29 Jun 2023 at 00:00
“Painful choices” are needed to cope with the teacher shortage, says the Education Council on Thursday. Consider, for example, fewer teaching hours in combination with a less full curriculum.
The teacher shortage rose again last year: almost 10 percent of full-time jobs were unfilled. The large cities have greater shortages than areas outside the city. But the fact is that there is a shortage everywhere, and that this will not be solved easily in the coming years.
The Education Council has therefore looked at how the Netherlands can deal with this. In his exploration published Thursday Scarcity grates the council is investigating which options there are. But in order to provide education to all children, choices are necessary.
“Scarcity is chafing, especially in education. It is chafing because the shortages are unevenly distributed and schools with many socially vulnerable students are hit the hardest. And it is chafing because difficult and painful choices are necessary,” the Education Council writes. “But we cannot close our eyes to this growing and skewed problem.”
Schools cannot do everything
One of those choices is to take a critical look at the extensive curriculum. Schools simply cannot take on everything, even if politicians or society sometimes insist on this, the council sees. This could include, for example, lessons about healthy nutrition, cultural activities, philosophy or financial education.
“Currently there is a lack of awareness in politics and society of what can reasonably be expected of education”, is the firm conclusion of the Education Council.
Filling in teaching hours better only makes sense if the children also receive fewer hours of lessons. In the time thus saved, teachers can teach other classes. “The idea is that if the educational offer for students decreases in size and time, the entire educational offer can be realized with the number of teachers available.”
The Education Council adds that Dutch children spend a relatively large amount of time at school: 940 hours a year at primary school and 1,000 hours at secondary school. In most Western countries, the average is 799 and 919.
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The Council believes in the help of others, not in digital solutions
In addition to the curriculum, schools can also look at help from others. “Teaching really remains the domain of the teachers,” emphasizes a spokesperson. “But there are also others who can support them.” For example, they can help with administration, surveillance during tests or the organization of school trips.
The Education Council sees no point in digital solutions, such as online teaching programs or automatic grading programmes. Not only does it still cost teachers time to use those programs properly, teaching skills are also required that computers do not have. In addition, not all students have equal access to these types of digital resources.
What would this look like in practice?
If we look at the educational offer, less lessons are given and help comes from outside, then students can, for example, receive lessons for four days. On the fifth day they would then receive a program that is not officially part of the curriculum. Think of a museum visit, making art or chess lessons. These activities can be supervised by, for example, parents or other professionals.
Vulnerable children should not be the victims
The Education Council is concerned about the inequality of opportunity. Schools that already have a relatively large number of vulnerable children face greater shortages than schools with less vulnerable children. The question is therefore whether the options suggested by the Education Council should also be taken at these vulnerable schools. This can lead to these children falling even further behind.
There must also be good cooperation between the different regions. Consider, for example, having teachers help elsewhere if they wish. “Teacher shortages shouldn’t just be a problem for the schools and school boards that face it.”
The Education Council concludes that it is “emphatically not a ready-made plan”. All the problems are too big for that. However, the Council hopes that further consideration will be given to the options that have been listed.
2023-06-28 22:00:00
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