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Towards citizenship education in the
Netherlands
Dr. Geert Driessen
ITS – Institute of Applied Social Sciences
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
g.driessen@its.ru.nl
www.geertdriessen.nl
July 2008
Country report prepared for FIERI
Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di Ricerche sull’Immigrazione
International and European Forum on Migration Research
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1. Introduction
The internationally comparative research project Formazione alla cittadinanza per
stranieri residenti in Italia deals with the theme of citizenship education. The ultimate
goal of this FIERI (Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di Ricerche sull’Immigrazione)
project is to compare how citizenship education is addressed in secondary education
(i.e., pupils of 14-18 years old) in four different European countries: England, France,
the Netherlands and Spain. The focus is on immigrant pupils and schools with a high
proportion of pupils with an immigrant background. The main question of this study is
whether there are any well-tried projects, lesson packages or textbooks for these specific
categories of pupils and schools.
This country report describes the situation with regard to citizenship education in the
Netherlands. To facilitate putting the topic in a proper perspective, the report also
presents a description of the context of citizenship education in the Netherlands and
relevant developments in this context. In this analysis, two levels are discerned, the
level of Dutch society at large, and the level of education and schools. Topics covered at
the level of society include the history of immigration to the Netherlands, different
categories of immigrants, the shift in thinking of immigration as an asset to immigration
as a problem, the change in policy of integration with maintenance of the own culture to
downright assimilation, and integration and active citizenship as an individual
obligation and responsibility. Topics at the level of education include an explanation of
the structure of the Dutch education system, an overview of successive policies on
social and ethnic educational inequality, the effectiveness of these policies, the present
educational position of immigrant pupils, and the introduction and implementation of
citizenship education.
In the next chapters, this report thus successively describes the following topics:
• immigration to the Netherlands;
• the Dutch education system;
• policies on integration and citizenship;
• citizenship education.1
Various methods were used in the present study, namely a search and analysis of the
1 In The Netherlands, the official term for citizenship education is burgerschapskunde (literally:
‘knowledge in terms of learning and skill of citizenship’).
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relevant literature in (digital) libraries, an internet search of organizations in the field of
citizenship education and websites on citizenship education projects, programs and
textbooks, and consultation of a number of national experts.
Regarding the latter, the author wishes to thank the following persons for their
information and advice: professor dr. Wiel Veugelers, University for Humanistics
Utrecht; dr. Femke Geijsel and Maartje van der Niet, M.A., Graduate School of
Teaching and Learning, University of Amsterdam; dr. Anne Bert Dijkstra, Inspectorate
of Education; Jeroen Bron, M.A., and Hans Hooghoff, M.A., National Institute for
Curriculum Development (SLO), Christel Broekmaat, National Information Center
Teaching Materials (NICL); Cees de Wit, M.A., and Irene de Kort, M.A., KPC Group;
and Tineke Vogelaar and Marcus Roggeveen, Essener Publishers.
Dr. Geert Driessen 2
Malden, The Netherlands, July 2008.
2 Dr. Geert Driessen is a senior educational researcher at ITS (Institute of Applied Social Sciences) of the
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. His major research interests include education in
relation to ethnicity/race, social milieu and sex/gender; other themes are parental participation and
engagement; school choice; religion and religious schools; Islamic schools; integration and segregation;
participation and citizenship; preschool and early school education; bilingual education; dialects and
regional languages; educational policy; compositional and peer group effects.
E-mail: g.driessen@its.ru.nl. Web: www.geertdriessen.nl.
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2. Immigration to the Netherlands
2.1 The influx of immigrants
Since the Second World War, the Netherlands, like many other Western European
countries, has been confronted with an influx of large groups of immigrants. These
immigrants differ in a number of respects from not only the receiving society but also
from each other. Which categories migrate to which countries depends on the historical,
political, and economic contexts of both the country of departure and the country of
receipt. The manner in which the receiving countries react to the arrival of immigrants
greatly varies (Banks, 2008; Koopmans & Statham, 2000; Van het Loo, De Spiegeleire,
Lindstrom, Kahan & Vernez, 2001). And there are also major differences in the manner
in which immigrants deal with the expectations and demands of the receiving society
(Portes & Rumbaut, 1996; Zhou, 1997).
2.2 Categories and numbers
Depending on the definition used, the number of immigrants3 in the Netherlands in
2008 varies from 6.2 to 19.6 percent of the total Dutch population of 16.4 million. Two
main categories can be discerned, Western immigrants and non-Western immigrants.
Application of the criterion ‘country of birth’4 in 2008 showed the former category to
constitute 8.8 percent and the latter category 10.8 percent of the total Dutch population
(CBS, 2008). A further division results in four categories of immigrants:5
1. Immigrants from Western countries, such as Belgium, Germany, the UK and USA.
The main reason for their stay in the Netherlands is that they work here. Most of
them have an intermediate or higher level of education.
2. Immigrants from former colonies, with the main countries being the Antilles and
Surinam. As a result of their colonial ties with the Netherlands, these immigrants
3 In the official policy documents, (scientific) literature, and media, such terms as ‘immigrants’, ‘ethnic
minorities’, ‘cultural minorities’, and ‘minorities’ are being used interchangeable. Often it is not clear
whether the terms refer to first-, second- or (even) third-generation immigrants. In this paper this custom
is – therefore – being followed.
4 The person was born abroad and/or at least one of his or her parents was born abroad.
5 In addition to these legal immigrants, the Ministry of Justice estimated there to reside between 75,000
and 185,000 illegal immigrants in the Netherlands in the period April 2005 – April 2006 (MinJus, 2007).
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often were already familiar with the Dutch language and culture. These immigrants
arrived in various waves; earlier waves mainly came to the Netherlands to study
here, later waves often came for economic reasons, that is, because of the deplorable
economic situation in their home countries. The latter category often has had little
education. Because most of them have a Dutch passport and are Dutch citizens there
is no restrictions to their immigration.
3. Labor immigrants (so-called ‘guest workers’) from the Mediterranean area arriving
in the Netherlands in the 1960s and subsequent waves of immigration for purposes of
family reunification and family formation.6 The main countries of origin are Turkey
and Morocco; countries with much smaller numbers of immigrants are Spain,
Portugal, Italy and Greece. One characteristic shared by the Turkish and Moroccan
immigrants is their low level of education. Furthermore, their language and culture
are very different from the Dutch language and culture. And a distinction that has
received increased emphasis since the ‘9/11’ catastrophe is that of religion: almost all
of the Turkish and Moroccan immigrants to the Netherlands are Muslim (Driessen,
2007). In contrast to the integration process of the Turkish and Moroccan
immigrants, the integration of the other Mediterranean groups went rather smoothly.
Reasons for this are undoubtedly the fact that these immigrants often married with
Dutch persons and mixed with the Dutch population, that they were
Christians/Catholics, and that their goal was building a new life in the Netherlands.
4. Refugees/asylum-seekers, who came to the Netherlands for political reasons. This
constitutes a heterogeneous category of immigrants coming from Eastern Europe
(e.g., former Yugoslavia, Russia), Africa (e.g., Somalia), and the Middle East (e.g.,
Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan). One characteristic almost all asylum-seekers share,
however, is that they are Muslim. The number of asylum-seekers has drastically
decreased over the past few years. While there were 44,000 requests for asylum in
2000, this number was less than 10,000 in 2007.
Table 1 provides an overview of the exact number of immigrants in each of the
categories mentioned.
6 Until recently some 75 percent of Turkish and Moroccan young people had a partner coming over from
the country of origin (Hooghiemstra, 2003). While the total number of such marriage immigrants was
11,000 in 1995, the total in 2002 was 21,000. This form of immigration has undergone severe criticism
because the integration process must be repeated from ground zero in such cases (WRR, 2001).
Immigrants with little or no education, no mastery of the Dutch language, and unfamiliarity with the
Western culture are most typically involved. This situation has, according to the government, not only
adverse consequences for the marriage immigrants but also for any children they may have. Since 2006,
the government has imposed severe restrictions on these so-called ‘import marriages’ (Driessen & Merry,
2006). As a consequence, since then less and less Turkish and Moroccan youngsters in the Netherlands
have been marrying brides and bridegrooms from Turkey and Morocco.
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Table 1. Number of immigrants in the Netherlands per January 1, 2008
Total Western immigrants
1,450,101
8.8%
Total non-Western immigrants
Of whom:
1,766,154
10.8%
Antilleans
131,387
0.8%
Surinamese
335,504
2.0%
Turks
368,600
2.2%
Moroccans
335,679
2.0%
Asylum-seekers*
9,730
0.1%
Total population
16,404,282
100%
* Total asylum requests in 2007
Source: CBS (2008)
2.3 Immigration as a problem
In the remainder of this report the focus is on the non-Western immigrants. Most of
them reside in the four big cities in the west of the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
The Hague and Utrecht. And within these cities many are concentrated in certain high-
poverty boroughs. Contrary to immigration from Western countries, immigration from
non-Western countries is increasingly being viewed as a problem in the Netherlands,
and a number of different reasons for this can be cited. To start with, immigrants have
become much more visible during the past few decades as a result of not only their
increasing numbers but also as a result of primarily their outward characteristics and
behavior. With respect to the latter, for example, considerable media attention has been
paid to the fact that immigrants are strongly overrepresented within the domains of
crime in general and particularly crime accompanied by physical violence (Bovenkerk,
2002; Overdijk-Francis & Smeets, 1998). Especially Moroccan and Antillean youth
have a bad reputation. Another contributor is the growing recognition of the fact that the
current welfare state — which immigrants disproportionately rely upon — cannot be
maintained. In part because they are frequently lower educated, do not have sufficient
mastery of the Dutch language, and are discriminated against at times, immigrants make
a far greater use of such social services as unemployment, disability, and welfare
(Hagendoorn, Veenman & Vollebergh, 2003).
The 9/11 incident has undoubtedly been a catalyst for the increased negative view on
immigration and shifted attention from ethnicity as the main reason for this view to
religion (also see Driessen & Merry, 2006; Leeman & Pels, 2006). While it was
absolutely taboo to say anything negative about immigrants in the Netherlands prior to
9/11, the populistic right-wing Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn articulated the feelings of
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dissatisfaction shared by so many people in the Netherlands after the 9/11 attacks and
particularly the native Dutch population living in depressed urban areas and thus
confronted with the consequences of immigration on a daily basis.3 As a result of
Fortuyn’s political efforts, which were mainly aimed at immigration and integration,
politics have seen a remarkable shift towards the extreme right.7 The murder of Dutch
filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a fanatic Muslim youth served as a another catalyst for
this development. The main protagonists of this new right faction now are anti-Muslim
Member of Parliament Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (Partij Voor Vrijheid)
and former Minister of Integration and now Member of Parliament Rita Verdonk and
her party Proud of the Netherlands (Trots Op Nederland).8
7 Fortuyn was murdered by an animal rights activist before coming fully into power.
8 Both right-wing parties are attracting many voters. If there would be elections now (May 6, 2008),
Wilders would get 8 seats in Parliament and Verdonk 24, together 32 which is more than one fifth of the
total number of 150 seats. Verdonk’s party would even become the second largest party in Parliament
(http://www.politiekebarometer.nl/).
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3. Education in the Netherlands
3.1 The Dutch education system
3.1.1 The structure of the system
The structure of the Dutch education system is depicted in Figure 1. In the Netherlands,
education is compulsory for children aged 5 till 18 and is free of charge. Although it is
not required by law, almost all 4-year-olds attend primary school which consists of 8
grades. In grades 1 and 2 play takes up a central place; in grade 3 formal instruction in
reading, arithmetic/mathematics and writing starts. When the children are in the final
grade of primary school they are given a recommendation with respect to the most
suitable type of secondary education (Eurydice, 2007).
In the secondary education system, all pupils receive a basic secondary education during
the first year or two, which means a national common core curriculum with only a
difference in the level of the subject matter. In actual practice, however, from their very
start in secondary education the pupils to a large extent are pre-sorted into separate
tracks. In mainstream9 secondary education, three basic tracks are discerned:
• VMBO: pre-vocational secondary education (age 12-16; 4 years), which comprises
four learning pathways:
− basic vocational program (BBL);
− middle-management vocational program (KBL);
− combined program (GL);
− theoretical program (TL).
• HAVO: senior general secondary education (age 12-17; 5 years);
• VWO: pre-university education (age 12-18; 6 years).
Depending on the level of secondary education attended, pupils can progress to a
middle-level vocational or general education (MBO; 2-4 years) or a higher level
education, namely higher professional education (HBO; 4 years) or university education
(WO; 4-6 years).
9 In addition to mainstream primary and secondary schools there are special schools for children with
learning and behavioral difficulties who – temporarily at least – require special educational treatment.
There are also separate schools for children with disabilities. Pupils who are unable to obtain a VMBO
qualification can receive practical training, which prepares them for entering the labor market.
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Figure 1. An overview of the Dutch education system
3.1.2 The leading principle of ‘freedom of education’
Because of the ‘school dispute’ that played out in the early 1900s in the Netherlands,
equal treatment of public and private schools was constitutionally established in 1917
(Ritzen, Van Dommelen & De Vijlder, 1997). This resulted in the principle of freedom
of education, which since then has dominated Dutch educational policy and practice.
This principle includes, among other things:
- the freedom to establish a school;
- the freedom to teach according to a particular ideology or certain educational and
instructional principles;
- the freedom to choose a school.
Most important is the associated right to equal funding by the government. This implies
that all primary and secondary schools are in principle entitled to full funding by the
government. Because of this provision there are only very few private (or better:
privately funded) schools in the Netherlands. The distinction between public and private
schools in the Netherlands thus is not a matter of funding but of board and management,
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is it the municipality (public) or an association (e.g., Catholics, Protestants)? This
freedom of education has led over the years to a colorful array of denominations
(Driessen & Van der Slik, 2001). With regard to primary schools, the largest ones are
the public, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christian. In 2006, the distribution of
primary schools across these three categories was 32, 30, and 29 percent, respectively.
In addition, the government recognized a number of smaller denominations, including
Islamic, Hindu, Jena Plan, and Montessori schools, which together constituted some 9
percent of the schools. The distribution of secondary schools across these four
categories was 29, 24, 22 and 25 percent, respectively (SBO, 2008).
Characteristic of the Dutch situation is the fact that the battle for equal treatment of
public and private schools did not occur on its own but was, rather, part of a general
social and political emancipatory process of ‘pillarization’ that penetrated all aspects of
society (De Rooy, 1997). The result of this was a society vertically segregated on the
basis of religion with each ‘pillar’ containing its own political parties, labor unions,
schools, radio and TV networks, newspapers, sport clubs, hospitals, etc. This close
interweaving of the religious and the secular lasted until the 1960s; after that time, a
process of secularization and ‘de-churching’ was initiated and the role of religion and
the church within society changed drastically (Felling, Peters & Schreuder, 1991).
While the waning influence of the church can be observed in most social institutions
and organizations, the denominational educational system has remained remarkably
intact, however (Dronkers, 1996; Spiecker & Steutel, 2001).
3.1.3 Teaching content and teaching material
Part of the freedom of education entails the freedom of organization of teaching, which
refers to the freedom of the competent authority to determine the content of teaching
and the teaching material (i.e., textbooks) used (Eurydice, 2007).
In primary education, attainment targets have, however, been formulated and schools
are expected to organize their teaching in such a way that all the subject matter to which
these targets relate has been covered by the end of primary school. The targets define in
broad terms the core curriculum at primary schools and ensure that pupils are prepared
for secondary school. Intermediate targets and teaching guidelines have been developed
and provide a general framework for designing and organizing learning and
development processes in a given subject area.
In secondary education, the attainment targets specify the standards of knowledge,
understanding and skills pupils are required to attain in the lower years. For the upper
years, it is prescribed which subjects must in any event be included in the curriculum
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and what number of periods must be spent on each subject or group of subjects in the
form of a study load table. In the lower years, new legislation sets certain requirements
of the curriculum, and contains provisions on time spent in school, deployment of staff
and participation in decision-making. It leaves the schools free to draft their policies on
other matters. At least two thirds of the teaching hours must be spent on 58 attainment
targets. The school itself translates these targets into subjects, projects, areas of learning,
and combinations of all three. The rest of the curriculum is also subject to statutory
requirements, which may vary according to type of education. In the upper years,
teaching is based on study load. The contents of the programs comprise a common
component (e.g., Dutch), a specialized component (e.g., math, foreign languages), and
an optional component (e.g. philosophy, ICT). The subjects and levels vary by type of
education. There are no detailed regulations with regard to the curriculum (content,
teaching method and materials). The leaving examination regulations provide guidance
as to the content of the various curricula.
3.1.4 Non-Western immigrants in education
In primary education, a total of 14 percent of the 1,549,000 pupils was of non-Western
origin in the school year 2006. However, as can be seen in Table 2, there are big
differences according to region. In the four big cities in the west of the Netherlands this
percentage varies from 33 to 54. In addition, in the Netherlands, 8 percent of the 7108
primary schools has more than 50 percent non-Western pupils and 4 percent has more
than 80 percent. In the four big cities, these percentages are considerably higher.
In secondary education, also 14 percent of the 943,000 pupils was of non-Western
origin in 2006; in the four big cities the percentage varies from 36 to 51. And, also, 8
percent of the 664 schools catered for more than 50 percent of non-Western pupils and 4
percent for more than 80 percent of such pupils. In the four big cities the relevant
percentages are much higher.
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Table 2. Percentages of schools with more than 50 or 80% of non-Western immigrant
pupils and percentage of non-Western immigrant pupils at school in the Netherlands
and in the four big cities in the school year 2006/2007
% of schools with more than x % non-
Western immigrant pupils
% non-Western
immigrant pupils
>50%
>80%
Primary education
The Netherlands
8
4
14
Amsterdam
55
38
54
Rotterdam
61
38
54
The Hague
45
29
46
Utrecht
31
18
33
Secondary education
The Netherlands
8
4
14
Amsterdam
52
31
51
Rotterdam
50
27
43
The Hague
32
15
38
Utrecht
42
16
36
Source: CBS (2008)
3.2 Policies on social and ethnic inequality in education
3.2.1 Introduction
Dutch policies with regard to educational disadvantages have not only been guided by
the changing political color of the government, but also by social, economic,
demographic, cultural and political developments both nationally and internationally
(Karsten & Meijnen, 2005). In the 1960s, attention was primarily paid to the
unfavorable position of working class children. Under the influence of democratization
processes, a society with more egalitarian and meritocratic principles was being striven
for. Positions in society should only be acquired on the basis of personal competence;
socio-economic background should play no role in this, and education was assigned a
selection and allocation function in this connection. Starting in the 1980s, large numbers
of immigrant children streamed into the Dutch educational system. It quickly became
apparent that these children lagged greatly behind other children on a number of fronts.
And although their position has improved somewhat over the past decades, immigrant
pupils still show major delays when compared to white middle-class pupils. Attention to
the problems confronting working class children has largely disappeared into the
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background as a result of the immense amount of attention being paid to the plight of
minority children, moreover, while the position of working class children in the
Netherlands is still very worrisome.
Via this brief introduction, the two different perspectives which stand central in Dutch
educational disadvantage policy have been alluded to: social milieu and ethnicity. It
should be noted that the distinction between the two is rather analytic as they are
strongly intertwined in the Netherlands: many ethnic minorities (or immigrants) are
from lower social milieus. In the following, a more detailed historical overview of
policy with regard to these groups will be presented. The primary and secondary
education of 4-18 year olds will be of concern as this age group has been the principal
target of this policy. Thereafter, the effects of this policy will be considered.
3.2.2 Policies and programs
Compensation and activation programs
The initial starting point for government policy to combat educational disadvantages
was the development and implementation of a number of compensation programs in the
1960s and 1970s in a few big cities with Dutch working class children as their target.
The objective was to improve the educational opportunities via specific programs,
teacher training, expanded parental involvement and stronger relations between
neighborhood and school. Family activation programs addressed aspects of child rearing
and problem behavior within the family. Educational stimulation programs were aimed
at the cognitive and socio-emotional features of the children in addition to school
achievement within the domains of language and mathematics. Theoretically, the
introduction of compensation programs was motivated by the cultural deprivation
paradigm and deficiency hypothesis, which state that working-class children grow up in
families and communities that show deficits in terms of formal language use, cultural
and educational capital, and pedagogical style. The homes and environments of these
children do not transmit the cultural attitudes and skills necessary for the types of
learning characteristics in schools that assume a middle-class perspective (Banks,
1993).
Educational Stimulation Policy
Despite disappointing results, these local initiatives were adopted on a more widespread
scale in 1974 in the form of a national Educational Stimulation Policy
(Onderwijsstimuleringsbeleid). In such a manner, a start was made on the centralization
of policy intended to combat the disadvantages of working class children by providing
schools with additional resources. Cooperative relations were established between
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schools, educational guidance services and other public welfare institutions (e.g.,
libraries, child care services). From the evaluation of the Educational Stimulation Policy
it was concluded that the instruction was of a fairly traditional nature with an increased
emphasis on socio-emotional objectives and lowered aspirations for language and
mathematics achievement. Parental participation was given little priority, just as
cooperation with welfare services (Mulder, 1996).
Cultural Minority Policy
In the 1980s, the number of immigrant children entering the Dutch educational system
gathered momentum, particularly in the large cities. Because many of these immigrant
children were experiencing major problems, the government made additional resources
available to schools within the framework of the Cultural Minority Policy (Culturele
Minderhedenbeleid). This policy was characterized by a two-track strategy. Some of the
immigrants were expected to return to their country of origin while others were
expected to stay, which meant that the government had to strive for remigration and
integration at the same time. One instrument to achieve these objectives was so-called
Mother Tongue Instruction (Onderwijs in Eigen Taal en Cultuur), a form of bilingual
education. The pupils were taught in Turkish or Arabic, for example (Driessen, 2005),
but also taught Dutch as a Second Language (Nederlands als Tweede Taal). Another
instrument was Intercultural Education (Intercultureel Onderwijs), which was intended
to teach both minority and native Dutch children to handle the similarities and
differences associated with ethnic and cultural background. Intercultural Education in
part was a reaction to the earlier mentioned deficiency hypothesis thinking. Critics of
this latter hypothesis formulated the difference hypothesis which states that low-income
pupils and thus immigrant children experience serious cultural conflicts in school, but
these so-called deficiencies are rich and varied cultural differences and not deficiencies
as such (Nasir & Hand, 2006). The theoretical focus of Intercultural Education was
based on an analysis of the ways in which ethnic and cultural diversity occurs in
education and the possible actions and constraints needed (Leeman & Reed, 2006).
Educational Priority Policy
In the years that followed, there was a growing conviction that the problems which the
immigrant children were experiencing in education were the same as those being
experienced by Dutch working class children. Therefore, the Educational Stimulation
and Cultural Minority Policies were integrated in 1985 into the Educational Priority
Policy (Onderwijsvoorrangsbeleid). To reduce educational delays arising from
economic, social and cultural factors an ‘educational areas’ component and a ‘staffing’
component were distinguished (Driessen & Dekkers, 1997).
• Within the areas component (‘Educational Priority Areas’), primary and secondary
schools and such welfare institutions as libraries and day-care centers were to work
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together. Among the activities were: preschool activities with parents; reading
promotion projects; homework projects; and guidance projects for truant pupils and
early school leavers.
• As part of the staffing component, primary schools were given additional teachers
depending on the socioeconomic and ethnic composition of the school population.
Various categories of children were assigned a so-called weighting factor for the
allocation of the resources: ethnic minority children counted as 1.90; Dutch working
class children counted as 1.25; and nondisadvantaged children counted as 1.00. As a
consequence, a school with predominantly ethnic minority pupils had almost twice as
many teachers as a school with predominantly nondisadvantaged children. This
staffing component in essence boiled down to an ethnic minority policy. The schools
were free to determine the use of the allocated resources, but most of them formed
smaller classes and thereby enabled more individualized attention from teachers.
In secondary education, minority children might be temporarily allocated resources
within the framework of programs aimed at the facilitation of their entry into the
Dutch education system. Among the resources were Dutch as a Second Language
classes and so-called International Transition Classes, which were special classes to
prepare recently immigrated children for participation in regular Dutch education.
Municipal Educational Disadvantages Policy
At the beginning of the 1990s, concern about the educational problems of Dutch
working class children disappeared even further into the background. All attention was
now paid to the educational plight of minority children. It was clear that the current
policies regarding minorities and education were not producing the desired effects.
While some progression could be observed, the ethnic minority children’s performance
nevertheless lagged far behind that of native Dutch children. Therefore, with the aid of
the National Policy Framework (Landelijk Beleidskader), the general Educational
Priority Policy objectives were crystallized into more specific goals, the most important
was to improve the language and mathematics achievement levels of the children from
the various target groups. Other goals were to improve the initial reception at school,
reduce absenteeism and prevent unqualified school leaving. New was a call for attention
to the preschool and early school periods.
From an administrative and organizational point of view, the idea was that the central
government would no longer carry responsibility for the details of how to tackle the
educational disadvantages and that the local authorities, i.e. the municipalities, would do
this. The school was also assumed to be better equipped to fulfill its primary task when
closer links to the broader societal context were established. And at a local level, there
would be more possibilities for education to be given a place in an integrated policy.
The keywords underlying the new approach were: decentralization, deregulation and
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increased autonomy. The national government provides only the policy framework with
responsibility for the further planning, implementation and evaluation of the policy
lying with the local municipalities. An integrated, efficient and effective approach was
assumed to be only possible at a local level, which meant that municipalities and
schools were given more autonomy with respect to the spending of resources and the
content-related design of policy. In 1998, the Educational Priority Policy was replaced
by the Municipal Educational Disadvantages Policy (Gemeentelijk
Onderwijsachterstandenbeleid). Financial resources were distributed to municipalities
in one lump sum. The municipalities had to use them in accordance with a local plan
formulated for this purpose. And the local plan had to elaborate upon the objectives
formulated within the National Policy Framework and indicate just how the schools
were going to deploy the resources being allocated to them by the municipality.
Educational Opportunity Policy
In 2000, a critical evaluation of the educational disadvantages policy followed to date
appeared (Tweede Kamer, 2000). There was concern about the effectiveness of the
policy and the position of those schools with numerous pupils from disadvantaged
groups. In response to this evaluation, a new trajectory was introduced as part of the
Municipal Educational Disadvantaged Policy and referred to as the Educational
Opportunity Policy (Onderwijskansenbeleid). The focus was on a select group of some
400 disadvantaged schools. A central element in the new policy was customization. The
Municipal Educational Disadvantaged Policy was aimed primarily at projects initiated
by the community with very few connections to the core activities of the schools
themselves. In contrast, the Educational Opportunity Policy required the school to first
present a problem analysis based on the specific situation of the school and the
particular needs of the pupils and parents. Given this information, the school then
determined which sustainable changes were desired, if possible, using an integrated
approach (Ledoux, Overmaat, Boogaard, Felix & Triesschein, 2005). This development
forms a first step towards even further decentralization of policy and responsibilities
concerning educational disadvantages.
Recent developments
In 2004, a policy note entitled ‘Education, integration and citizenship’ (Onderwijs,
integratie en burgerschap) (MOCW, 2004) appeared. It was announced that the roles of
the schools, communities and national government in the combat of educational
disadvantage were going to be revised. In fact, the trend towards decentralization was
continued, with increased autonomy and scaling-up accompanying this. Responsibility
for the combat of disadvantage in primary and secondary education was placed mainly
with the schools (i.e., school administrations), without interference of the municipality.
The municipality nevertheless continued to play an important role in the provision of
- 17 -
preschool and early education. And the ‘staffing’ component has been revised. Up until
this point, primary schools were allocated extra teachers on the basis of the background
characteristics of the pupils, namely education, profession, and ethnicity of the parents.
As of 2006, the allocation of extra resources on the basis of ethnicity gradually
disappeared and in time parental education will be the only criterion maintained.
Transition classes (Schakelklassen) have again been introduced to facilitate the entry of
pupils with an inadequate mastery of Dutch into the educational system. The policy for
the allocation of extra resources for secondary schools with numerous minority pupils
has also been adapted in such a manner that the resources go to schools in deprived
neighborhoods. These developments imply a remarkable shift from specific policy for
ethnic minorities to a general policy for all disadvantaged children. In practice,
however, not much will change as the target groups remain the same. Attention was also
paid in the aforementioned policy note to integration, segregation and citizenship. The
negative effects of so-called black schools (i.e., schools with a high concentration of
minority pupils) from both cognitive and societal perspectives (Driessen, 2002) and the
problems of Islamic schools (Merry & Driessen, 2005) are mentioned in particular. And
it is further indicated that greater attention should be paid to the establishment of
citizenship and social cohesion in the future.
3.2.3 The effectiveness of the policies
Introduction
In the preceding, the effects of some of the specific policies were considered in passing.
In this section, more detailed attention will be devoted to the effectiveness of the
policies. In 2000, the General Dutch Audit Office drew up the balance with regard to
the results of policy aimed at the reduction of educational disadvantage (Algemene
Rekenkamer, 2000). With an expenditure of more than half a billion Euros annually, the
conclusions are absolutely negative. According to the Audit Office, the available
information provides little insight into the implementation and actual use of the policy.
No lasting results have been achieved; educational disadvantages have not declined
noticeably. This may be due in part to the fact that the objectives of the policy have only
been rarely operationalized into measurable terms, which makes it difficult to determine
if the objectives have been reached or not. Furthermore, the connections between the
educational disadvantage policy and other policy tracks (e.g., special education,
reduction of class sizes, restructuring of secondary education) are not at all clear. As a
result, observed effects cannot be attributed unambiguously to specific policy operations
(cf. Rijkschroeff, Ten Dam, Duyvendak, De Gruijter & Pels, 2005).
It is striking that hardly any research has been conducted whatsoever on policy
- 18 -
effectiveness (cf. Algemene Rekenkamer, 2000; Mulder, 1996; Rijkschroeff et al.,
2005).10 In the following, an attempt is made to determine the effectiveness of the
educational disadvantaged policy, i.e., whether the policy has contributed to the
achievement of the objectives which have been set. This will be done first with regard to
the policy in general and then with regard to a few concrete components of the policy.
Educational Priority Policy
In order to evaluate the Educational Priority Policy (EPP), a number of large-scale
cohort studies have been undertaken in both primary and secondary schools with in-
depth studies to supplement them. Some 700 primary schools and 35,000 children and
400 secondary schools and 20,000 pupils took part in the studies. The results of all these
studies for the period 1988-1992 can be summarized as follows. The data show the poor
language and mathematics performance of Dutch working class and ethnic minority
children to not improve, in general, with the performance of Turkish and Moroccan
children lagging far behind, in particular. The performance of the Dutch working class
and minority children came to lag even further behind the performance of the non-
disadvantaged children. Nevertheless, the performance of the children in schools located
in Educational Priority Areas generally improved more than the performance of children
in schools that were only awarded EPP staff establishment resources or no additional
resources whatsoever. The minority children within the area schools caught up with
their peers although the changes were only minor and in her policy evaluation study
Mulder (1996) does not attribute them to the EPP but simply to the fact that the
minority children had been in the Netherlands for a longer period of time. In contrast,
the minority pupils in secondary education performed less well than the Dutch pupils.
Minority pupils were also more likely to shift to a lower level of secondary education,
repeat a year or leave school without a qualification (cf. Dekkers & Driessen 1997).
From a theoretical point of view it can be concluded that the EPP in general turned out
to be more of a macro factor approach (structure, budget) than an approach concerning
factors closer to the educational process. The failure of the EPP was in part attributed to
the fact that in this approach the extra budget had not been earmarked and was often
deployed to compensate for earlier cuts in spending.
Mother Tongue Instruction
Under the EPP, all children of guest workers were entitled to receive Mother Tongue
Instruction (MTI) for a maximum of 5 hours a week. The children were taught in the
official language of their parents’ native country. In 1995, 91 percent of the children
that were enrolled for MTI were of a Turkish or Moroccan origin, and this constituted
10 For the sake of clarity, a ‘policy effect’ is any consequence of a policy; ‘policy effectiveness’ is the
extent to which the policy has contributed to the achievement of a particular objective (Mulder, 1996).
- 19 -
73 percent of the total number of Turkish and Moroccan children in primary education.
MTI has been the topic of fierce controversy ever since its inception. Prior to 1991, MTI
involved both a linguistic component and a cultural component. After this date, the
cultural component was dropped. During the first half of the 1970s, the official
objective of MTI was based on the assumption of temporariness and it was intended to
help immigrant children reintegrate back into their native countries upon their return
there. Around 1980, the government abandoned the assumption of temporariness, the
objective of reintegration and acknowledged the permanent presence of such
immigrants in the Netherlands. MTI then had the following functions: to help develop a
positive self-concept; diminish the gap between school and home environment; and
contribute to intercultural education. In other words, MTI was now aimed at
acculturation into Dutch society and the more general educational policy objectives for
minorities. MTI was increasingly viewed as a means to improve the educational success
of immigrant children and was more or less assumed to be a part of the EPP. In 1991,
the Dutch government stated that the main purpose of MTI was to facilitate Dutch
language learning and the mastery of other school subjects. Over and above this, MTI
was also intended to provide access to the children’s home culture and thereby develop
their self-confidence. After 9/11, the political climate in the Netherlands changed
dramatically. Calls for assimilation as opposed to the maintenance of minority
languages and cultures became influential and included the abolition of MTI as of 2004.
According to the Ministry of Education, evaluations of MTI had shown no clear effects
and priority should therefore be given to the learning of Dutch.
Despite the fact that MTI has been provided for some 30 years, only a very few
evaluation studies are available. The effects of actual MTI participation are not at all
clear in terms of either mother tongue performance or regular education performance.
For many children, the level of proficiency in the mother tongue as a result of MTI has
not been found to be very high although the general level of oral and written Turkish
mastery is reasonably good. Moroccan children’s command of Moroccan Arabic (i.e.,
the informal oral language) as a result of MTI has been found to be limited and their
command of standard Arabic (i.e., the formal written language) has been found to be
virtually nonexistent. Longitudinal evaluations further show the level of ‘mother
tongue’ proficiency to deteriorate over time (Driessen, 2005).
Intercultural Education
Within the Dutch context, the term Intercultural Education (ICE) has been used by the
government since the beginning of the 1980s. ICE is an umbrella term and exactly what
it stands for is not particularly clear although it appears to be more or less the equivalent
of what is referred to as ‘multicultural education’ in the UK, USA and Australia
- 20 -
(Leeman & Ledoux, 2003). According to the Dutch government, ICE is an important
tool for acculturation or the two-way multifaceted process of getting to know each
other, being open to each other’s cultures or elements of such and accepting and
appreciating each other. The underlying assumption is that children today grow up in a
multicultural society and that this should also receive expression in those school
subjects which are suited for this. In this sense, there certainly is a link with civic or
citizenship education.
For a short time, the importance of the development of a positive self-image was also
emphasized but this objective was later transferred to MTI and the following objectives
were added for ICE: to combat and prevent stigmatization, stereotyping, discrimination
and racism based on ethnic or cultural differences. Over the years, the knowledge aspect
of ICE has received increased emphasis. This involves not only acquisition of
knowledge of each other’s backgrounds, circumstances and cultures on the parts of the
indigenous population group and ethnic minority groups but also insight into the
manner in which values, norms, customs and circumstances influence the behavior of
people. Such affective and sociopsychological objectives as respect, acceptance and
self-image have been incorporated into the relevant policy along with a number of
cognitive objects. And ICE is also considered useful to combat the structural inequality
fuelled by ethnic prejudice and discrimination.
For the concrete implementation of ICE, the government had the following resources
and instruments in mind: public information, guidelines and brochures, subsidies for
educational resource development, in-service teacher training courses and mandatory
attention to life in a multiethnic and multicultural society during teacher training. In
addition, some schools were allowed to experiment with the design of ICE and then
serve a model for other schools.
Only a small number of studies have been carried out on the design of ICE and virtually
no research has been done on the effects of ICE for the children themselves. As early as
1985, Fase & Van den Berg (1985) observed that, although the Ministry of Education
reported being satisfied with ICE policy, there was actually very little reason to feel this
way. Their research showed ICE to be given low priority at schools. Furthermore, there
was just as much prejudice and discriminatory behavior in schools which reported
working with ICE as in schools which reported not working with ICE. On the basis of a
new study a few years later, Fase, Kole, Van Paridon & Vlug (1990) added that the
results with regard to the experiments at schools were not very encouraging. Not only
operational objectives and concrete suggestions for everyday practice were lacking but
also quality requirements. It was further noted that the changes in the very general
objectives which had occurred over time had virtually not affected the implementation
- 21 -
of the policy. The results of empirical studies of primary and secondary education
showed only a very limited amount of attention to be paid to ICE: only 10 percent of the
schools reported putting ICE into practice; 30-40 percent had plans to do so or were
preparing to do so; and 50-60 percent reported doing nothing in relation to ICE. This
conclusion was very surprising in view of the fact that ICE had been a compulsory
component of primary education for a number of years already. Within the schools,
there was a widespread lack of clarity and major differences of opinion with respect to
the value and exact nature of ICE. The attitudes and efforts of a small group of teachers
appeared to be decisive and, when ICE efforts actually got off the ground, this was
primarily in schools involving considerable numbers of immigrant children. According
to Van der Werf (1995) school policies may include an intercultural element, but this is
rarely translated into specific projects or teaching materials. In actual classroom
practice, ICE usually takes the form of briefly discussing certain cultural customs and
otherwise not departing from the standard curriculum. Using a critical multiculturalism
framework Leeman & Reid (2006) evaluated a recent attempt by the Ministry of
Education to revitalize ICE. Their study showed that teachers have moved away from
culturalism and focused more on individual differences of age, religion and lifestyle
than on ethnic differences. Teachers see ICE mainly as education of tolerance, and
promoting empathy and communication skills. This emphasis on the individual does not
take account of the political aspects and power imbalances in society.
Preschool and early school education
One of the findings revealed by research is that disadvantaged pupils and particularly
ethnic minority pupils often lag considerably behind their peers already when they start
primary school and simply do not catch up over the years (Driessen, 1996). For this
reason, the focus of attempts to combat educational disadvantages is increasingly being
placed upon the initial years of school and the preschool period. The underlying
assumption is that many of the elements which prepare children for middle and upper
socioeconomic backgrounds for school are missing in the family situations of ethnic
minority and working class children. Of particular importance are those aspects of a
child’s upbringing that contain similarities with formal instruction in school. From a
theoretical point of view this focus on shortcomings in the child’s home milieu means a
remarkable return to the earlier mentioned deficiency hypothesis. All kinds of home-
and center-based intervention programs have thus emerged at both the national and local
levels for children between the ages of 0 and 7 years. The emphasis is on the linguistic
and cognitive development of the children, and this may or may not be combined with
the provision of educational support for the parents. The programs are often based on
such compensatory programs and strategies as the Head Start or Follow Through
programs in the USA. And most recently, a major impulse has been provided in the
areas of preschool and early education. One objective was to have 50 percent of the
- 22 -
disadvantaged children participate in an intervention programmed in 2006 while, in
2003, this was only 25 percent. The emphasis is on participation in a center-based
programmed with two programs considered particularly effective up until now, namely:
the Pyramid (Piramide) and Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscoop) programs.
Considerable controversy surrounds the various programs and, from a methodological
perspective, questions are being raised about just how particular effects can be
attributed to particular interventions or programs. The main conclusion up until now has
been that any effects are very limited and usually fade completely away. However, there
are some signs that the situation is changing and that some positive effects in the long
run may occur.
A few studies of day-care attendance have shown a positive influence on the cognitive
and social development of children although the high quality of the day-care being
provided appears to play a critical role. Other studies have revealed a negative
influence, with one possible cause lying in the discrepancy between the degree of
attention and stimulation received at home versus at the day-care center. Very little
research has been conducted on the effects of preschool attendance in the Netherlands
but, from the little that is known, the quality of the care in terms of the program and the
staff appears to determine the children’s developmental progress. Various studies have
been conducted on the effects of specific programs. The studies are usually small scale
and employ an experimental or sometimes longitudinal design to compare a group of
children who participated in a program with a control group of children who did not.
The results of a series of parent-child programs have proved disappointing. In a recent
large-scale national study, Driessen (2004) examined the effects of day-care, preschool
and various home- and center-based stimulation programs in combination and
separately and both cross-sectionally and longitudinally but found no effects
whatsoever. In other research (Tesser & Iedema, 2001) it is concluded that parent-child
programs have primarily positive effects for the participating parents and not for the
cognitive development of the children involved. Evaluations of the integrated Pyramid
and Kaleidoscope programs reveal a few positive effects with respect to the cognitive
and language development of the children involved but, once again, the effects clearly
fade and also differ per domain and per program (Veen, Roeleveld & Leseman, 2000).
Very few significant results have been detected for social-emotional development but,
in connection with this, one should keep in mind that positive effects may depend on a
particular set of conditions including the duration and intensity of the care, the efforts of
the caregivers and the continuity of the service or program with the children’s later care
and education.
- 23 -
Transition classes
In the 2005/2006 school year, the concept of Transitory classes has been re-introduced,
this time in primary schools. These classes are meant for both immigrant and native
Dutch pupils who, because of their language delays, underachieve and of whom it is
expected that after an intensive language training trajectory they will be able to continue
successfully in regular education. The language training takes one year and during that
year the relevant pupils are put in separate classes. Different options exist: a transition
class parallel to grades 1 through 8, an extra class before grade 1, between grades (e.g.,
between grade 3 and 4), and after the last grade. Transition classes thus can take the
form of full-time classes, part-time classes or as extra lessons after regular school hours.
In order to evaluate this (relatively) new policy instrument it has been accompanied by a
pilot study. The results of this study show to be very promising (Mulder et al., 2008).
3.3 Educational achievement of disadvantaged children
3.3.1 Introduction
In the previous sections, the results for a few specific components of Dutch educational
disadvantage policy were considered. It can generally be asserted that it is virtually
impossible to demonstrate that the observed results (if any) are actually a consequence
of the policies being pursued. In the following, a compact overview of the most recent
data on the educational position of the two target groups for the policy, namely the
ethnic minority and working class children will be presented. As mentioned before,
minority status and social milieu status are to a very large extent intertwined in the
Netherlands. For that reason, in the presentation of the educational position both
elements are integrated into socio-ethnic background. Because the focus is on primary
and secondary education the results will concentrate on both educational phases.
3.3.2 Primary education
In Table 3 results on standardized tests measuring (preparatory) language and
mathematics skills are presented according to socio-ethnic background. The upper part
of the table contains the mean percentages of correctly answered items for the children
in pre-school (grade 2; 6-year-olds), and the lower part of the table contains the mean
percentages of correctly answered items for the children in the final grade of primary
school (grade 8; 12-year-olds).
- 24 -
Table 3. Mean percentages of correctly answered items of (preparatory) language and
mathematics tests of primary school pupils, according to socio-ethnic background
(school year 2004/2005)
Socio-ethnic background
Grade
Domain
Non-
disadvantaged
Dutch working
class
Ethnic
minority
Eta
2
Language
82%
76%
66%
0.38*
Mathematics
75%
70%
64%
0.28*
8
Language
83%
78%
72%
0.38*
Mathematics
63%
53%
51%
0.27*
* p <0.001
Source: The PRIMA study (Driessen, Van Langen & Vierke, 2006)
As the figures in the table make clear, large differences exist between the two
disadvantaged groups of children and the non-disadvantaged group: The Dutch working
class children score considerably poorer; the ethnic minority children score even
poorer.11 The figures in the table show that the situation in the final grade (i.e.,grade 8)
is comparable to that in kindergarten (i.e., grade 2). In relative terms, it seems that
nothing much has changed during the six years in primary education. These results
correspond to the findings of Driessen (1996) who showed Turkish and Moroccan
minority children to have a language delay of almost two years with respect to the non-
disadvantaged children at the start of primary school and the delays to not decline in the
higher grades of primary school. For mathematics, a lag of about a half a school year
was found to generally be the case.
Information on just how many pupils have experienced delays in the form of being held
back one or more years is also available. In the final grade of primary school, these
children are thus older than the children who have not been held back. The relevant
percentages are presented in Table 4.
11 Eta is a correlation coefficient; all differences in the tables are statistically significant at the 0.1% level
(p <0.001).
- 25 -
Table 4. Percentage of pupils experiencing delays in primary school, according to
socio-ethnic background (school year 2004/2005)
Socio-ethnic background
Non-disadvantaged
Dutch working class
Ethnic minority
Eta
15%
27%
43%
0.24*
* p <0.001
Source: The PRIMA study (Driessen, Van Langen & Vierke, 2006)
The percentages show more than 40 percent of the minority children to have
experienced actual delays. This is almost three times as much as the percentage for the
non-disadvantaged children. The percentage of Dutch working class pupils with delays
is twice that of the non-disadvantaged pupils.
During the final year of primary school, the pupils receive a recommendation as to the
type of secondary education most suited for them. In Table 5, an overview of these
recommendations is presented. More specifically, the percentage of the pupils receiving
a recommendation to prepare for a professional education or higher is presented.
Table 5. Percentage of pupils with a recommendation to prepare for a professional
education or higher, according to socio-ethnic background (school year 2004/2005)
Socio-ethnic background
Non-disadvantaged
Dutch working class
Ethnic minority
Eta
37%
14%
13%
0.23*
* p <0.001
Source: The PRIMA study (Driessen, Van Langen & Vierke, 2006)
The percentages in Table 5 show the two disadvantaged groups of children to receive
far less recommendations for a higher level of secondary education when compared to
the non-disadvantaged children. In fact, nearly three times as much non-disadvantaged
children receive such a recommendation than disadvantaged children, either working
class or minority.
- 26 -
3.3.3 Secondary education
In order to obtain an impression of the level of secondary education pursued by the
different ethnic groups, the percentages of the pupils successfully completing the final
examinations for the different levels of secondary education are presented in Table 6.
Table 6. Percentage of pupils completing different levels of secondary education,
according to ethnic background (school year 2003/2004)
Ethnic background
Level of secondary education
Non-western
minority
Western
minority
Native
Dutch
Basic or advanced vocational
47%
27%
30%
Theoretical vocational or mixed
27%
26%
28%
Preparatory professional
16%
25%
24%
Pre-university
10%
22%
18%
Source: Mares (2004)
The percentages in Table 6 show three-quarters of the non-western minority pupils to
complete the two lowest levels of secondary education. For the native Dutch pupils, this
is nearly 60 percent. With regard to the highest level of secondary education, only 10
percent of the non-western minority pupils successfully completed the final
examinations while almost 20 percent of the native Dutch pupils did so.
When interpreting the data in Table 6, it should be kept in mind that the non-western
minority pupils are overrepresented among the group of pupils who drop out of school
and do not take any final examinations (cf. Dekkers & Driessen 1997). Recent figures
on this early school-leaving are presented in Table 7.
- 27 -
Table 7. Percentage of pupils dropping out of school without a diploma in the first three
years of secondary education according to ethnic background and parental education
(school years 1999/2000-2001/2002)
Ethnic background
Parental level of education
Native Dutch
Ethnic minority
Primary
education
Secondary
education
Higher
education
6%
17%
15%
10%
4%
Source: Van der Steeg & Webbink (2006)
The percentage of ethnic minority pupils dropping out from school is nearly three times
that of native Dutch pupils. The percentage of children from parents with only primary
school is almost four times that of children from parents with higher education. Both
factors, ethnic background and parental education, are strongly contaminated: analysis
show that once parental education is controlled for, differences between native Dutch
and ethnic minority pupils almost completely disappear.
3.3.4 Conclusions
For more than 40 years now, the Netherlands has devoted policy to combat educational
inequalities stemming from the social milieu and ethnicity of pupils. Two important
developments can be traced, namely regarding the specificity of the policy (specific v.
general target groups) and the division of responsibilities (central v. local). With respect
to the former, the initial focus on disadvantaged native Dutch pupils has shifted via
‘old’ (guest workers and former colonies) and ‘new’ (asylum seekers/refugees)
immigrant groups to disadvantaged pupils in general. With regard to the latter, the
policy has gone through an evolution from local policy to central policy and back again
to a decentralized level, momentarily down to the level of the school board and school.
Despite an investment of billions of Euros and the efforts of many individuals, the
policy has produced disappointing results. Our analysis of the most recent data show the
delays of the children with low-educated minority parents to be still quite large while
the delays of children with non-minority working class parents are somewhat smaller
but still substantial. The good news is that in recent years the position of the minority
children has improved somewhat; at the same time, however, the position of the native
Dutch working class children has deteriorated (Mulder, Roeleveld, Van der Veen &
Vierke, 2005).
- 28 -
4. Policies on integration and citizenship
4.1 General policies on integration and citizenship
4.1.1 From integration to assimilation
Despite a long tradition of receiving immigrants, the concept of ‘integration’ was only
used in the formulation of policy with respect to ethnic minorities in the Netherlands at
the beginning of the 1980s. The relevant policy was aimed for quite some time at
‘integration with maintenance of own culture’, which meant that immigrants were
expected to adapt to some extent to Dutch society, but at the same time could keep to
their own culture. However, a recent shift has occurred towards policy with more
assimilatory characteristics.12 Whereas immigrants were previously accepted into the
Dutch welfare state with little or no discussion, an undeniable problematization of
immigration and hardening of policy has occurred over the past few years under the
motto ‘compulsory integration, own responsibility’.13
4.1.2 Shared citizenship
The recent government standpoint is that too much emphasis has traditionally been
placed upon acceptance of the differences between immigrants and the native Dutch
population. The presence of immigrants has typically been viewed as a ‘value’ and as
enriching the society in which we live. But, according to the recent government,
everything that is different need not always be of value. In other words, cultural gaps
cannot be bridged via the cultivation of own cultural identities.14 The unity of a society
12 Independent of 9/11, one can also speak of a changed outlook on migration. As Brubaker (2001) has
observed, after the blossoming of differentialist integration policies in the 1980s and 1990s in all Western
countries of immigration, signs of a modest return to assimilation appeared. According to Brubaker,
however, it is no longer the old, analytically discredited, and politically disreputable ‘assimilationist’
understanding of assimilation but a more analytically complex and normatively defensible understanding
that is being promoted.
13 According to David Pinto, who is himself an immigrant, this trend went so far in the Netherlands that
the government basically deprived immigrants of all initiative and all responsibility or — in the words of
Pinto — ‘cuddled them to death’.
14 An interesting parallel to social class differences and their explanation lies here. According to
Lubienski (2003), one can speak of a revival of genetic and cultural deficit theory in the USA via a
‘difference’ vision and following a period in which the ‘deficit’ approach to social inequality
- 29 -
must be found in what the citizens have in common, which is being citizens of one and
the same society. The objective of current integration policy is thus shared citizenship
for immigrants and native Dutch inhabitants. Such shared citizenship presupposes
mastery of the Dutch language and adherence to basic Dutch norms and values, with the
latter including efforts to provide for oneself, law abidance, recognition of the right of
each individual to say what he or she thinks, respect for the sexual preferences of others,
and equality for men and women. Citizenship thus means a willingness to actively
contribute to society and participate in all facets of society (MinOCW, 2004; Tweede
Kamer, 2003).15
4.1.3 Compulsory integration, own responsibility
The present government’s emphasis on compulsory integration and the responsibility of
each individual immigrant to integrate (i.e., assimilate) has also lead to a shift in policy
away from categorical provisions for specific groups and towards general provisions.
As a consequence of this, many subsidies for immigrant organizations that were not
aimed at integration have been stopped.
Another radical change from the past is that as of 2006 those who wish to immigrate to
the Netherlands have to take a civic integration examination in their native country. This
oral examination takes place at the local embassy and is conducted by phone which is
connected to a computer; it includes both a test of basic knowledge of the Dutch
language and the Dutch society.
The examination of the Dutch language tests the speaking and listening competencies
and includes: repeating short sentences; answering questions; giving opposite words;
retelling a short story. Regarding knowledge of the Dutch society a number of themes
can be discerned: work and income; living; health and health care; child-rearing and
education; constitution and constitutional state; government agencies; history and geography;
manners/conventions, values and norms. During the exam the candidate has to answer a number
of questions on the basis of video fragments on typical Dutch situations; this video which is
available in several languages can be bought and studied at home. If the applicants fail this
test they are not allowed to immigrate to the Netherlands.
The Dutch government does not prescribe ways as to how the candidate should acquire
the desired competencies (that is his/her own responsibility); it only refers to the fact
that there are all kinds of textbooks for sale in the Netherlands (e.g., Bakker, 2006; Van
der Toorn-Schutte, 2007) and advises candidates to study Dutch television programs.
predominated. The Dutch government has also apparently broken the taboo associated with speaking of
differences as deficits.
15 According to some critics of this policy, such an interpretation is very one-sided: it requires everything
from immigrants, but anything from native Dutch citizens.
- 30 -
Thus, the candidates have to organize the Dutch language and society courses in their
native country and to pay for them themselves (for more information see:
www.naarnederland.nl).
As of 2007, the obligation to take a civic integration examination also applies to a
number of categories of immigrants who already reside in the Netherlands. This is, too,
the own responsibility of the immigrants. They have up to 5 years to pass the
examination; when they succeed within 3 years they can apply for a compensation for
the costs of the course (IND, 2008; HRW, 2008).16
4.1.4 Active participation
When conceptualized in such a manner, integration, and in line with this: citizenship, is
operationalized as the individual obligation to actively participate in a variety of societal
domains (WRR, 2001). Engbersen & Gabriëls (1995) distinguish the following
domains: law, politics, labor, housing, education, culture, and religion. In recent policy,
the following domains have been distinguished: political-judicial, social-economic,
ethnic-cultural, and religious (Penninx & Slijper, 1999). A division frequently used for
research purposes is that between structural integration, measured as the level of
education attained and position on the job market, and social-cultural integration,
measured in terms of social contacts and participation in cultural institutions
(Vermeulen & Penninx, 1994; WRR, 2001). The latter dichotomy is occasionally
characterized as one between socio-economic versus cultural integration (Hagendoorn,
Veenman & Vollebergh, 2003). In addition, a division is also sometimes made along the
lines of participation versus orientation, informal participation versus normative
orientation, or concrete behavior versus attitudes (Dagevos & Veenman, 1996; Odé,
2002; Uunk, 2002).
For the Dutch government, participation in education and the job market stand central.
In addition to these aspects of participation, the importance of social participation (e.g.,
membership in associations and clubs), political participation (e.g., the right to vote and
have a say), cultural participation (e.g., artistic and cultural expression), societal
participation (e.g., volunteer work), and athletic participation as different means to
achieve citizenship is also often mentioned (MinOCW, 2004; Tweede Kamer, 1998,
2003; Van Boxtel, 1999, 2000).17
16 Only recently, the Government has decided to shorten this 5-year period to 3.5 years (MinVROM,
2008).
17 It should be noted that the degree of participation needed to be indicative of integration is typically not
specified in the form of a criterion. Such commonly used adjectives as ‘fully’, ‘proportionally’, or ‘equal’
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4.2 Citizenship education
4.2.1 Introduction
In a certain sense, citizenship is a rather recent topic in Dutch education. That is not to
say that no attention has been paid to it at all, but insofar that was the case it mostly was
as part of other subjects, such as history, social studies and religious and ideological
movements. Depending on how citizenship education is being operationalized,
however, it is also true to say that elements of the already mentioned Intercultural
Education (Intercultureel Onderwijs) can be considered as a precursor (cf. Leeman &
Pels, 2006).
4.2.2 Policy on citizenship education
The policy letter
It was in 2004 that the policy letter entitled ‘Education, integration and citizenship’
(Onderwijs, integratie en burgerschap, MinOCW, 2004) appeared. In this letter, among
other things, attention was focused on integration, segregation and citizenship in
primary and secondary schools. The Minister of Education observed in this letter that in
recent years Dutch society had been confronted with important new issues relating to
the changing ethnic composition of the Dutch population. Effects of this development
could also be felt at the school level. Problems related to the (slow) integration of some
categories of immigrants and the growing ethnic segregation in Dutch society and in
education are urgent and beg for solutions. Concerning the latter, the negative effects of
so-called black schools (i.e., schools with a high concentration of minority pupils) and
the problems of Islamic schools were mentioned in particular. The government therefore
announced that it intended to attack such problems actively. Promoting citizenship
education in primary and secondary education was seen as an important means. To this
the government added the goal of social integration. For both ethnic minority and native
Dutch youth active citizenship was considered to be important, so as to learn from each
other to live in a society that is being characterized by ethnic, cultural and religious
heterogeneity.
The following measures were suggested in this policy letter. All schools will be
provide little help in light of the lack of a clear and unequivocal reference point. The WWR (2001), which
is an important advisory body for the Dutch government, suggests — in this connection — that ‘the
principle of proportionality’ (all ethnic groups should participate to the same extent in all domains of
Dutch society) as the objective of policy is simply a phantom. In light of the fact that immigration is a
dynamic process, new immigrants with delays and disadvantages will continue to arrive and differences
will thus continue to exist.
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expected to contribute to the socialization of children of different backgrounds through
sports and cultural events, by visiting companies and social institutions, by school
linkage and exchange programs, in short by learning in different social environments.
City councils and schools can also take specific measures to enhance social integration
in local situations where high-risk pupils are unevenly distributed over the schools.
Citizenship education, including social integration will receive a legal basis. Because of
the freedom of education, which forms the basis for Dutch education, the government’s
role in this is limited. The Ministry will only facilitate the exchange of good practices
and the Inspectorate of Education will have a evaluative and monitoring task. The
following examples were mentioned: behavioral codes, bullying protocols, and pupils’
statutes.
In primary education and basic secondary education, ‘citizenship education’ will be part
of the new attainment targets. ‘Social studies’ will remain a compulsory subject for all
pupils in the last years of secondary education. Here, structural elements of citizenship
education can be addressed in a coherent historic perspective. In addition, elements of
citizenship education will be examined through examination programs in history,
economy, geography, philosophy and art. For secondary vocational education, new
competencies have been proposed in which citizenship plays an important role. They
include normative competencies, such as independent behavior as a citizen, socially
involved and responsible, based on socially accepted basic values, as well as cultural
competencies, such as the ability to participate in the multiform and multicultural
society at the national and at the European level, while respecting the characteristics of
each other’s cultural communities.
The revised education acts
At the end of 2005, the plans had been put into a law which was accepted in Parliament.
Effective as of February 2006, under the terms of the revised Primary and Secondary
Education Acts, schools are obliged to actively promote citizenship and social
integration into Dutch society (Eurydice, 2007; MinOCW, 2005). This obligation means
that education also:
• departs from the fact that pupils grow up in a multiform society;
• aims at contributing to active citizenship and social integration;
• aims at pupils having knowledge of and coming into contact with the different
backgrounds and cultures of peers (CFI, 2006).
According to the Ministry, active citizenship implies the willingness and preparedness
to be part of a community and actively contribute to that community.
This legal task concerns the obligation, but not the form and contents. As a consequence
of the freedom of education, schools and teachers are free to decide as to how they wish
- 33 -
to implement citizenship education. The law includes a presentation of general
guidelines and desirable outcomes. The Inspectorate of Education has an evaluating and
monitoring task (Inspectie, 2006). The Ministry will only facilitate the implementation
of citizenship education18. In the following overview activities announced by the
Ministry are presented (MinOCW, 2004, CFI, 2006).
• The publication of a general information brochure for schools with regard to
legislation.
• The publication of an information brochure on the controlling task of the
Inspectorate of Education.
• The development of core curricula (or planning instruments) that will help primary
and secondary schools planning and implementing citizenship education in their
curriculum by the National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO;
www.slo.nl). SLO will also develop a screening instrument to check the regular
learning material for citizenship content.
• The development of a multi-year project ‘Citizenship education in primary school’
by the Eduniek Foundation Utrecht (www.burgerschapindebasisschool.nl/).
• The development of school television programs for firstly primary schools and in a
later phase also in the lower years of secondary schools by the Teleac/NOT
foundation (lessons; useful hints for educators; proposals for collaboration of schools
and neighborhood) (www.schooltv.nl; www.onzeschooldoetaanburgerschap.nl).
• The implementation of practical training periods in society (or service learning) in
secondary education (e.g., doing volunteer work) (www.samenlevenkunjeleren.nl.
• The development of the Ministry of Education website where schools can find a
special file on citizenship education and social integration.
• Stimulating local initiatives by making inventories of good initiatives by schools at
the primary and secondary level by the KPC Group (Consultancy for education and
training; www.kpc.nl).
From law to practice
Because of the freedom for schools to interpret the concept of citizenship and also
because the schools may implement citizenship education geared towards their specific
local situation, various and sometimes ambiguous terms are used in relation to
citizenship education, for instance, civics, moral education, social competence
education, value education, and democratic education (De Wit, 2007; Eijsackers, 2008;
Leenders, Veugelers & De Kat, 2008). This definition aspect makes study of the topic
of citizenship education no easy matter. But this is only part of the ‘problem’. A much
18 It is obvious that there is a strong parallel with Intercultural Education (Leeman & Ledoux, 2003, 2005;
Leeman & Pels, 2005).
- 34 -
bigger ‘problem’ is the immense variety in the ways citizenship education is being
operationalized and put into practice. The reason for this is that schools must consider
their denomination, vision and philosophy of life, the local context, the social and ethnic
composition of the pupil population, and the wishes of the parents (Inspectie, 2006).
In a recent survey by the European Commission (Eurydice, 2005) three approaches
were discerned:
• cross-curricular: citizenship education is present throughout the whole curriculum;
• integrated: the topic forms part of one or more other subjects, such as history and
social studies;
• separate subject: a subject in its own right which may be compulsory, a core
curriculum option or optional.
According to this survey, in the Netherlands citizenship education in primary schools
takes the integrated form, while in secondary schools it is taught in a cross-curricular
manner. Where it is integrated within other subjects, citizenship education is at all levels most
commonly included in history, social studies, geography, religious and moral education, ethics,
philosophy, foreign languages and the language of instruction. The number of hours reserved
for citizenship education is not prescribed.
In 2004, when The Netherlands acted as chair of the European Union, the Dutch
Minister of Education had carried out a study into the ways in which in the various
member states citizenship education was given shape (MinOCW, 2004). This study
showed that in each of the member states citizenship education was being addressed in
very different manners:
• In some countries and schools citizenship education has been introduced a discrete
area of enquiry into the curriculum, that is, as a separate subject.
• In many countries and schools a cross-curricular approach is considered most
appropriate. This more or less holistic approach reflects a shift in emphasis from
teaching to learning. Since experience with a cross-curricular approach is limited and
since cross-curricular teaching is not so easy to codify in rules, guidelines and
textbook, the contents should be geared to local needs. Schools therefore develop
their own ideas and methods.
• In some countries and schools citizenship education is implemented as an extra-
curricular approach. Learning-by-doing and action are a important guiding
principles. Some examples include simulating a low court; setting up an animal
awareness project; organizing project weeks where children who live in a city go out
to the country side to study the ways people live there, and vice versa.
• Not all learning is intentional. The socializing impact of the schooling experience
includes much more than what is visible through official explicit curricula. Much is
taught through the implicit or hidden curriculum, for instance in the way teachers and
- 35 -
pupils interact in the classroom and through role-modeling.
• It is not only the micro-behavior in the classroom where citizenship education is
transmitted. The school can also be seen as a micro-society, a social environment
whose social norms and values set the parameters for future behavior in society at
large.
To this diversity of approaches should – of course – be added that all sorts of
combinations of approaches are also possible (cf. Leenders, Veugelers & De Kat, 2008).
According to the official viewpoint of the Ministry citizenship education is not regarded
as a separate subject. It should be a matter-of-fact integral part of the curriculum content
(MinOCW, 2004, 2005, 2006). The National Institute for Curriculum Development
(SLO; cf. Bron, 2006, 2008; Bron, Franken, Van Hoeij & De Weme, 2003) in an
exploration of how to operationalize citizenship education makes a distinction between
three domains:
• democracy: knowledge about the democratic constitutional state and political
decision-making, acting in a democratic way and basic values in society;
• participation: knowledge about the basic values and possibilities for involvement and
skills and attitudes that are needed to participate actively in school and in society;
• identity: exploration of one’s own identity and that of others.
In relation to this, three types of citizenship can be identified (cf. Veugelers, 2003,
2007):
• individualistic citizenship: central are the individual rights and self-realization;
• citizenship aimed at adaption: central is adaption to society one is part of;
• critical-democratic citizenship: a combination of individualistic and adaptive
citizenship.
Following this, a distinction is made between learning contents and experiences. As to
the former, three learning categories are identified: knowledge and understanding;
skills; and attitudes. As to the latter, in-school and out-of-school experiences are
discerned. This generates a possible (general) model for citizenship education based on
the views of the National Institute for Curriculum Development; see Figure 2. However,
as schools and teachers are free to determine the content and methods involved and
there are no formally specified evaluation procedures, it will be clear that many roads
lead to Rome.
- 36 -
Figure 2. A general model for citizenship education
Learning contents
Experiences
knowledge &
understanding
skills
attitudes
in-school
out-of-school
The recent annual report of the Inspectorate of Education (Inspectie, 2007) pertaining to
the situation in 2005/2006 describes the results of a representative study into the
implementation of citizenship education and social cohesion. The data show that 80
percent of the secondary schools have a view on how to improve citizenship and
integration. However, many of these schools have only formulated this view in global
wordings and ideas. When asked what forms of cohesion-increasing education they feel
important, social competencies, rules for politeness and good manners, and basic values
are mentioned most. Half to two thirds of the schools indicate that they only work with
very general goals.19 In addition, more than half of them say they do not use teaching
materials; this applies even more to the higher levels of secondary education. These
findings reflect that citizenship education is in many places still in an exploratory phase
(cf. MinOCW, 2004).
Little is known about ways in which citizenship education are implemented (Schuitema,
Ten Dam & Veugelers, 2007; Ten Dam, s.a.; Ten Dam, Geijsel, Ledoux & Reumerman,
2007; Van der Niet, Ten Dam, Geijsel & Admiraal, 2007; Van der Niet et al., 2008).
Data on (any) effects of forms of citizenship education are even more sparse; one reason
for this is because there are hardly any adequate instruments available. Some
(international) studies have recently been conducted into the effects of citizenship
education. However, neither national nor international analyses provide a great deal of
evidence on what exactly works in citizenship education, especially as far as acquiring
attitudes is concerned, let alone the question of whether these attitudes take root and are
practiced in real life situations (MinOCW, 2004).
19 In a recent international review, Ten Dam & Volman (2003) make a case of the different educational
goals set for different socio-ethnic groups of pupils. Developing a reflexive and changeable identity and
being able to participate in society as a critical citizen are characteristic of the projects investigated in the
higher levels of secondary education. In the lower levels the emphasis is on learning how to behave in an
appropriate manner. Ten Dam & Volman conclude that in such a way projects aimed at the pro-social and
moral development of pupils are in danger of reproducing social inequality because pupils from
disadvantaged socio-ethnic backgrounds are overrepresented in the lower levels of secondary education
(cf. Schuitema, Ten Dam & Veugelers, 2008).
- 37 -
5. Citizenship education: good initiatives
5.1 The state-of-the-art
The general objective of this country report is to check whether there are any well-tried
projects, programs or methods (i.e., textbooks) for citizenship education for 14-18 year
old pupils in the Netherlands. In this search, the focus of this study is on immigrant
pupils and schools with high proportions of such pupils.
In the preceding chapter an overview of recent developments regarding Dutch policy on
citizenship education was presented. In the relevant document from 2006 (CFI, 2006),
the Ministry of Education has announced a number of measures. What has come of
these measures thus far, that is, two years later, is summed up in the following
overview:
• A general information brochure for schools with regard to legislation was published
in 2006; this brochure in a few pages presents some very brief information on
backgrounds, implementation and evaluation20 (CFI, 2006).
• Information on the controlling task of the Inspectorate of Education for schools was
published in 2006 and (an update) in 2008 (Inspectie, 2006; MinOCW, 2008). The
Inspectorate points to the fact that there are many ways to include citizenship
education in the curriculum. Schools are free to choose the form and contents that
best suits their specific circumstances. The Inspectorate’s monitoring system will
focus on, for instance, the school’s view on citizenship education, risks and conflicts
with basic values, social competencies, and diversity (www.owinsp.nl).
• Thus far SLO has developed one core curriculum citizenship education for secondary
schools for pupils with learning and behavioral difficulties (Praktijkonderwijs)
(Berlet, 2008). SLO has also developed an instrument for screening available
teaching material on elements of citizenship education. This has resulted in an
inventory which was published in the Leermiddelenkrant (The Teaching Materials
Journal) (SLO, 2007). The inventory is based on a larger database which is
accessible via the internet (www.leermiddelenplein.nl/vo/nicl/). This database
contains 94 titles, that is, all material where there is any reference to or possible
connection with (aspects) of citizenship education. Apart from the fact that most of
20 In fact, the information in this brochure is about the same as the one presented in section 4.2.2 under
The revised education acts.
- 38 -
this material aims at primary schools, much of it is from the 1980s and 1990s. Most
material deals with topics such as world religions, voting and elections, and the
European Union.
• The project ‘Citizenship education in primary school’ by the Eduniek Foundation
will probably be available at the end of 2008 (www.burgerschapindebasisschool.nl/).
• Thus far, only some limited attention was given to citizenship in a very few school
television programs and only for primary school pupils (www.schooltv.nl;
www.onzeschooldoetaanburgerschap.nl).
• In the coming school year (i.e., 2008/2009) the Ministry of Education intends to start
with a number of try-out projects on service learning for secondary schools
(www.samenlevenkunjeleren.nl).
• The Ministry of Education website where schools can find information on citizenship
education and social integration is in a developmental phase. Up till now, there is
very little practical information for schools on this site. In the section for secondary
schools (no more than) two projects are mentioned, ‘Extremism in the media’ and
‘Arm yourself with words’ (www.burgerschap.kennisnet.nl/innederland).
• Thus far KPC Group has published four inventories with brief descriptions of
examples of citizenship education initiatives; only two of these inventories contain
some initiatives at the secondary level (www.kpc.nl).
The situation in the first half of 2008 can thus be summarized as follows:
• Citizenship education is a topic which has been introduced into the Dutch
educational system very recently; in fact, the relevant law only was put into effect in
2006.
• Citizenship education is not considered as a separate subject by the Ministry of
Education and there are no extra facilities or subsidies provided, there are no specific
citizenship education teachers and there are no specific textbooks prescribed. Rather,
the prevailing view is that citizenship education is something which any teacher can
incorporate into his or her lessons.
• Because of the Dutch dominating principle of ‘freedom of education’ in combination
with the Ministry’s policy of decentralization and giving more autonomy to
individual schools, each school is free to interpret the concept of citizenship as it
likes and each school may implement citizenship education geared towards its
specific local situation. This freedom has resulted in a diffuse picture of schools each
of which gives its own interpretation and implementation of citizenship education.
• In practice, citizenship education mostly is given form by the ethos, rules and
conventions of a school, the attitude and behavior of the teachers (as role models)
and the way certain topics are treated during the regular lessons, but also by
incidental lessons or projects on specific citizenship aspects. In addition, it also is
incorporated in the subject of Social studies.
- 39 -
• The monitoring study of the Inspection of Education shows that more than half of the
secondary schools do not use teaching materials for citizenship education; this
applies even more to the higher levels of secondary education, that is, the schools the
present study focuses on.
• Insofar things have been realized thus far, relatively the most has been done for
primary education.
• Citizenship education clearly still finds itself in a developmental and experimental
phase and one may wonder whether it is not heading the same way as Intercultural
Education did some decades ago.
An effort was made to get an overview of projects, programs and textbooks of
citizenship education. To this end a review of the literature was conducted, national
experts and institutes on citizenship education were consulted, and an extensive internet
search was performed. This study made it clear that:
• most of the (few) projects (or rather: lessons) mentioned were local initiatives and
geared towards a specific situation and developed as a reaction to specific
circumstances and occasions;
• often the projects were conducted only once and in a specific class or school;
• an adequate description of the method used and results or effects (if any) in most
cases is lacking;
• no sound evaluations as to the effects of the projects and lessons have been
conducted;
• in addition, according to all of the experts consulted (among others, Inspectorate of
Education, KPC Group, National Institute for Curriculum Development, National
Information Center Teaching Materials), there are no specific projects, programs or
textbooks for immigrants or schools with high concentrations of immigrants.
Given this state-of-the-art, it is not possible to present an overview of good and well-
tried (evidence-based) practices. The best that can be done is to give a short (depending
on the information provided) description of a number of good initiatives. In the
following section three categories of initiatives will be described:
• the two projects presented at the Ministry of Education website;
• the good initiatives collected in the KPC Group inventories;
• a recent textbook for the secondary school subject of Social studies.
- 40 -
5.2 Good initiatives
5.2.1 The lesson packages from the Ministry of Education website
The recently started Ministry of Education website on citizenship education contains
two lessons packages for secondary schools.
5.2.1.1 Extremism in the media
‘Extremism in the media’ (Extremisme in het nieuws) is a teaching package for the
higher grades of secondary education. The package was developed by the foundation
‘Newspapers in the class’ (Krant in de klas). It is available to schools without costs
from www.krantindeklas.nl thanks to subsidies of the Dutch National Coordinator for
Counterterrorism (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding).
This package consists of two volumes, namely a booklet of tasks for pupils and a
teacher manual, and a newspaper service.
The pupil booklet (Michel, 2007a) includes 11 forms/worksheets with assignments.
Various variants of extremism are considered (Muslim fundamentalism; left-radicalism;
right-extremism; animal rights activism), the ways politicians react to such topics in the
media, and the way the pupil handles these topics.
The teacher booklet (Michel, 2007b) gives background information regarding the topic
of extremism. This booklet provides the teachers with enough knowledge of the topics
if the pupils start discussing a controversial topic that possibly is relevant to them
personally.
In addition to these two booklets, a newspaper service is provided. During the period
the teacher uses the material, he or she will receive two copies of a number of
newspapers for free.
Two examples of assignments are ‘Who says what?’ and ‘How do you react?’
‘Who says what?’
(Michel, 2007a, p. 7)
Introduction for the pupils
‘Each newspaper article you read is written by one or more persons. To be able to judge
the contents it often is relevant to know who the author is and what his or her
backgrounds are. On the basis of this information you can decide whether the
information is reliable. Also, you will be able to decide whether the author is an expert
- 41 -
on the matter and whether he or she often has proven to be right.’ [Some examples are
given.]
Pupil assignments
A newspaper article in the form of an editor’s commentary is provided, ‘Terrorism in
Europe’, and the pupils have to answer a number of questions, such as: ‘Has a journalist
to be a specialist with regard to the topic he or she writes about? Why do you think so?’
And ‘Underline facts and opinions in the article: facts red and opinions blue.’
‘How do you react?’
(Michel, 2007a, p. 11)
Introduction for the pupils
‘A good reaction is a well-informed reaction. Many people react without having made
an inquiry into the matter. This leads to unfounded opinions. But do you have to know
everything to be allowed to react to something? The most important thing is that you do
not react too decidedly to something you do not understand.’
Pupil assignments
A number of assignments are provided, such as: ‘Is it necessary to have read Mein
Kampf to form an opinion of Hitler? Give one argument for, and one against.’ And:
‘What are the dangers of consulting just one source to understand something about
extremism?’.
5.2.1.2 Arm yourself with words
‘Arm yourself with words’ (Wapen jezelf met woorden) is a teaching package for
secondary schools. It was developed by the National Foundation Against Random
Violence (Landelijke Stichting Tegen Zinloos Geweld) together with Gun Free South
Africa for the Oxfam Novib organization. The package can be downloaded freely from
the internet site www.wapenjezelfmetwoorden.nl.
This package consists of background information on aggression and violence;
background information on South-Africa and the Netherlands; and 6 forms/worksheets
with assignments. Topics include: A comics maker; Documentary; Guns in the
classroom; An excited fight; Witness of violence; What can you do as a witness?
A description of two of these topics, ‘Witness of violence’ and ‘The Documentary’,
follows.
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‘Witness of violence’
(LSTZG, s.a., p. Werkblad 5)
Introduction for the pupils
‘You often hear people trying to help when they are confronted with acts of violence in
the street ending up in the hospital themselves. Therefore, it often seems like it is very
dangerous to interfere in such situations. That is not always true.’ [etcetera.]
Pupil assignments
Questions: ‘Has someone ever been a witness of violence? What did you do then? Use
this example in the discussion.’
‘The Documentary’
(LSTZG, s.a., p. Werkblad 2)
Introduction for the pupils
The video documentary ‘Arm yourself with words’ is shown to the pupils. In this
documentary pupils and teachers from South Africa and The Netherlands talk about
their experiences with violence and gun possession. Various forms of violence are
mentioned, and various reasons for this violence are given.
Pupil assignments
‘Write down three forms of violence and three reasons for violence that were mentioned
in the documentary.’
5.2.2 The good initiatives collected by the KPC Group
The KPC Group (Consultancy for education and training) has published four inventories
of good initiatives of how citizenship education has been implemented in mainly
primary education, but also in secondary education. This often concerns once-only
practices geared to a specific local situation or event (Eijsackers, 2003, 2005, 2006,
2008). The focus is on engagement of the children with their environment, which can
vary from the local situation (in the class, the school, the neighborhood, or city), to the
level of the country, Europe or even world. Activities may include practical chores and
discussing the school organization as well as political and societal questions. Hardly any
effect evaluation has been conducted. This does not take away the fact that teachers
sometimes report results, for instance, a positive change of attitudes, an increased level
of responsibility and engagement, and an improvement of diverse social competencies.
- 43 -
In the latest update of the inventory for secondary education (that of 2005)21, ten
examples are listed. In most of them pupils in the youngest age group and prevocational
education were involved, that is mostly 12-14 year-olds. The duration of the activities
(including the preparation) varied, sometimes it concerned a few lessons, sometimes
one or more afternoons, and sometimes a few hours per week for a longer period of
time. Sometimes a few pupils were involved, sometimes a whole class or grade. In none
of the initiatives is any mention made of immigrant pupils or schools with a high
concentration of such pupils. In some projects outcomes are mentioned, but no real
effect evaluation has taken place.
In the following the information provided in the inventory will be presented. The focus
is on the higher grades (14-18 year-olds).
5.2.2.1 Organizing a sports and play afternoon for handicapped pupils
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 25-26)
Target group: Pupils in the higher grades of secondary school.
Teachers/subject: Social studies.
Other organization involved: A local school for children with severe learning
difficulties.
Activities: Preparing and organizing a sports and play afternoon for handicapped pupils.
During this afternoon groups of such handicapped pupils were supported by the regular
school pupils in collaboration with the staff from the school for the handicapped pupils.
Preparation: During the lessons of the subject Social studies the project was prepared
and the tasks were divided among the pupils.
Effects/results: Pupils have more understanding for each other now.
5.2.2.2 Discrimination – An antiracism project
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 27-28)
Target group: Pupils in grade 2 of a school for prevocational secondary education.
Teachers/subject: Counselor hour, Dutch, Music.
Other organization involved: National Bureau Combating Racial Discrimination
(Landelijk Bureau ter Bestrijding van Rassendiscriminatie – LBR).
Activities: The project involved three elements: (1) During the counselor hours the topic
of discrimination was discussed (bullying, discrimination, racism). Pupils wrote poems
about their feelings towards this topic and discussed these poems during the lessons
21 This means that the initiatives mentioned all are from the year 2004 or earlier.
- 44 -
Dutch. The pupils made a selection of poems, which then were published in a booklet;
(2) Professional development of teachers by the National Bureau LBR; (3)
Development of a school policy with regard to racism.
Preparation: The topic was explained in special lessons.
Effects/results: Pupils have become more aware of possible effects of discrimination
and racism.
5.2.2.3 Toast: setting-up a mini-company in the school
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 29-30)
Target group: Pupils in grade 3 of a school for prevocational secondary education.
Teachers/subject: Counselor.
Activities: The pupils form some sort of mini-company that buys and sells toast during
lunch-break. The school provides the relevant equipment, but the pupils themselves take
care of the division of the tasks, buying the ingredients needed and toasting the bread.
At the end of the year the profits are divided among the pupils.
Preparation: The counselor guides and monitors the process.
Effects/results: The pupils’ independency and responsibility is stimulated, but also
competencies such as working together, communicating and organizing.
5.2.2.4 Tutor groups
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 33-34)
Target group: Pupils in grade 4 of a school for prevocational secondary education.
Teachers/subject: Counselor.
Activities: Fourth grade pupils help a number of third grade pupils who have learning
difficulties.
Preparation: The pupils have attended a coaching course. The coaching takes place
during the regular lessons.
Effects/results: Both the pupils and teachers are very enthusiastic. The results are good
and the contact between teachers and pupils has improved.
5.2.2.5 Street watch
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 37-38)
Target group: Pupils in various grades of a school for prevocational secondary
education.
- 45 -
Teachers/subject: School staff or porter.
Other organization involved: Local police.
Activities: The goal of this project was to make the school and its environment safer.
To achieve this pupils patrol in and round the school and in the neighboring mall. If
necessary the pupils address other pupils regarding their misbehavior and in case
something has happened they function as an information point.
Preparation: The pupils are accompanied by a member of the school staff or porter.
Effects/results: The pupils get more responsibility for things that happen in the school’s
neighborhood and the safety in their environment. In this way they are directly
confronted with norms and values.
5.2.2.6 Tell me something!
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 39-40)
Target group: Pupils in grade 3 of a school for senior general secondary education.
Other organization involved: An support organization for the elderly.
Activities: Two senior citizens from different cultural backgrounds discuss the topic of
safety in the street with pupils. Pupils are challenged to ask questions and react to the
senior citizens’ stories.
Preparation: The theme is prepared in the class with the aid of a manual and learning
package. Afterwards the discussion was evaluated.
Effects/results: The discussions resulted in openings for problems and solutions. The
number of reactions, however, was a bit disappointing.
5.2.2.7 Youth Municipality Council
(Eijsackers, 2005, pp. 41-42)
Target group: Pupils in grade 3 of a school for senior general secondary education and
pre-university education.
Teachers/subject: History, Dutch, Visual Arts Education.
Other organization involved: The local municipality.
Activities: The Youth Municipality Council consists of 35 pupils of different secondary
schools. In this Council plans are being developed for the municipality. The way this is
organized is the same as in the real Municipality Council. The project is part of a
broader project ‘Politics within the school’. The pupils themselves think of solutions,
come up with new ideas and defend these, not only during but also after regular school
hours.
Preparation: During the lesson Dutch pupils practice debating. During the Visual Arts
- 46 -
lessons posters and video movies are made. In addition, surveys are conducted among
all of the pupils.
Effects/results: The pupils were very enthusiastic; proficiency in competencies such as
responsibility, involvement, communication, teamwork and creativity increased.
5.2.3 A Social studies textbook
For senior general secondary education (HAVO) and pre-university education (VWO),
Social studies (Maatschappijleer) is a separate subject and part of the final examination
of all pupils. In the upper grades (HAVO 4 - 5; VWO 4 - 6) pupils have a total of 120
hours of Social studies. There are obviously links between Social studies and citizenship
education. Therefore (and because no separate citizenship education textbooks exist) a
description will be given of one of such books, namely Themes Social studies (Thema’s
Maatschappijleer). The textbook reviewed here is intended for VWO pupils; the
package includes:
• a textbook for pupils, with all of the teaching content and background information
(Linthorst, Schuijt, Schuijt, Schuurman, Meijer & Rijpkema, 2007);
• a workbook for pupils, with exercises (Moons, Schuijt, Romkes, Schuurman &
Rijpkema, 2007);
• a book with test questions for teachers (Romkes et al., 2008);
• a book with answers to the test questions for teachers (Romkes et al., 2008).
The objective of the textbook is for the pupils to learn to actively participate in four
aspects of Dutch society:
• The constitutional state
• The parliamentary democracy
• The pluriform society
• The welfare state.
The theme of ‘pluriform society’ is of particular interest here. The focus is on ways how
people from different backgrounds live together. How is dealt with clashing ways of
living? Are there any rules that apply to all people? The core question is: How does the
pupil feel that people with different ways of living should deal with each other?
There are eight chapters within this theme:
1. Culture
2. Social cohesion
3. Changes in the Dutch society (including the case: Religion in the Netherlands)
4. Increasing immigration
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5. Different ways of living together
6. Clashing cultures and basic rights (including the case: Talking about Islam)
7. International comparison: church and state
8. The future of the pluriform society.
Next, a description will be given of the contents and assignments of some of these
chapters.
Chapter 4. Increasing immigration
Pupil textbook
(Linthorst et al., 2007, pp. 152-157)
Background information is provided on: immigration from former colonies, guest-
workers, asylum-seekers and fugitives; stricter rules and new laws; processes of family-
forming and family-reunion.
Pupil workbook
(Moons et al., 2007, pp. 127-132)
In a number of different assignments the pupils must show that they have understood
the information (knowledge, comprehension) and formed opinions and attitudes. Some
examples of assignments are:
• Write down three push-factors that are responsible for people fleeing their country.
• Give two reasons why asylum-seekers sometimes throw away their identity papers
during their flight.
• What is the most important motive for tightening up the rules for the admission of
asylum-seekers?
• A graph is presented and the pupil is asked to put a number of dates in the right
chronological order.
• Another graph is presented on numbers of immigrants and the pupil is asked to
explain the curves in the development.
• An article from a newspaper and a map of Africa are presented and the pupil is asked
to, for instance, indicate where Ethiopia is situated.
• A number of cases of asylum-seekers are presented and the pupil is asked to write
down why each particular asylum-seeker should be allowed to enter The Netherlands
or why not.
Chapter 5. Different ways of living together
Pupil textbook
- 48 -
(Linthorst et al., 2007, pp. 158-163)
Different integration models are explained (integration, assimilation, segregation). Next,
some aspects of Dutch integration policy are presented and factors that have influenced
developments in this policy (social inequality, economic factors, family-forming,
language delays, discrimination).
Pupil workbook
(Moons et al., 2007, pp. 133-136)
Some examples of assignments are the following:
• Give some examples of voluntary segregation.
• Give at least two reasons why the integration debate in The Netherlands has
hardened.
• What term does more apply to The Netherlands, ‘melting pot’ or ‘salad bowl’?
Please explain.
• Which position does apply to contemporary South-Africa: segregation, assimilation
or integration? Please explain.
• Choose one or two of the following statements and discuss them with the class (e.g.,
‘Geert Wilders is right. We should stop admitting immigrants or The Netherlands
will become an Islamic state’).
Chapter 6. Clashing cultures and basic rights
Pupil textbook
(Linthorst et al., 2007, pp. 164-169)
Because of the influx of immigrants chances of considerable differences between
cultures are growing. A number of examples are given: male-female relations,
homosexuality, emancipation, education). Another topic is: basic rights as laid down in
the constitution.
Pupil workbook
(Moons et al., 2007, pp. 137-141)
Examples of assignments are:
• Explain why using the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ is wrong.
• Name a number of events that have led to the growing polarization in the
Netherlands.
• Which basic right do you feel takes precedence: freedom of speech; freedom of
religion; freedom of equal treatment?
• In the aftermath of the publication of the Danish cartoons furious Muslims burned
the Danish flag. Do you feel this form of protest is acceptable? Please explain.
- 49 -
• Why is MP Geert Wilders against Turkey joining the European Union? Give three
possible reasons.
- 50 -
Relevant websites
Citizenship (Special website of the Ministry of Education on citizenship):
www.burgerschap.kennisnet.nl/innederland
Citizenship Education Panels (Scholenpanels Burgerschap):
www.scholenpanels.nl
Citizenship education in primary school:
www.burgerschapindebasisschool.nl
European Citizenship:
www.e-citizenship.org
Information for immigrants:
www.naarnederland.nl
Inspectorate of Education (Inspectie van het Onderwijs):
www.onderwijsinspectie.nl
Integration and Naturalization Service (Integratie en Naturalisatie Dienst):
www.ind.nl
KPC Group (Consultancy for education and training):
www.kpcgroep.nl
Ministry of Education (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap):
www.minocw.nl
National Information Center Teaching Materials (NICL):
www.leermiddelenplein.nl
National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO):
www.slo.nl
- 51 -
University of Amsterdam, Graduate School of Teaching and Learning:
www.ilo.uva.nl
University for Humanistics:
www.uvh.nl
Web of knowledge (Kennisnet):
www.burgerschap.kennisnet.nl
- 52 -
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