Rapid growth causes stress in higher professional education
The pressure on universities of applied sciences is high this school year. Not only because of online education, but also because a record number of students are following a higher vocational education.
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"Don't expect a solid analysis from me, I'm too busy for that," e-mailed HBO lecturer Arjan Visser of the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences as a warning. He teaches geography to this independent Rotterdam teacher training college and this school year the influx of new students is “enormous”. Visser saw the number of geography classes at his school suddenly almost double this year to sixteen, but was still assigned with one other colleague to teach students the subject.
“It didn't make sense in the timetable,” he says. “I was scheduled for a lesson in geography didactics on Monday at ten o'clock, but I also had a graduation group. The roster makers became crazy of the geography boys. We are really up a gear, only this was a lot. When my history colleagues got a teacher, we thought: that's what we need. Fortunately the management switched quickly, since recently there are three of us. ”
The schedulers went crazy with the geography boys
With a growth of more than 100 percent, Thomas More stands out in the figures, according to an overview by the employers' organization Vereniging Hogescholen (VH). Last school year, 137 new students opted for the PABO training at the Rotterdam school. This school year, 276 new first-years entered, although there are still drop out because of the admission tests that were taken later due to corona.
Unique
HBO is growing all over the country. This school year, 125 students started their studies at one of the universities of applied sciences. An increase of 10 percent. “This is quite unique,” says Maurice Limmen, chairman of the VH. “It really is all hands on deck for teachers and other teaching staff. Until corona we thought that the influx would stabilize. ”
At the moment, the entire university of applied sciences has half a million students. The large number of HAVO graduates who passed in 2020 due to adjustments to the final exam and MBO students who move on explains the increase, according to the VH. Limmen: “MBO students would perhaps go to work faster without corona. That is now more difficult. Also, six months abroad was not an option for graduates. ”
Mboers might go to work faster without corona
The nursing programs (plus 14,9 percent), technical studies (plus 5,8 percent) and all variants of the PABO (plus 31,7 percent) are particularly popular among new students.
It is precisely these variants that increase the workload, Visser notices in practice: “The four-year part-time variant, the two-year course and the three-year course. Sometimes you can no longer see the wood for the trees. ”
The variants were devised to reduce the teacher shortage, but demand more from teachers. “You cannot give a lesson about subject didactics in the same way to PAB students of seventeen years as to part-timers who often already have academic training. That creates work pressure. " Visser notices that the higher number of students means more proofreading and a growing number of internship visits, an important part of the teacher training program. “We are now visiting more students at our regular internship schools. There has to be a report about this and if an internship is not going well, then you have to do something with it.
To expand
Branch director Lucas Rurup of Inholland University of Applied Sciences saw the bulk of new students coming. His school welcomed some 250 more students to the educational courses. Rurup: “We already started expanding the teams in April last year. That is always exciting, but with five teacher training colleges we dared to do it. Each location gained approximately 1,5 FTEs of teachers and support staff. ” Those full-time hours are mainly needed to supervise students, says Rurup. Especially in this day and age. “Educational backlogs have arisen and we already know that the extra supervision hours are not superfluous after one year. This will continue in the coming years as the students move on to higher grades. ”
MBO students also joined Inholland. “The dual variant in particular has grown,” says Rurup. “For teachers that often means that you can check assignments less routinely. Everyone has a different assignment and we want to further expand this flexibility. Students must achieve the same goals, but the route to them may differ. We are in discussion about this. ”
Binding study advice
The abolition of the binding study advice (BSA), a decision taken because of corona, will put a higher pressure on schools in a different way, and the education staff sees Astrid Venes, director of Child and Education at Fontys. In Brabant, teacher training programs grew considerably with a quarter more students. Venes: “Normally, large groups pass their propaedeutic year, but now there are classes where some are on schedule and others are not. It means that teachers must provide more guidance and differentiate. It gives a different dynamic, I hear from students from the participation council. ”
The abolition of the binding study advice puts pressure on schools
In many schools, corona and online education throw a spanner in the works when it comes to managing the workload. “We have a lot of extra staff at Fontys, but training people remotely remains special,” says Anton van den Brink, director of the teacher training courses in Sittard. He sees that a lot has already been asked of the teaching staff because of the school closure and online teaching. "The involvement is so great, especially in these times."
Pedagogy teacher at Inholland Arco Sterk notices that online education is often new to colleagues. It remains a far cry from ordinary teaching, he thinks. “But it can also yield something: for some colleagues it saves travel time and we can do educational things, for example blended learning further development, which will come in handy after corona. I now hear around me that people experience more work pressure due to corona, but of course it does not always stay that way. Hopefully we will return to normal education, because it is not an ideal situation. ”
Billions
Outgoing education ministers Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66) and Arie Slob (ChristenUnie) came up with the recovery plan 'National Education Program' in February this year to eliminate backlogs and to provide support to education staff. EUR 8,5 billion has been made available for education as a whole. 2,7 billion of this will go to higher education and part of it has been booked on a structural basis. According to Van Engelshoven, all educational institutions will be fully and structurally compensated for the much higher student numbers from the next academic year 2021/2022. "It leads to a lot of extra work on the institutions," said the minister at a press conference where the plan was announced. "The extra money should ensure that more people can be employed and that the workload for the staff decreases."
Can you find more staff? Fontys has succeeded in teacher training and teacher training. “Our direct network is an advantage, but it is and will continue to be searched,” says Venes. “We do use the flexible shell, because student numbers fluctuate. We notice that quite a lot of teachers like to teach at the teacher training college. "
That is also the experience of teacher Sterk. "I had to apply a lot and because there were many candidates, it was difficult to come in and get the job."
Although the education ministers hope that the recovery plan will take the pressure off, many schools were not yet sure where to spend the money at the beginning of April. Lecturer Visser does not see his long to-do list shrinking so quickly. "No, it will remain very full until the summer."
This article appeared in the May issue of the Education Magazine. AObmembers receive the magazine on the mat every month.
