Samenvatting

This research project aimed to find an answer to the central research question of “how can the overall quality of teachers and their teaching methods in Dutch secondary education improve using the Finnish secondary education model as example?”. The purpose to finding an answer to this question was for the sake of seeking overall quality improvement of secondary education in the Netherlands, as it currently faces major challenges in the form of a large teacher shortage, unprofessionalism in the classroom, and systematic flaws. On the other hand, Finland has been chosen for comparison due to its continuous success and praise in the field of education. In doing so, the goal is not to glorify nor imitate the Finnish secondary education system entirely, but rather to find inspiration from its unconventional, yet successful methods. In seeking the answer to the main research question, previous researches have been investigated, as well as existent literature regarding education in both the Netherlands and Finland. Moreover, two interviews have been conducted and two case studies have been analyzed, in order to provoke further comparison.

On the basis of the findings discovered during the research, it can be concluded that the quality of teachers are indeed a large contributing factor to the success or failure of an education system. It is therefore essential that the Dutch secondary education be rid of the quantitative and qualitative shortages of teachers as effectively as possible. The research findings have shown that these issues are highly interlinked, and the most viable option to tackling both of these problems at once, is to improve the quality of teacher education. Improvement to teacher education consists of two main areas: the increasing focus of the didactic aspect of teaching for teachers in training, as this is where unprofessionalism has proven to stem from, as well as the encouragement of continuous education and training of teachers even post-graduation, although this can only be achieved by allowing more space and time for professionalization in the average teacher’s schedule. Consequently, by improving the quality of the occupation, the teaching profession is more likely to gain a favorable image and wider appeal, which can lead to a decrease in shortage in the future. As such, the answer to the main research question based on the findings of this particular research, is that improving teacher education is the key to combatting both the quantitative and qualitative teacher shortage in the Netherlands at once. As for adjusting the education system and hierarchy itself: only after achieving improvement of teacher education, thereby increasing professionalism in secondary education, can the system itself be introduced to new education policies similar to Finland’s, such as collective autonomy, in which teachers have increased authority and decision-making power.

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