Education system in the Netherlands

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The education system in the Netherlands provides for compulsory schooling from the age of 4 to 18, of which at least the age of 16 must attend school. In practice, however, after lengthy proceedings , the courts have freed individual parents from compulsory schooling for their children in order to enable home schooling or unschooling instead .

Graphic of the school system in the Netherlands

The children are usually with five years in the primary school started school ( "basisschool"). At the request of the parents, the child can also go to school at the age of four. This happens very often in practice.

All schools finish with a test. This consists of an internal part of the school and the central final examination, which is the same for all students of the respective school type in the Netherlands.

history

Zuiderzeemuseum : North Holland city ​​school around 1905

One of the greatest reforms of the Dutch school system in history was the " Mammoetwet " of 1968, which laid the foundations for the current system. On August 1, 1985, the reform of the Dutch school system came into force. Since then, the pre-school ( kleuterschool ) and the former elementary school ( lagere school ) have been integrated into today's elementary school ( basisschool ). Children between the ages of four and five are already in first grade.

General

A major difference to the school system in Germany is that everyone in the Netherlands is free to set up their own schools - albeit financed by the state - based on their religion or on the basis of certain pedagogical principles. It is therefore not surprising that two thirds of all students in the Netherlands attend a private school. Most schools are either openbaar ("public"), Catholic or Protestant, although the Netherlands is one of the most denominationalized countries in the world. The “non-public” schools are usually run by foundations.

The schools are free to choose the teaching methods. However, the contents are formulated in state guidelines and are binding for all schools. Nationwide, state tests are used to regularly check whether the students meet the performance requirements specified therein. This also applies to schools that are attended by minorities. Since the mid-1980s, parents have been able to send their children to Islamic or Hindu primary schools, for example.

Parents can also choose whether to send their children to a category school, where only one type of school applies, or to opt for a school community. This houses several types of schools. The Dutch schools are usually not comprehensive schools , at most “cooperative comprehensive schools” with several school types under one roof. Since the end of the 1990s, many schools have merged with one another for financial reasons, so that director positions are saved.

primary school

The Dutch primary schools ( basisschool ) consist of eight classes, which are referred to here as groepen (groups). Group 1 denotes the four-year-olds and group 8 usually the twelve-year-olds. These groups include both the pre-school sector (kindergarten) and the secondary school. The content of lessons from 4 to 5 years of age (group 1–2 ) can be compared with kindergarten pedagogy in Germany. However, here it is usually more integrated into the primary school curriculum. From group 3 (3rd school year, i.e. six years old) the children start to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. English lessons begin in the last two years of primary school, but more and more primary schools (already 20% of primary schools in 2019) are starting to give English lessons from group 1 ; other foreign languages ​​are only offered in school trials.

In the last year of elementary school, students take a central test that is developed by the Central Institute for Test Development ( called Cito ) and later evaluated. With the arrival of the 8th school year, a preliminary examination ( entreetoets ) takes place, with the result of which a preparation for the actual test ( eintoets ) is possible. Unlike in Germany, where the choice of a secondary school is based only on the opinion of a primary school teacher, in the Netherlands, based on the Cito result and an opinion by the primary school, prepared by the class teachers of the last school years and a non-teaching companion, a binding recommendation is made which can only be deviated from in justified exceptions. Registration for secondary school also takes place in the primary school, which forwards the recommendation and test results directly to the secondary school.

The timetable foresees 22 lessons per week in the first two groups and at least 25 in the following years. Lessons usually take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (with school-specific variants), one Lunch break is integrated into it. Lessons are shorter on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Some schools deviate from the rules mentioned, for example the very widespread Waldorf schools ( vrije school ) speak of pre-school ( kleuterschool ) and classes ( klas ) instead of groups . English, French and German are taught here from 1st grade (corresponding to group 3 ) on (in a playful way).

Further training

Sg. (Scholengemeenschap) Augustinianum in Eindhoven

After elementary school, there is a secondary school for students between the ages of 12 and 18. The secondary education can be completed in the following facilities:

  • Institutions of "pre-university education" (vwo)
  • General secondary education institutions (havo) and
  • Institutions for secondary vocational education (vmbo).

The first year of secondary schools of all three forms is the so-called transition class ("brugklas"). Above all, it serves to orient the pupil on his future school career.

Vwo

The “pre-scientific” or “pre-university course” ( voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs , vwo) lasts six years and aims to prepare students for admission to a university. Pre-university education is provided in three types of schools: the Gymnasium, the Atheneum or the Lyceum. The difference between the Gymnasium and the Atheneum lies in the sequence of languages: in the Gymnasium, Latin and Greek are compulsory subjects - at the Atheneum they are not; A Lyceum is a combination of a Gymnasium and an Atheneum with a common beginning year.

In the fourth and fifth school year, the Gymnasien and Atheneen are divided into four parts, the so-called profielen : Cultuur en Maatschappij ( culture and society ), Economie en Maatschappij ( economy and society ), Natuur en Gezondheid ( nature and health ) and Natuur en Techniek ( Nature and technology ). There are subjects that are compulsory for all profiles, such as Dutch and English, the profieldeel , the subjects belonging to the profile and some subjects that the school can choose itself. Cultuur en Maatschappij is geared towards foreign languages, history and art; Economie en Maatschappij on history, economics and applied mathematics; Natuur en Gezondheid has biology, chemistry, mathematics and either geography or physics as electives within the profile; Natuur en Techniek has mathematics, chemistry and physics compulsory. So it runs from very linguistic and humanities to very precise natural sciences. Each training course ends with a final exam.

Havo

The 5-year higher general education course ( hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs , havo) is mainly designed to prepare students for a “higher” vocational training ( hoger beroepsonderwijs , hbo). In reality, however, it is common for students who have achieved the Havo degree to continue their academic career in order to achieve the Vwo degree. Others attend a vocational school (mbo) instead of entering a “higher” vocational training course. Dutch often translate Havo into German using Realschule. In fact, however, the Havo certificate can be compared more with the German technical college entrance qualification, because it enables access to a 4-year training course at a technical college.

In the third and fourth year of school, Havo is divided into four parts, the so-called profielen : Cultuur en Maatschappij ( culture and society ), Economie en Maatschappij ( economy and society ), Natuur en Gezondheid ( nature and health ) and Natuur en Techniek ( nature and technology ). There are compulsory subjects for all profiles, such as Dutch and English, the profieldeel , the subjects belonging to the profile and some subjects that the school can choose itself. Cultuur en Maatschappij is geared towards foreign languages, history and art; Economie en Maatschappij on history, economics and applied mathematics; Natuur en Gezondheid has biology, chemistry, mathematics and either geography or physics as electives within the profile; Natuur en Techniek has mathematics, chemistry and physics compulsory. So it runs from very linguistic and humanities to very precise natural sciences. Each training course ends with a final exam.

Vmbo

A few years ago the lower courses were merged:

  • intermediate general secondary education ( middelbaar algemeen voortgezet onderwijs , mavo), roughly comparable to secondary school
  • lower vocational education ( lager beroepsonderwijs , lbo), later preparatory vocational education (vbo), a kind of secondary school
  • individual vocational training course ( individueel voorbereidend beroepsonderwijs , ivbo), more of a kind of special school

The new, four-year vocational preparatory secondary course ( voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs , vmbo) is still divided into a theoretical Leerweg (Realschule) and a practical Leerweg (Hauptschule). The Vmbo mainly prepares the pupils for later attendance at the vocational school ( middelbaar beroepsonderwijs , mbo). Many students with the Vmbo qualification then aim for the Havo qualification, while others only go through a vocational short training course (kmbo) or start an apprenticeship in the dual system. The Vmbo accepts around 60 percent of the children in primary school.

Mbo

The vocational training courses (mbo) prepare students for intermediate positions in administration, industry and the service sector. They immediately follow a vocational training course or a general education course. They last a maximum of four years. Students can choose from technical courses, courses in services, health, home economics, wholesale and retail, and agriculture. The compulsory work experience on the job characterizes this course.

Kmbo

Short professional training courses (kmbo, Dutch: Kort middelbaar beroeponderwijs ) were set up in 1979 as a result of the then new further training decree . Kmbo courses prepare students for employment in simple fields of activity. They are offered to young people from the age of 16. To be admitted, students must either present an Lbo or Mavo diploma, or demonstrate ten years of full-time education. The courses are full-time courses and last two to three years. Practical work both inside and outside the schools is an important part of these courses. Some parts of the courses are directly job-related, others convey general educational content.

In addition to full-time school-based vocational training courses, the Netherlands also offers apprenticeships in the dual system . The trainee receives vocational school lessons on one or two days a week, on the remaining days he is trained in the company.

Colleges

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Claire Goriot, scientist and researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen: Starting English lessons in 1st grade elementary school is not effective. In: ru.nl - the website of Radboud University Nijmegen (Nijmegen). Radboud University of Nijmegen (Nijmegen), February 11, 2019, accessed on August 2, 2018 (Dutch).