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Ensuring usability

In this chapter, I look back at the implementation of W12-16, a major reform of mathematics education in the lower grades of general secondary education and pre-vocational secondary education in the Netherlands including all students aged 12–16. The nationwide implementation of W12-16 started in 1990 and envisioned a major change in what and how mathematics was taught and learned. The content was broadened from algebra and geometry to algebra, geometry and measurement, numeracy, and data processing and statistics. The learning trajectories and the instruction theory were based on the ideas of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME): the primary processes used in the classroom were to be guided re-invention and problem solving. ‘Ensuring usability’ in the title of this chapter refers to the aim of the content being useful and understandable for all students, but also to the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the implementation project, including teachers, students, parents, editors, curriculum and assessment developers, teacher educators, publishers, media and policy makers. Finally, I reflect on the current state of affairs more than 20 years after the nationwide introduction. The main questions to be asked are: Have the goals been reached? Was the implementation successful?

Bekwaam als leraar

Deze app biedt leraren en coaches in het po, vo en mbo een handvat bij de ontwikkeling van hun bekwaamheid als leraar.Het beschrijft bekwaamheden van leraren op verschillende niveau's als handvat voor reflectie en biedt een aantal reeflectieve vragen als startpunt voor een professionele dialoog tussen (startende) leraar en coach of binnen lerarenteams.De app komt voort uit het project Junior Leraar en is uitgebreid met een mbo variant.

Principal–teacher relationships: Dimensionality and measurement invariance of a measure for primary and secondary school teachers

This study explored the dimensionality and measurement invariance of a multidimensional measure for evaluating teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their relationships with principals at the dyadic level. Participants were 630 teachers (85.9% female) from 220 primary and 204 secondary schools across the Netherlands. Teachers completed the 10-item Principal–Teacher Relationship Scale (PTRS) for their principals. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) provided evidence for a two-factor model, including a relational Closeness and Conflict dimension. Additionally, multigroup CFA results indicated strong invariance of the PTRS across school type, teacher gender, and teaching experience. Last, secondary school teachers and highly experienced teachers reported lower levels of Closeness and higher levels of Conflict in the relationship with their principal compared to primary school teachers and colleagues with less experience. Accordingly, the PTRS can be considered a valid and reliable measure that adds to the methodological repertoire of educational leadership research by focusing on both positive and negative aspects of dyadic principal–teacher relationships.

Teaching History in Bilingual Secondary Education in the Netherlands

A review of entrepreneurship programs and their underlying pedagogy in secondary education in the Netherlands

Despite the increase in the number of entrepreneurship initiatives and interventions, there is a poor understanding of the range of entrepreneurship programs in secondary education and their learning objectives. This study provides insight into the current supply of entrepreneurship programs and their underlying pedagogy in secondary education in the Netherlands. To examine existing offerings and their underlying pedagogy, we used the 11 design principles of Baggen, Lans, and Gulikers (2021). Data were collected from three different sources for triangulation purposes - data from Vecon Business Schools (VBS) application forms, interviews with VBS schools, and documents and additional information (student ratings, learning goals, missions, and visions). Our findings show that schools offer mostly causation-oriented and traditional entrepreneurship programs, in which there is little room for effectuation-oriented education. Also, due to the lack of a clearly stated mission, vision and learning goals of entrepreneurship education, schools pay little attention to the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship skills/intentions. However, we observe that schools acknowledge this and slowly design and offer entrepreneurship programs more consciously.

Junior soccer simulation - providing all primary and secondary students access to educational robotics

The use of robots as educational tools provide a stimulating environment for students. Some robotics competitions focus on primary and secondary school aged children, and serve as a motivation factor for students to get involved in educational robotics activities. But, in most competitions students are required to deal with robot design, construction and programming. Although very appealing, many students cannot participate on robotics competitions because they cannot afford robotics kits and their school do not have the necessary equipment. Because of that, several students have no access to educational robotics, especially on developing countries. To minimize this problem and contribute to education equality, we present a proposal for a new league for the robotics competitions: The Junior Soccer Simulation league (JSS). In such a league, students program virtual robots in a similar way that they would program their real ones. Because there is no hardware involved, costs are very low and participants can concentrate on software development and robot's intelligence improvement. Finally, because soccer is the most popular sport in the world, we believe JSS will be a strong motivator for students to get involved with robotics. In this paper we present the simulator that was developed (ROSOS) and discuss some ideas for the adoption of a Junior Soccer Simulation competition.