The demand for adult training opportunities is substantial as labor markets often require adult workers to obtain advanced skills. Opportunities to obtain advanced skills are often pursued by high-income and high-skilled workers whereas low-skilled or low-income adult workers are less likely to participate. For this study, we used data from the…

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has funded a five years program to encourage the use, creation and sharing of Open Educational Resources (OER) by teachers from various types of education. This program is known as Wikiwijs. Ultimo 2013, the program has come to an end. As some of the assumptions at the start of Wikiwijs proved…

The paper reviews special education provisions (specifically regarding individualized education programs-IEPs) in Holland. Regular and special education operate fairly independently. Policy changes regarding IEPs are noted. IEPs are formulated to be both initial planning and instructional tools. Interviews and surveys were completed by 84 teachers…

Discusses the policy report of the Minister of Education and Sciences, the creation and functions of the Advisory Committee on Education and Information Technology and the Centre for Education and Information Technology, characteristics of the development and implementation of computer literacy in the Netherlands, and a planned nationwide survey.…

During the 1970s, evaluation researchers realized that adoption of a curricular innovation does not ensure its implementation. This paper asks which strategies of educational policy and external support are relevant for implementing curricular innovations, particularly in the Netherlands. The first three sections discuss why and for whom…

In modern Western society, traditional structures and organizations from the first modernity, with its hierarchical models and well-structured and distinct components, are currently confronted by the individualization trends of the second modernity. This need for new structures is particularly apparent in present-day education. Education, in the…

In the Netherlands, there is growing interest in the day care and education of young children, stemming from the increase in culturally different, multilingual pupils in recent years and the understanding that the first 2 years of primary education form the basis for a successful school career. This position paper of the Ministry of Education,…

The results of a questionnaire from 16 European countries concerning the early teaching of modern languages are presented. The 16 countries involved are: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The findings…

Higher education in the Netherlands is divided into three sectors: traditional universities; schools for higher occupational education, known as "hoger beroepsonderwijs," or HBOs; and the Open University, which offers both university and HBO degrees for students unable or unprepared to attend traditional institutions. The HBO system,…

During the last decade in Belgium and the Netherlands, comprehensive reform of primary education emanated from central policy. In both countries the national authorities set up a program to encourage and facilitate the new primary school concept. This paper reports on 25 schools in the Netherlands and 52 in Belgium that acquired special funding…

A majority of the population of Friesland in the Netherlands can speak the Frisian language and over 90 percent can understand it. Frisian is spoken by 55 percent of the population but only 10 percent of the population claim to be fluent in writing Frisian. A brief review of the development of Frisian in education suggests that Frisian has a…

Although the importance of systematic evaluation of educational policy and practice is well established, various problems confound the intention of evaluating regional or national activity with regard to computer-related activities in education. At least two of these problems relate to a general conception of the appropriate entry points for…

Educational policy research is discussed as it concerns the utilization and programming of research. Following a brief review of the development of the educational research system, Part 1 discusses the following utilization concerns: the gap between research and policymakers; the relationship of organizational setting to utilization (comparing…

School-effectiveness research is constrained by ambiguous factors of effectiveness and a lack of theory. This paper presents findings of a study that used simulation to improve school-effectiveness theory. Simulation is also used to explore the direct effects of schools on individual learning. After introducing simulation models, the paper…

A general outline of the development and the status quo of political education in the Netherlands, focusing on the degree of internationalization, is presented. In the light of current and future educational/political developments, attention also is devoted to the North-South issue (the existence of people in developing nations in relation to the…