Education in The Netherlands Curriculum development, freedom of education and general education structure.
International Olympic Academy Master programme: Olympic Studies Name: Lea van Breukelen Module: M.1.3. Olympic Education Professor: C. Mountakis
The Netherlands is a small country in Western Europe. It’s one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 16,51 million people on 41,526 square kilometers. The Dutch, 81%, are the native inhabitants and dominant ethnic group. The dominant religion is Christianity; Catholic and Protestant. Back in 1950 and 1960 the Dutch society used to be strictly organized along religious or ideological lines. Every group had its own schools, newspapers and clubs. Now days the Dutch society is secular but traces of the old system can still be seen in media and the education system. The Dutch society is a multicultural society2, 19% of the people belongs to an ethnic minority. People have been migrating to the Netherlands for centuries. In the 20th century people from former Dutch colonies like Indonesia, Suriname and the Caribbean came to the Netherlands. While in 1960 and 1970 migrant workers from southern Europe, Morocco and Turkey came to the country. The cultural and religious diversity in the Dutch society can also be traced in the various numbers of schools because there is freedom of education. So who determines the curriculum in The Netherlands, what is the general education structure like and what does freedom of education mean? In this essay I will explain the curriculum development and the general structure of education in The Netherlands. At the end of this essay I will discuss some “clashes” between the freedom of education and a secular society.
Centralized or a decentralized curriculum In almost all countries the responsibility for providing basic education is written into the law. In all those countries there are many variations how a curriculum is developed3. All these various developments can be divided into two groups, a centralized curriculum and a decentralized curriculum. In a centralized education4 system most decisions and management functions are concentrated and made by an education ministry or department. The central government regulates all aspects of the education system and sets policies and performs management functions. Sometimes school officials are given some power but this power is limited to day-‐to-‐day management and there is limited space for initiatives.
1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The country and it’s people. Retrieved 2-‐12-‐2011 http://www.minbuza.nl/en/you-‐and-‐netherlands/about-‐the-‐netherlands/general-‐information/the-‐country-‐and-‐its-‐people.html 2 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Multicultural Society. Retrieved 2-‐12-‐2011 http://www.minbuza.nl/en/you-‐and-‐netherlands/about-‐the-‐netherlands/general-‐information/multicultural-‐society.html 3 Mountakis, C. Curriculum development in Olympic education part 1. (Olympia 2011). 4 Florestal, K. & Cooper, R. Decentralization of Education Legal Issues. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. (1997).
In a decentralized education system there is some limited control by the central government, the power is given to local authorities. The responsibility can be decentralized to a region, province, district or an individual school. In many cases the ministry of education sets a framework for the curriculum and schools or teachers have the freedom to create the curriculum, which is best in their opinion. There are different reasons for countries to decentralize their education system. The main reasons are: to save money and improve the efficiency and flexibility at management levels, to transfer responsibility to a more capable level of government, freedom of education and to better recognize local linguistic or ethic diversity. In practice most education systems, especially in primary education, have both centralized and decentralized elements. Each curriculum has it own advantages and disadvantages. That the most western countries have a decentralized curriculum doesn’t mean that there are no pros for a centralized curriculum. A centralized curriculum gives every child the same opportunity, knowledge, skills, experience and values. In the whole country the subjects are and taught the same so it’s easy to control and to evaluate the curriculum. And a centralized curriculum can create a uniform identity and better national bonds. But an important con of this curriculum is the aspect of a regulated society. There is no freedom for different points of (political and or religious) views. A decentralized curriculum is better for the individual child because it caters the needs and the interests of pupils, especially in a country with a multicultural society. Education in the Netherlands The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for education in the Netherlands. This Ministry is at political level headed by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science and two State Secretaries. One State secretary is responsible for secondary and vocational education, the other State Secretary for primary education. The Dutch education system combines a centralized education policy with a decentralized administration and management of schools. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science5 sets quality standards which apply to public and private education and prescribe the subjects to be studied, the attainment targets or examination syllabuses, the content of national examinations, the number of teaching periods per year, the qualifications which teachers are required to have, giving parents and pupils a say in school matters, planning and reporting obligations, the length of courses, norms for splitting up classes, norms for establishment and closure of schools.
5The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education System in the Netherlands 2007. The Hague. (November 2007).
In the Netherlands there is freedom of education, this is guaranteed under article 23 of the Constitution. Article 23 guarantees the freedom of establishment, the freedom of organization of teaching and the freedom of conviction. Schools and teaching can be based on religious, ideological or educational beliefs. As a result of this freedom there are public and private schools in the Netherlands. Public schools are open to all children regardless of religion or outlook. They provide education on behalf of the state. A public school is governed by the municipal council or by a public legal entity or foundation. Private schools can refuse children when their parent don not subscribes the belief or ideology on which the teaching is based. A private school is governed by the board of the foundation that established the school. Private schools have the freedom to determine what is taught and how, but they have to follow the quality standards which are set by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Some schools base their teaching on specific educational ideas, like Montessori, Dalton, Freinet or Jena Plan method. These schools can be publicly or privately run. Public and private schools have an equal financial footing. The conditions for private schools in order to qualify for funding are set in the law. The Education Inspectorate6 is charged with the inspection of education and is an executive agency under the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education Inspection Act enables the Inspectorate to operate professional and independent to improve standards on the basis of their quality assurance systems. Inspections are carried out at every institution but they are less intensive where teaching is of a high standard and when the quality assurance systems are well developed. Institutions may receive financial support to improve the quality. But the Education Inspectorate can also give penalties. The penalties can be withdrawal of rights and funding but funding can only be withheld of an institution when it fails to comply with statutory regulations. General structure in education
6 The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education System in the Netherlands 2007. The Hague. (November 2007).
Children must attend primary school when they are five years old but nearly all children start at the age of four. After eight years of primary school, children can choose between three types of secondary education, high school: •
VMBO7 (pre-‐vocational secondary education) four years. VMBO has four learning pathways: basic vocational programme, middle-‐ management vocational programme, combined programme and the theoretical programme.
•
HAVO (senior general secondary education) five years.
•
VWO (pre-‐university education) six years.
After completing VMBO, the students can continue on MBO or HAVO. HAVO and VWO certificate-‐holders can start higher education. HAVO certificate-‐holders can also go to the upper years of VWO. HAVO is designed to prepare pupils for HBO, higher professional education and VWO is designed for university. MBO certificate-‐holders can go to HBO while HBO graduates can go on to university. Children with learning and behavioral difficulties can go to special school. Pupils, who are unable to pass VMBO, even with extra help, can receive practical training. This training prepares them to enter the labour market. Curriculum development in Dutch education8 Primary school According to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, education has three main functions9: it contributes to the personal development of children, their participation in the society and provides the transmission of social and cultural achievements. The education10 refers to emotional and intellectual development, the development of creativity, acquisition of social, cultural and physical skills. Core objectives help to put these developments into
7 The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education System in the Netherlands 2007. The Hague. (November 2007). 8 The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education System in the Netherlands 2007. The Hague. (November 2007). 9
Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. Kerndoelen primair onderwijs (April 2006).
practice. Core objectives provide guidelines, schools can make their own decision how to develop these objectives and they indicate the goals each school should at least strive for. By setting these core objectives there is a reference for the public accountability, it is easier to define if the objectives are achieved or not. The objectives describe the desiring outcome of a learning process, not how the results should be achieved and there is no prescription of didactics. According to the Primary Education Act 1988 schools have a number of tasks. Per subject an indication is given what pupils must learn and what schools must offer pupils in terms of teaching. The subjects are formulated in attainment targets and define in broad terms the core curriculum at primary schools. These targets have to ensure that the pupils will be prepared for secondary education. Since 2006 schools have to provide teaching in six curriculum areas, but schools are free to choose how many teaching periods they give to each subject. There are only restrictions for the minimum number of teaching periods per years and a maximum length of a school day. The six curriculum areas: •
Dutch
•
English (in the top two years of primary school)
•
Arithmetic and mathematics
•
Socials and environmental studies
•
Creative expression
•
Sports and movement
The schools have the freedom to choose their own teaching materials. The production, distribution and sale of teaching materials are a commercial activity in The Netherlands. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science publish guides to compare the quality of the teaching materials so schools can make an informed choice. Every school must have a school plan. This plan, for example, describes the steps to improve quality and policy of the school on educational matters. Every four years the school plan has to be updated. The school plan is used to accounts to the Inspectorate and the participation council for its policies. Secondary education
10
Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. Core objectives primary education. (April 2006).
Lower years In 2006 a new legislation for the lower years of secondary education was set. This legislation sets requirements of the curriculum and contains provisions on the deployment of staff and participation in decision-‐making and on time spent in school. The legislation leaves schools free to set their own policies. Two third of the teaching hours must be spent on the 58 attainment targets. The school can decide how to fulfill these targets into subjects, projects and areas of learning. The rest of the curriculum varies according to the type of education. There must be coherence and uninterrupted learning pathways from the lower to the upper years. Upper years VMBO curriculum In the second year VMBO pupils choose for a particular sector and learning pathway. There are four different learning pathways and four sectors: engineering and technology, care and welfare, business and agriculture. Each sector and learning pathway has its own curriculum. The practical training curriculum includes at least the Dutch language, arithmetic and mathematics, IT studies and physical education plus subjects that prepare pupils for jobs. The school board in negotiation with municipal authorities chooses these subjects. HAVO VWO curriculum The study load for the 4th and 5th years of HAVO amounts 1,480 hours for the common component, 1,160 hours for the specialized component and 560 hours for the optional component. The common component contains the following subjects: Dutch, English, modern language, social studies, general science, physical education and culture and arts. For the specialized component, pupils can choose four profiles: science and technology, science and health, economics and society and culture and society. The optional component can be philosophy, management and organization, information technology, physical education a modern language or an optional component. The study load for the 4th, 5th and 6th years of VWO amounts 1,960 hours for the common component, 1,840 hours for the specialized component and 1,000 hours for the optional component. The VWO common component contains these subjects: Dutch language and literature, English language and literature, French language and literature, German language and literature, general science, social studies, history culture and arts and physical education. VWO offers the same profiles as HAVO but the optional components are different. VWO pupils can choose classical culture, Latin and Greek.
There are no detailed regulations regarding to the teaching methods and learning materials. Schools select their own textbooks and course materials. The school plan must describe the subjects and the teaching methods. The language of instruction is Dutch but schools in the province of Friesland can also teach Frisian. The Niedersachsisch, Limburger, Yiddish and Romany languages can be used for instructions alongside Dutch. Tertiary education curriculum The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science sets the framework how institutions must operate. It’s the responsibility of the institution to expand this framework in teaching. For every course there must be information like a syllabus, main subjects, detailed regulations about the content and organization of the examinations. Decentralisation and freedom of education in practice The education system in The Netherlands is decentralized. For a multicultural society this kind of education system might be the best choice. However sometimes a decentralized curriculum can also give problems and the freedom of education can raise discussions. Parents can sent their children to a school of their choice, in the big cities this has lead to a “white flight” of “Dutch” children11. Parents of “Dutch” children choose for schools outside of the cities or neighborhoods without many immigrants and more “Dutch” children. In big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht there are many “black schools”. A “black school” is a school with a high concentration of immigrants, at least 70%. In many cases pupils at more diverse schools have better results than pupils at “black schools”. The main reason for this problem is the language. This development is a big con of a decentralized curriculum because it doesn’t create national bonds. Children from different communities have to learn to live in the same society and school is a great place to learn that. But this is not possible because of the segregation. Six percent of the population in the Netherlands is Muslim. There are over 40 Islamic primary schools and two high schools. Compared to other schools many of the Islamic primary schools are qualified as weak. Although the quality of more than half of the schools is qualified as sufficient, compared to other primary schools there are many weak schools. Ten percent of the schools are assessed by the Inspection as very poor while 1,5 % of all the primary schools were assessed as very poor. Islamic primary schools are also significantly more rated poor compared to other schools, 36 % of Islamic
11 Herweijer, L. (2008), Segregatie in het basis-‐ en voortgezet onderwijs, P. Schnabel, R. Bijl en J. de Hart, Betrekkelijke betrokkenheid, Studies in sociale cohesie, Sociaal en Cultureel Rapport 2008, Den Haag: SCP, p. 206-‐233.
schools versus 9 % of other schools. If schools are this weak should they still have the right to create their own curriculum or should this schools be centralized? The freedom of education is an important part of the Dutch democracy however this freedom can also gives some problems in a secular society. According to Article 1 in the Constitution12: “All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted”. But this is not always the case at schools, because schools have freedom of education. Private schools can refuse children according to their belief or ideology. Especially private schools with a religious background are giving difficulties in a secular society. In the past years there have been discussion about Muslim girls wearing headscarves13 at Catholic schools. Private schools14 may impose requirements to achieve the religious foundation of the school so a Catholic school can ban a headscarf. The school has to prove that the religious expression of the garment makes it impossible to achieve the religious character of the school. There are also problems with homosexual teachers at Orthodox Christian schools15. There are many Orthodox Christian schools which oppose homosexuality on Biblical principles so a homosexual teacher in very controversial. According to Article 23 in the Constitution private schools have the right to refuse homosexual teachers, but according to Article 1 discrimination against homosexuality is not permitted. This means that religious schools are allowed to refuse homosexual teachers on the grounds that homosexuality conflicts with their religious principles. Conclusion The curriculum development in The Netherlands is a combination of centralized education policy with a decentralized administration and management of schools. But in general this kind of curriculum development can be considered as decentralized16 because the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science sets the guidelines for the curriculum and schools and teachers can choose their teaching methods and materials. This kind of curriculum development fits well in the Dutch education system because of Article 23 in the Constitution: freedom of education. This freedom is
12 Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Constitutional Affairs and Legislation Division .The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 2008. (2008). 13 Radio Netherlands World Wide. Court allows Dutch school to ban headscarves. Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/court-‐allows-‐dutch-‐school-‐ban-‐headscarves 14 Rijksoverheid. Vraag en antwoord:Mag een school bepaalde kleding, zoals hoofddoekjes, verbieden? Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/basisonderwijs/vraag-‐en-‐antwoord/mag-‐een-‐school-‐bepaalde-‐kleding-‐verbieden.html 15 Elsevier. Basisschool mag homoseksuele leraar niet ontslaan. Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Nederland/321175/Basisschool-‐mag-‐homoseksuele-‐leraar-‐niet-‐ontslaan.htm 16 Mountakis, C. Curriculum development in Olympic education part 1. (Olympia 2011).
important because the Dutch society is a multicultural society with many different religions and backgrounds. However this doesn’t mean that there are no problems at all. The “black schools” in the big cities are the result of this freedom and the weaker Islamic primary schools are the result of a decentralized curriculum development. However, according to an annual report with statistics on education in the Netherlands in 201117, Dutch children are generally higher educated, get a diploma and girls are more successful as boys. Especially compared to Europe the Netherlands is doing well. In the ranking, the Netherlands is just behind leader Finland.
17 Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek,. Jaarboek onderwijs in cijfers 2011. Den Haag/Heerlen, 2011
References Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek,. Jaarboek onderwijs in cijfers 2011. Den Haag/Heerlen, 2011 Florestal, K. & Cooper, R. Decentralization of Education Legal Issues. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. (1997). Herweijer, L. (2008), Segregatie in het basis-‐ en voortgezet onderwijs, P. Schnabel, R. Bijl en J. de Hart, Betrekkelijke betrokkenheid, Studies in sociale cohesie, Sociaal en Cultureel Rapport 2008, Den Haag: SCP, p. 206-‐233. Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Constitutional Affairs and Legislation Division .The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 2008. (2008). Mountakis, C. Curriculum development in Olympic education part 1. (Olympia 2011). Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. Kerndoelen primair onderwijs (April 2006). Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. Core objectives primary education. (April 2006). Inspectie van het Onderwijs. Bestuurlijke praktijken in het islamitisch onderwijs. (2007). The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The Education System in the Netherlands 2007. The Hague. (November 2007). Reading material for background about Dutch education: Ahlers, J. Onderwijs in Nederland. Twello: Van Tricht (2000). Drooglever Fortuijn, E. Onderwijsbeleid. Maatschappelijk functies en strategische keuzen. Amsterdam: Aksant (2003). Veugelers, W. & Bosman, R. De strijd om het curriculum. Antwerpen – Apeldoorn: Garant (2005). Websites Elsevier. Basisschool mag homoseksuele leraar niet ontslaan. Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Nederland/321175/Basisschool-‐mag-‐homoseksuele-‐leraar-‐niet-‐ ontslaan.htm Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The country and it’s people. Retrieved 2-‐12-‐2011 http://www.minbuza.nl/en/you-‐and-‐netherlands/about-‐the-‐netherlands/general-‐information/the-‐ country-‐and-‐its-‐people.html
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Multicultural Society. Retrieved 2-‐12-‐2011 http://www.minbuza.nl/en/you-‐and-‐netherlands/about-‐the-‐netherlands/general-‐ information/multicultural-‐society.html
Radio Netherlands World Wide. Court allows Dutch school to ban headscarves. Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/court-‐allows-‐dutch-‐school-‐ban-‐headscarves
Rijksoverheid. Vraag en antwoord:Mag een school bepaalde kleding, zoals hoofddoekjes, verbieden? Retrieved 3-‐12-‐2011 http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/basisonderwijs/vraag-‐en-‐antwoord/mag-‐een-‐school-‐ bepaalde-‐kleding-‐verbieden.html