As a director, the professor wants to show that things can be done differently
Professor of Educational Science Klaas van Veen exchanges theory for practice. As an administrator, can he give his teachers the professional space that he advocates as a scientist?
Picture: Fred van Diem
The best helmsmen are ashore. Klaas van Veen, who has been affiliated with various universities as an educationalist since 1996 and has been professor of educational science since 2014, is well aware of this. “The education is bursting with experts who tell you how to do it. I myself could not resist commenting in recent years.”
That was not the reason to get on the boat yourself. That decision came more or less by accident. Through his son's school, he came into contact with the participation council and the Association for Christian Education with twelve primary schools in the city of Groningen (VCOG) and that clicked. "I thought: this is different from the academy, this is what it's all about." Van Veen is chairman of the board at VCOG from this school year.
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What exactly appealed to you?
“It's all about education. The pedagogical-didactic discussions are different, more essential, among the 0-12 age group than among students. In primary school children you see much more the kick of learning and being able to do something. As a teacher training student (1988-1992, ed.) I was already happy about that and now I would like to play a role in it again. And very important: the directors and teachers I spoke to at VCOG share that enthusiasm.”
In children you see the kick of learning and being able to do something. As a college student, that made me happy
How do you ensure that children get that kick?
“That has everything to do with how you organize the class. This determines how students behave and whether they learn. You get the learning you organize for. That is what I also insisted on as a professor. Our ministers of education and the inspectorate like to sound the alarm and constantly say that the quality of teachers must be improved. But they don't look at how the work itself is organized. You can say that teachers should be professionals, but if you don't organize the work in such a way that they can work professionally, that is an empty sound. With so many teaching hours and such large classes, teachers don't get around to really teaching, which is seeing every child and knowing what they need. It also explains the apparent declining level of education and the increasing inequality of opportunity rather than the supposed declining quality of teachers.”
So the government chooses the wrong solutions?
“Yes, with the unintended side effect that teachers constantly feel disqualified: we are not doing well and we need to be retrained. I am currently doing research into equality of opportunity in East Groningen. It's incredible what schools do there to help students. Teachers tell me: the suggestion from The Hague is that we can't do it and don't have high expectations of students. They have no idea. When asked what their solution would be, they say: it's all about paying attention and really having time for each student's learning process. So change the frameworks, ensure small classes and enable customization and tailor-made diplomas. That is different from going to schools with aid teams and retraining teachers, as is likely to happen again with the basic skills master plan.”
Teachers have to run lessons and push students through a kind of potato sorting machine
Do those solutions only apply to underprivileged students or everywhere?
“All students need attention. That is hardly possible at the moment. Teachers have to run lessons and push students through a kind of potato sorting machine. There is not really ingrained room to make students stronger and to help them progress. Some say there's nothing wrong with big classes, as long as you teach frontally. The mantra is direct instruction, which is proven to be effective. That's only partly true, direct instruction is no guarantee that you really see every child and know what they need to learn. You have to set up your organization in such a way that every student feels heard and seen and that really requires smaller classes with about sixteen students. If that basis is there, every teacher wants to be trained if necessary.”
Many things you mention require different policy from The Hague, but what are you going to do as a school administrator?
Laughing: “I was already afraid of that question.” Seriously again: “First of all, I want to get a picture of the twelve primary schools: what are they already doing, what are they encountering and what has really helped them? And then I want to talk to them about how we can give them more space to prepare lessons and analyze student learning. I wonder how much room there is for that and how far we can go.”
Do you mean financial room or in terms of inspection?
“The inspection allows quite a lot. So the question is mainly what you can do differently within the financial framework. I would very much like to have that discussion with the schools. Another point I would like to discuss with them: we have now organized our regular education in such a way that every student in group 3 has to master technical reading, but isn't it better for some students if you are more in line with their learning needs and development? So less uniform requirements. Let's develop soft skills as self-confidence, cooperation and showing initiative are just as important as learning to read and calculate.”
You can say that teachers should be professionals, but if you don't organize the work in such a way that they can work professionally, that is an empty sound
He would also like to talk to his twelve schools and the Inspectorate about the value of the school advice. Recent research by colleagues shows that this advice is a better predictor than the cito test. So let's stop giving so much weight to that test and let students even practice for it, says Van Veen. “I don't want students who learn to estimate what the right answer should be, but who learn to think. I heard one of the most beautiful definitions of learning in a documentary about a school in San Diego, High Tech High: learning is creating something that wasn't there before. That kind of learning is the most satisfying and you would want to see that. That is different from reproduction, learning for the test and being tested. So I also like to talk to my teachers about the value of the Cito test and how we deal with it.”
As a driver, you will soon be judged on the Citoscores
“Yes, so that requires a dialogue with each other and with the ministry and the inspectorate: is this the learning process we want to see?”
Do your fellow directors say: Klaas, you are naive or too idealistic?
“They haven't said that yet. I have already had very nice reactions and invitations. Maybe they think so, they could. I think my most important role as an administrator is to create space for teachers to really teach. And to ensure that they are inconvenienced as little as possible by the noise of policy that you have in every organization.”
If people leave because they barely get to teach, then I did it wrong
You have sometimes argued against the tendency to make the profession more interesting by giving teachers tasks other than teaching. How do you view this as a driver?
“The core of the profession is in the thrill of teaching. Those are the teachers I want, people who exude enthusiasm. Creating attractive careers with tasks that take them out of the classroom is something I am very much against. If you look at research into why people leave education, it's rarely, if ever, because they can't make a career. Because they don't have enough time to do their job properly. One of the teachers from my research in East Groningen said: this is the nicest school on earth, I can do something for these children. My task as a manager is that teachers continue to have that feeling. If people leave because they hardly get to teach, then I did it wrong.”
Also read: More and more helmsmen are ashore
