brothers and sisters, who must adapt to unpredictable days and may receive less attention from parents.
Municipalities like Helsingør say they are investing in extra resource pedagogues and closer cooperation between kindergartens, schools and families. But parents’ organisations and teachers argue that these measures are still not enough to match the scale of the inclusion task.
Government admits inclusion is not working as intended
Denmark’s Minister for Children and Education, Mattias Tesfaye (S), has acknowledged that current inclusion policies are not delivering the intended results. In recent months he has repeatedly pointed to rising mistrivsel, or low well-being, among pupils and to growing unrest in classrooms.
Tesfaye argues that support must start earlier, in daycare and kindergarten, so that more children are socially and emotionally ready for school. The government has channelled additional funds to municipalities, but how that money is spent – on schools, elder care or other local priorities – is largely a municipal decision.
The minister has also stressed that one child’s behaviour must not undermine the learning of the rest of the class. That position has sparked debate about how to balance the right of children with disabilities to be included with the right of other pupils to a safe learning environment.
At the Folketing, the parliamentary Children and Education Committee has held open hearings on the role of school psychologists and on whether teacher training should again include specialised programmes in educational psychology. Researchers and practitioners have underlined that inclusion requires sustained investment in competence development, not just short-term projects.
A Nordic school model under pressure
The Danish folkeskole is often presented as part of a broader Nordic model that combines strong public education, relatively small social differences and a high degree of trust. Inclusive schools are a core element of that model: pupils with and without disabilities are expected to learn together, and separating children into special institutions should be an exception.
Over the past decade, however, inclusion has become a contested policy area in Denmark. Earlier analyses by education researchers have already warned that the country has not succeeded in making inclusion work as planned. The latest survey from the Teachers’ Union suggests that many teachers now see the situation as deteriorating rather than improving.
Similar debates are visible elsewhere in the Nordic region and across the European Union, where governments are under pressure to honour commitments to inclusive education while also responding to concerns about bullying, school violence and learning outcomes.
For Denmark, the new data on violence in Danish schools adds urgency to a discussion that is no longer only about where pupils with special needs should be taught. It is also about how to ensure that all children can feel safe, learn and thrive in classrooms that are more diverse – and more demanding – than ever before.
