Citizenship education can be much better
Dutch young people know less about democracy and citizenship than their peers in comparable countries, such as Denmark and Flanders. The differences in knowledge between pupils are greater here and young people indicate that the school climate in the Netherlands is less open. “We can conclude that citizenship education can improve enormously,” says researcher Anne Bert Dijkstra of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).
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Dijkstra contributed to it yesterday published research 'Citizenship in secondary education'. The study involved 2812 Dutch second-year students who are in a VMBO, HAVO or VWO class. The results have been compared with other countries.
Since 2005, the law has stipulated that schools must pay attention to citizenship. Dijkstra says that the profession seems to have developed little since then. Especially when you compare it with the four Scandinavian countries and Flanders. “It is striking, for example, that the level of knowledge is lower here,” says Dijkstra. "In the Netherlands, about 35 percent of the students score at the highest level of knowledge, in other countries that percentage is 50 to 60 percent."
Knowledge
This concerns, for example, knowledge about parliament, voting rights, how elections work, how decisions are taken and important topics such as equality. The research shows that Dutch students attach less importance to elections and are less likely to vote than young people in comparable countries. Dutch pupils also indicate that there is less attention for citizenship and fewer activities, such as debating, having a say in the course of affairs at school or elections for the pupil council.
What strikes the researchers is the class climate: Dutch students experience a less open climate than in comparable countries. Dijkstra: "The important thing is whether there is room for an open discussion and whether teachers show different perspectives, a factor that is important to stimulate citizenship."
What strikes the researchers is the class climate: Dutch students experience a less open climate than in comparable countries.
The teachers in the Netherlands feel competent to deal with aspects of citizenship education. “They encourage students to think critically and know how to deal with sources on the internet,” says Dijkstra. "They feel less competent in explaining substantive themes, such as the operation of the constitution." A difference with the other countries is that Dutch teachers make less use of activities outside of school or group work. “They often use methods and processing orders. They do less work for which students have to go outside the school. ”
Spiegel
Dijkstra emphasizes that one approach is no better than the other. “International research is valuable because it clarifies where strengths lie and points that require attention. It holds up a mirror. But there is a lot of room for improvement. This research offers the starting points for this. ”
That improvement does not come naturally. The researchers make recommendations for it. "Schools consider citizenship important, but also say that it is a complicated task," says Dijkstra. It would be good if the assignment was clarified and schools should be supported, for example by exchanging good examples in networks or developing effective approaches. This is important, the researchers write, because 'a vital democratic society cannot be taken for granted.'
