Successful lateral entry into education: this is how you do it!

Orientating yourself towards your new profession involves more than spending an hour in a classroom. Certainly for Lateral entries into the profession (ZiB) you must have taught before. Otherwise you will not pass the suitability test, says Heleen den Herder, assessor and coordinator of the lateral entry at the Christian University of Applied Sciences Ede. “Especially after corona, more adults have the idea: what a meaningful job, maybe that is something for me? Which is great. But invest time to really get an impression of the profession.”

Lateral entry is tough and intensive. That's what everyone involved says. Support from home and the private network is therefore crucial. Is there an informal care situation? Or would you like to have a child in the same period? Then it is better to postpone this ambition. 

Jorien Termond has his own coaching company and sometimes sits across from lateral entry students who are no better off than a scared bunny looking into the headlights of a car. “Many lateral entrants struggle,” she says. “They are considered full colleagues, even though they are not yet.” A lateral entrant must therefore dare to move from performance to learning, says Den Herder. Teacher trainer Nienke Smit from Utrecht University adds: “It's okay to make mistakes, as long as you can learn from them. It is normal that things go wrong in the interaction with students, for example, or in the learning material. Only when someone says: I don't see the problem do our alarm bells go off. "

Guidance and feedback is a must. “Due to the staff shortage, you are called upon at an early stage,” Termond says. “And lateral transfer students want to do their best for the school. As a result, it is often not visible that they need care.” Are you the first lateral entrant at a school? Then beware of overestimation, Den Herder says: “In education you cannot say: I am going to practice order and then teach. It all comes at once. And your studies are on top of that.”

Be honest with colleagues who call on you. Termond: “Say no where you still lack the knowledge and experience. Also be clear about when you are group responsible and when you are not. If your boundaries are clear, people will treat you differently.” During suitability assessments, Smit checks whether potential lateral entrants can monitor their boundaries. “What can help is the realization that you are valuable to education. There are many opportunities. So it is not the case that if you now say no to a task or job, the option will not come up again.”

Don't be surprised by what the study demands of you. Termond: “Ask what is asked of you and what that means in hours. You can plan accordingly, so you won't be surprised. If a tough period at school is coming up, you lower the slider on the course slightly and vice versa. Knowing what variables you are dealing with allows you to play with them. You know that everything will turn out well in the end, so you are less likely to run out of steam and can plan healthy time for yourself and your family.”

Den Herder: “Are you a very innovative and creative person? Then you need some open space so you can try new things. It doesn't work if your supervisor is very rigid, for example. Therefore, try to be open and vulnerable in the preliminary stages, so that a good match can be made."