Possible causes and solutions for the high intake of non-Dutch-speaking pupils in special education
In the North Brabant Brainport region, special education is growing faster than in the rest of the Netherlands, with children from non-Dutch backgrounds being overrepresented. What factors might be causing this high intake, and what can be done in regular primary education to ensure these children get the right support? Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ’s Department of Educational Development & Training studied this and came up with recommendations that are also relevant for other regions with many multilingual pupils.
Project leader Martine Broekhuizen (educational adviser) talks about the need for the study: ‘The problems in the Brainport region are urgent. For example, schools for special education have growing waiting lists and there is great pressure on regular primary education as well. After all, this is where pupils from non-Dutch-speaking backgrounds should in principle be able to find a place, sometimes with additional support.’
Three sub-studies
The research team, consisting of six researchers, conducted three sub-studies.
Most incoming non-Dutch-speaking pupils are born in the Netherlands
Which pupils are involved, and what problems do they experience?
The first study looked at what kind of non-Dutch-speaking pupils are entering special education, at the nature of their problems and at their support needs. A surprising finding is that most incoming non-Dutch-speaking pupils were in fact born in the Netherlands. This means the perception that children enter special education on arriving in the country is inaccurate. In addition, incoming pupils are relatively young, the great majority never having been to school before.
State of current education and student support in primary education
The second study looked at current teaching and support for pupils with a non-Dutch-speaking background in regular primary education in the region. It was found that there is a wide variety of beliefs about the importance of multicultural education, and not all teachers feel equally competent in teaching culturally responsive ways. On average, teachers believed they had only the bare minimum of knowledge and expertise in the acquisition of Dutch as a second language. Also, three-quarters of schools were found not to have a school-wide policy on dealing with different languages.
Building blocks for successful teaching to multilingual pupils
Finally, the third study examined which building blocks and prerequisites are necessary for successful education of multilingual students at good practice schools and overarching organisations across the Netherlands, and looked at which schools and organisations in the region are already applying these.
Recommendations for successful teaching to multilingual pupils
The researchers formulated seven concrete recommendations that are in line with the buildings blocks and preconditions identified in the third sub-study. These building blocks and preconditions are also relevant for other regions with a multilingual pupil population. Read a brief summary below or have a look at the factsheet at the bottom of this page.
Follow-up research: also look at the pre-educational phase and involve parents
The researchers also offer suggestions for follow-up research. For instance, it is useful to investigate further why many pupils move on to special education directly from pre-school (care) facilities, and why they often do so at a relatively late age when education is already compulsory (from age five on). What does the pre-educational phase look like for them and who are involved in it? Parents could also be involved in follow-up research in order to generate more insight into family factors that may contribute to the high intake, and into parents’ experience with special and regular education.
Congress Grenzeloos Goed Onderwijs
The researchers will soon present the results of their research at the conference in Eindhoven.
Commissioners
Research team
- Martine Broekhuizen
- Fleur van Gils
- Ivana Brasiliero Reis Pereira
- Esther Slot
- Lieselotte Oudega
- Jaël Kortekaas
The research questions were developed in co-creation with the client and elaborated in consultation with the region and researchers from the Department of Pedagogy (Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ).
Contact person
Factsheet building blocks and boundary conditions
