Children in the Netherlands

Education in the Netherlands
How Does the System Work?
The Dutch educational begins when children are 4 years old. The first two years of schooling are called preprimary school. From ages 6 to 12, the Dutch children attend primary schools. Then at age 12, children can chose one of four secondary educational paths (illustrated in the diagram). The first two, lower general education, and lower vocational training both give access to middle vocational training. Students in lower vocational training and lower general secondary education can transfer into different schools to change their educational future. In the last couple years, these two levels of education have been combined. Middle vocational training leads to the job market, or vocational colleges and higher vocational training. Vocational colleges and higher vocational training can lead to university or the job marked. The third secondary school option allows students to access vocational colleges and higher vocational training also. The final secondary school option, pre-university education, prepares students for university, or they can chose to pursue vocational colleges and higher vocational training. Pre-university, and higher general secondary education both require students to attend studiehuis "study house." This means that students are expected to work more independently and pursue further education outside of classes.

This diagram is original, created by Dane Harbaugh.

Statistics on Dutch Education

Dutch students in their final year of secondary school ranked #1 in the world in mathematics general knowledge and performance.
Dutch 4th year, 8th year, and final year students ranked in the top 9 in the world in mathematics and science.
With the recent addition of studiehuis the number of students in the highest tracks of secondary education has dropped significantly. 10,000 fewer students took the final school exams in higher general secondary school.
Female and male enrolment in secondary education is about equal (a few more girls).
Students from non-western backgrounds have lower pass rates in secondary education. About 5% lower in the lowest level of secondary education, and 10%-13% lower in the other levels.
Students from native Dutch backgrounds are more likely to pursue the higher levels of secondary education (29% and 25% of the total native Dutch student population in pre-university and higher general secondary education respectively, and 12% and 14% of the total non-western background student population in pre-university and higher general secondary education respectively).
References For This Page:
"Overview and Key Findings Across Grade Levels." retrieved December 3, 2002 (http://nces.ed.gov/timss)
Sieben, Inge, Johannes Huinink and Paul M. de Graff. 2001. "Family Background and Sibling Resemblance in Educational Attainment. Trends in the Former FRG, the Former GDR and the Netherlands." European Sociological Review 17:401-30.
Van der Aart, Suzan. 2002. "Three-quarters of non-western pupils take exams at first-stage secondary level." retrieved December 3, 2002 ( http://www.cbs.nl/en/publications/articles/webmagazine/2002/1038k.html)
Van Dijk, Liset. 2002. Email received Friday, December 6, 2002. (L.vandijk@nivel.nl.)
The purpose of this site is to inform web users of the status of children in the Netherlands. We are not and do not claim to be experts on the Netherlands. This project was completed with limited resources and time. This site was designed by Lindsey Heines, Melissa Venture, Corey Penedo, and Dane Harbaugh as part of a collaborative web project for the first year writing seminar Children & Society at Tulane University taught by Professor April Brayfield .
Back to Project Overview
Updated December 13, 2002
Open New Window With Frames