Dr. Pomme van de Weerd is an educational anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Education in Diverse Societies (DEEDS). Her research focuses on the Dutch secondary school system, particularly tracking (the placement of students into different levels) and heterogeneous education (also known as mixed-ability grouping or comprehensive classes), within the broader theme of educational equity. She is especially interested in how this type of education is organized, how it is experienced by students, and how peer relationships and status hierarchies develop within mixed-ability groups.
Her most recent research involved an ethnographic study at a school with heterogeneous education, where students assigned to different levels (vmbo, havo, vwo) learn together. Heterogeneous education is often seen as a way to address the challenges of inequality and social segregation in the Dutch school system. While its positive effects on educational equity are well documented, its impact on students鈥� social relationships is less well understood. Dr. Van de Weerd鈥檚 research contributes to filling this gap by showing how heterogeneous education shapes the formation of peer relationships and how status hierarchies (such as the distinction between 鈥渉igh鈥� and 鈥渓ow鈥� tracks) emerge in this context.
Using qualitative methods such as interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, she examined the everyday dynamics within a school that practices heterogeneous education. Her work provides insight into how this approach can reshape status hierarchies and foster more inclusive learning environments. It bridges the gap between educational policy and classroom practice, contributing to a deeper understanding of how equal opportunities in education can be created for all students.
In addition to this research, Dr. Van de Weerd is involved in several collaborations and projects. She participates in the research project Van breder naar beter: De effecten van verschillende inrichtingsvarianten van heterogene brugklassen op niveaubewustzijn, zelfvertrouwen, motivatie en leerprestaties van leerlingen (鈥淔rom broader to better: The effects of different designs of heterogeneous bridge classes on students鈥� level-awareness, self-confidence, motivation, and academic performance鈥�), led by Prof. Eddie Denessen (Radboud 木瓜福利影视). She also advises secondary schools within Kansrijk Funderend Onderwijs Amersfoort on how to move toward later selection and a more flexible lower-secondary curriculum, for example through classroom differentiation.
In 2020, Pomme van de Weerd obtained her PhD at Maastricht 木瓜福利影视 with a dissertation entitled Nederlanders en buitenlanders: Een sociolingu茂stisch-etnografische studie naar etnische categorisering onder middelbare scholieren(鈥淒utch and foreigners: A sociolinguistic-ethnographic study of ethnic categorization among secondary school students鈥�). In this work, she combined methods and frameworks from sociolinguistics, anthropology, and interactional analysis to examine expressions of diversity among young people in lower secondary (vmbo) classrooms in Venlo, the Netherlands.