Consistent and coherent policy
Dutch teachers have seen over thirty education reforms in the
last decades, alas this did not improve the overall quality.
What actions should the new government take to improve the
quality? Saxony shows that improvement can be catalyzed by
consistent and focused policy. Once lagging behind after the
Fall of the Berlin Wall, it has become a frontrunner in modern
Germany within twenty years through declaring education the top
priority.
Improvement of teacher education
By far the most important factor to improve Dutch education is
to enhance the overall quality of the teachers, the best way to
achieve this is to invest in future teachers. So how do you lure
the best students into teaching and how do organize an excellent
teacher education.
In Long Beach, California the teacher education cooperates with
local schools so that students interact with good teachers during
their study. In this way their technical knowledge on teaching will
get an impulse from the experience of the experts.
Professionalization of the teaching
profession
Solely investing in future teachers is not enough, also existing
teachers need to get the chance to improve their educational
skills. The best scoring countries have developed substantial
programs to stimulate learning from fellow teachers. For example
Singapore has focused on strengthening the networks of Professional
Learning Communities in schools that encourage teachers to
collaborate with one other in reviewing and improving their
classroom practice.
To put this success in the words of one system leader: "As the
skills of our educators rose, we needed to change our approach in
how we managed them. We could no longer prescribe what they did, we
had to treat them like professionals who had good judgment, knew
their students well, and who could make their own
decisions."
Improving the school leaders
Research has shown that 25 percent of the difference in student
performance can be explained in the quality of the school
leader. Only 43 percent of School leaders in the Netherlands
coaches or supports their teachers once a week. In countries with
excellent school systems this is on average 74 percent. In Ontario
there is a much larger exchange of knowledge between school leaders
as groups of school leaders cooperate to tackle common problems in
their schools.
McKinsey states that the combination of these three measures can
boost Dutch education from good to great within the time-span of
seven years. After the elections when the new education plans have
been written there is little to sojourn this broadly based
agreement, since no extra money is needed to attain this vital
improvement.