Workshop “The long Route”
Introduction
Chairwoman: Ankie Verlaan
The Advisory Board on Diversity and
Integration of the city of Amsterdam
Speaker: Sandra de Bresser
TIES Conference
May 11-13, 2009
Sandra de Bresser
Director ICT Department
Historical Context
• 19th century
• 20th century
• Industrialisation:
• coming up of vocational
training
• Initiative of employers and big
influence of the business
communities
• Development in the
administration and public
sector
• ambachtschool,
• huishoudschool,
• grafische school
• MULO
Expansion of the vocational education after the
Second World War
Vocational Education
• lts – uts – mts - hts
• lhno - mhno/mdgo/fashion
• leao – meao/mds
• guild system
General Education
• Mulo - HBS
• Mavo – Havo / VWO
• Second chance:
avond-HBS,
moedermavo
Stapelen (PILING) Emancipation of the working class
Another vision on emancipation and
development
During the sixties
• De middenschool
• (example Scandinavia and
France)
•
•
•
•
•
Opposition:
Economic movements
Conservative powers
Parents
Employers
a political concept
The Dream
• The big wave: primary-secundary general - higher
education
• Smaller wave: vocational training-labour market
• Second chance.
The reality:
• Psychological development takes more time (period
of puberty and adolescence 11 - 20)
• Different composition of the population: a new
working class
• Vocational education: 60% of the students
(community colleges and vmbo)
PILING IS BACK,
the long route, royal route or a steeplechase?
Necessary facilitation:
• Better connection curricula
• More flexibility in time and
combination with work
• Better coaching system
• Improve the professionality
of teachers
• Not: more money, but a
better spending policy
more time - more serenity - more variety
Successes:
Aboutaleb, Marcouch, Abdelkader Benali, Hafid Bouazza.
Dutch Education
4-5
4
University
Higher
Education
6
Pre
University
General 5
Secondary
Education
Vocational
Training,
2-3-4
Pre Vocational
Training,
Incl. pre gen stream
Primary Education
4
Different ways to go The
longest
Route
The long
Route
The VWO
Route
The Havo HBO University
Route
Masters 1 - 2
Masters 1 - 2
Bachelor diff dom. 3
Intro 0-1
Masters 1 - 2
Masters 1 - 2
Bachelor HBO 4
Bachelor HBO 4
MBO level 2-4 3 - 4
MBO level 2-4 3 - 4
Intro 0-1
Bachelor 3
VWO
Bachelor HBO 4
6
10-11
Havo
5
10-12
VMBO
TL - BB
13 - 15
4
VMBO
TL - BB
15-17
4
The road taken by Adnan Kazan
The personal story
track of a second generation Turkish immigrant
•
•
•
•
MAVO (VMBO these days):
4 years
MBO (short track no longer offered):
2 years
HBO (fast track; MBO background):
3 years
Master of Information Sciences at
University:
2 years
• A total of 11 years (with 2 shortcuts); normally this
road would take at least 13 years or more in the
current Dutch system
• Tested for a higher level of secondary education
(havo-vwo) but was advised to go to MBO
(with his Turkish friends who all dropped out later).
My personal track in comparison
• VWO:
6 years
• HBO / Bachelors:
4 years
• University, Master of Technology of
Education in USA:
1+ year
• A total of 11 years
(in reality 15 years because I did 2 bachelors in
different subject areas)
A comparison between the Dutch System
and the USA (1)
• During secondary education (12 – 18 years) there are
no choices between general or vocational education
in the USA: one system
• One system for all makes it hard for the brighter
students and for the more practical students in the
USA, but it offers a safe social environment and often
the system is referred to as a ‘social education’ rather
than an intellectual education.
• After High School many students go through the
Community College system for their associate degree
and prior to university: it is cheaper and it can be
combined with work and family responsibilities (2
years)
A comparison between the Dutch System
and the USA (2)
• Vocational education is done through Community
Colleges (comparable to the Dutch MBO system) or 4
year colleges (comparable to the Dutch HBO system)
• Community Colleges vocational tracks are more likely
to be attended by people that work and of all ages.
4 year colleges are more likely to be attended by full
time students directly out of High School
• University in the USA can be attended full time or
part time and many people who work also attend
university for many years to finish their degree (s)
and to improve their job opportunities (piling in the
credit system)
The road taken by Armida Carr
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2nd generation Hispanic immigrant in USA
No school prior to age 8 in Mexico
Started school at age 8 in the USA
Finished High School with great efforts and low selfesteem
Married after High School and had 3 children
Went back to education at age 32 in community college /
entry-level
Did her associate degree (Math & English) in 2 years
Enrolled into university at age 34 and finished her
bachelors with honors and in another 2 years beating her
deficiencies in the English language
Finished her Master’s in Communications Disorders at age
‘38
Similarities between Adnan and Armida
• Both 2nd generation immigrants
• Both spoke another language until age 5 – 8 and continued to speak
another language at home throughout their school years
• Both had parents with no higher education degree then high school
• Both had low self-esteem in terms of their intellectual and / or
language level skills
• Both did not get the push from their parents to go through the highest
possible education program
• Both are highly motivated and very intelligent and exception to the rule
in their generation
• Differences: Adnan stayed within the system and continued his path
taking the long road. Armida came back into a flexible system that was
able to accommodate her education goals later in life and while having
a family.
The ICT students of my department
• About 60- 70 % continue their education in IT and go to
the HBO
• This is a national trend in ICT and it has a higher
percentage than other vocational programs in MBO
(ranges from 45 – 52 % and the average score of the
Regio College is 47 %)
• The other 30 – 40 % starts work and may come back for
additional training through their employer or using
Microsoft of Cisco Certificate Training Programs.
• The students continuing into HBO do well. The drop-out
rate of MBO students in IT is relatively low and the
majority will finish it and get their degree.
• Only a small percentage will continue into University and
finish a Master.
Demographics of the ICT students
• Level 2: about 60- 70 % is first, second or third
generation of immigrants and we have no entry
requirements (prerequisites)
• Level 3 – 4: about 40-50 % of second or third generation
of immigrants and very few if any new immigrants (I
know only one female student who graduated last year)
• The majority is male and in my first year as the director
of the department we only had 8 female student (out of
300 in total): 1 Dutch girl, 7 Turkish and Moroccan
students. Now even less despite of attempts to attract
more…
What do we do right (in our system)?
• Government: requirement to get a minimal
qualification (start kwalificatie) until the age of 23
(was implemented some years ago)
• Government: (financial) initiatives to reduce the
drop-out rates in Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the
larger cities with many immigrants)
What do we do right in our College?
• We work closely with the VMBO colleges in our region to
create a ‘continued education program’ rather then making
it a transition from one college to the next. Housed in one
building by next September in Purmerend.
• We work closely with the HBO Colleges on fast tracks from
MBO into HBO and joint counselling of students to make the
right choices
(memorandum of understanding and dual half-year
programs)
• Stapover, a special program where students who can’t
make the choice for a specific profession or who made the
wrong choice, can orient themselves to make a better
founded decision & Service Centre with counsellors for
learning difficulties
What still needs to be improved in
the system? (1)
• Language deficiency of immigrants is still a huge problem in
their primary and secondary education and blocks their
ability to transfer into higher education or using the easier
and shorter route
• After NT2 (Dutch as a Second Language) and VMBO there
is still a ‘gap’ of at least 2-3 levels of language skills to be
bridged to be able to finish the level 4 programs and to meet
the language requirements (especially with technical
students and only one level can be improved in that time
frame)
• Programs and funding to bridge this gap do not apply for
many of my students or are offered too late in their
education track. The department itself does not have the
financial means nor the skilled language instructors.
What still needs to be improved in
the system? (2)
• The MBO system goes through continuous changes
and there is no time for reflection and improvement
of the existing program (new KD’s or requirements
imposed for the past 3-4 years)
• Funding is based on student success and outcome
which leaves little room or means for the individual
student who needs more time or special attention.
• Following rules & regulations ‘on paper’ are
perceived as more important then the quality of
teaching and learning.
What still needs to be improved in
the system? (3)
• Going through ‘tracks’ rather than offering
flexibility or ‘education on demand’; there is very
little or no flexibility in our system
and it is very hard to get back into it after having
‘dropped out’ or starting work
• Teachers are insufficiently equipped to deal with
difficult students and learning deficiencies or
social-and / or psychological problems
• Each student gets the same program. We need
more tailor-made and more diversified programs
(if only in pace, time and place)
Lessons learned & recommendations
• From a historical & administrative point of
view (Ankie)
• From the day to day practice in MBO and
in comparison to working experience in
the community colleges system (Sandra)
The Long Route - the long & winding road
Any questions or comments?
•
Beatles:
For more information
• Sandra de Bresser
Director ICT Department
Regio College
Zaandam
Phone: + 31-75-681-9024
Mobile: + 31-6-1250-9888
E-mail: SdeBresser@RegioCollege.nl
• Reference: Global Development of Community
Colleges, Technical Colleges, and Further Education
Programs. Community College Press of AACC.
Thank you!