“One in nine teachers avoid sensitive topics’ – NOS

Approximately one in nine teachers in secondary education is going to own say in the lessons of difficult topics out of the way. It comes to issues like terrorism, homosexuality, the slave trade and the political situation in Turkey and Russia.

In a study of DUO Educational research says 11 percent of teachers in high schools that they are that kind of topics not to discuss. Two-thirds said these themes it can be treated. The rest is about. There is hardly any difference between the big cities and the rest of the country.

Teachers who are sensitive topics not treating especially point to the increased contrast that is perceived between western and non-western norms and values.

Dekker

the state Secretary Dekker of Education says it is not normal to find if a school teacher does not dare to tell that he is gay, or certain topics out of the way for fear of messing about in the classroom. "”We recognize the worrisome picture that teachers sketches, also from my own research."

"the Netherlands is a country where you can be who you are, regardless of your religion, your origin, or your sexual orientation," he says. "Education is an important place to the core values on to a new generation."

The Inspectorate has recently for the ministry of Education examined the extent to which schools succeed in citizenship on to their students. "That research and our response to it we send very soon to the Room.”

Inclusion failed

From the research of Duo Educational research is further baar showed that forty percent of the teachers in secondary education “at all or a little” to recognize in the image that the integration has failed and that there are growing contradictions between population groups. 46 percent recognize that picture at all. At the primary level, those percentages are 27 (or a bit), and 48 (not at all).

The researchers are worried about this development, and also by the examples that the teachers give, says researcher Liesbeth van der Woud. Teachers in secondary education that the integration fails to find, say, students with the same background mainly interact with each other. Also there would be less and less respect and tolerance towards each other and each other’s origin”.

Type of education

Segregation is also observable in the type of education. Pupils with an immigrant background are over-represented in the vocational education and underrepresented in havo and vwo.

The DUO were questioned for the survey more than 2200 school leaders and teachers in primary and secondary education.