Education staff faces challenges teaching Ukrainian students
Tailoring education to the level of the students is the biggest challenge for teachers teaching Ukrainian students. 63 percent say so in a poll by the AOb at. More than half (56 percent) of the respondents also find communication a problem that causes headaches and a quarter indicate that the fluctuation of the number of students in the class is a bottleneck.
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This is evident from the poll conducted by the AOb last month held and distributed on social media, newsletters and via the LOWAN foundation (education for newcomers) and the professional association NT2 teachers. Just over 125 respondents completed the survey, the majority of whom (89 in total) are teachers. Support staff and a number of school leaders also completed the questionnaire.
Higher workload
A clear consequence of the influx of Ukrainian students is an increase in workload. Six out of ten teachers who teach this target group indicate this. 34 percent see that the classes have become larger. The work pressure of teacher assistants in primary education is above average: 80 percent has to do with it.
De digits of the fourth count -completed by nearly 1400 primary and secondary schools- from the Ministry of Education from July 2022 show that just under 30 percent of primary schools receive Ukrainian students. In secondary education this concerns 33 percent of secondary schools. ISK schools (international transition classes) receive larger numbers of students than regular schools.
Ukrainian people work at a fifth of regular primary schools, in secondary education this is 56 percent of the schools, according to OCW figures. The OCW survey also shows that having sufficient staff is a major bottleneck. This is also evident from the AObpoll in which 27 percent of respondents indicate that finding qualified teachers and qualified NT2 teachers is a challenge.
Teaching material
In addition, educational staff indicate that tailoring education to the level of the students (63%), communication with students (56%) and determining the content of education (50%) are the biggest challenges. Coping with trauma and social-emotional support are other challenges teachers face. The AObpoll shows that there is a need for information about the Ukrainian education system (41 percent) and available teaching materials (36 percent).
AOb-policy officer Roos Bonnemaijers points to the website of the LOWAN foundation, which already has a lot of teaching material for primary education en secondary education and answer questions that emerge from the poll.
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