Zijn lager opgeleiden de dupe van de toestroom van studenten op de arbeidsmarkt? Over verdringing aan de onderkant van de arbeidsmarkt.

Labour market participation of students has increased substantially in recent years. To what extent students occupy jobs for which the low-educated umployed also qualify is subject of this study. By means of three separate empirical studies among: a) students in higher education, b) the low-educated unemployed and c) employers this question was evaluated. Occupation of jobs suitable for the low-educated unemployed by students is substantial and takes place especially in sectors such as: retail trade/shops, hotel and catering and industry. Motives of employers for recruting students in stead of low-educated persons refer in particular to their perceived communication skills, flexibility and their by comparison less need for settle in work time

Verdringing van laaggeschoolden als beleidsprobleem

In deze bijdrage wordt betoogd dat de veronderstelling dat de relatief hoge werkloosheid onder laag opgeleiden vooral een gevolg zou zijn van een tekort aan banen voor laag gekwalificeerden niet juist is. Deze werkloosheid is veel meer een gevolg van verdringingsprocessen op de arbeidsmarkt. In de bijdrage wordt betoogd dat laag opgeleiden niet alleen door hoger opgeleide werknemers van de arbeidsmarkt worden verdrongen, maar ook ? mede als gevolg van de toenemende flexibilisering van de arbeidsmarkt ? door studenten die in toenemende mate naast hun studie werken. Vandaar dat de verdringingsproblematiek, de kwaliteit van het arbeidsbestaan en het weerbaarder maken van lager opgeleiden noodzakelijke ingredi?nten zijn van de beleidsagenda 2000

Teachers' sense of their professional identity

Abstract The overall aim of this dissertation was to contribute to the conceptualization of teachers’ professional identity. Based on the literature and previous research, teachers’ job satisfaction, self-efficacy, occupational commitment, and change in level of motivation were perceived as indicators of teachers’ sense of their professional identity. The relationships between these indicators were explored using data of 1214 teachers working in secondary education in the Netherlands. Teachers’ relationship satisfaction (referring, for instance, to teachers’ satisfaction with the support they receive or their satisfaction with their co-workers) and teachers’ classroom self-efficacy play a pivotal role in the relationships between the indicators. By further analysing the same dataset, three distinct professional identity profiles were identified: an unsatisfied and demotivated identity profile consisting of teachers who scored relatively low on the indicators, a motivated and affectively committed identity profile consisting of teachers who scored relatively high on the indicators, and a competence doubting identity profile consisting of teachers with a more diverse score pattern. Differences between the profiles were observed regarding teachers’ beliefs about the objectives of education: ‘stimulating personal and moral development’ and ‘importance of qualification and schooling’. No differences between the profiles were observed regarding the teachers’ amount of experience. An additional exploratory study among eighteen teachers showed that the students of teachers with an unsatisfied and demotivated identity profile observed their teachers’ behaviours ‘providing clear instruction’ and ‘efficient classroom management’ more often than students’ ratings of teachers with a motivated and affectively committed or a competence doubting identity profile. Samenvatting De professionele identiteit van docenten moet gezien worden als het resultaat van de voortdurende interactie tussen de persoonlijke kenmerken van een docent en de kenmerken van diens werkomgeving. Deze voortdurende interactie wordt weerspiegeld in de motivatie, het vertrouwen in het eigen kunnen, de arbeidssatisfactie en de professionele betrokkenheid van de docent. De relaties tussen deze indicatoren zijn onderzocht met behulp van gegevens van 1214 leerkrachten in het voortgezet onderwijs in Nederland. De tevredenheid met de contacten op het werk (verwijzend naar, bijvoorbeeld, de tevredenheid met de ontvangen ondersteuning) en het vertrouwen in het eigen kunnen in de klas spelen een centrale rol in de relaties tussen de indicatoren. Op basis van dezelfde dataset werden drie verschillende professionele identiteitsprofielen onderscheidden: een unsatisfied and demotivated profiel, (docenten met dit profiel scoren relatief laag op de indicatoren), een motivated and affectively committed profiel (docenten met dit profiel scoren relatief hoog op de indicatoren) en een competence doubting profiel (bestaande uit docenten met een divers score patroon). Verschillen tussen de profielen werden waargenomen ten aanzien van opvattingen over de doelstellingen van het onderwijs: ‘bevordering van de persoonlijke en morele ontwikkeling’ en ‘belang van kwalificatie en scholing’. De docenten behorende tot de drie profielen verschilden niet in hun hoeveelheid ervaring in het onderwijs. Uit een extra verkennende studie onder achttien leraren bleek dat de leerlingen van de leerkrachten met een unsatisfied and demotivated profiel vaker het gedrag ‘duidelijke instructie’ en ‘efficiënt klasmanagement’ waarnamen bij hun docent dan leerlingen van leerkrachten met een ander identiteitsprofiel.

The effects of prior education and engagement on success in engineering studies: do women and men differ?

Background In Dutch engineering education, female students outperform male students. Using an interactionalist framework, this study explores factors that contribute to this gender-based difference. Purpose This study aims to answer two questions: Do female and male students differ in background characteristics, engagement factors, and academic success? Are differences in the relationships among background characteristics, engagement factors, and academic success gender-specific? Design/method Data on male and female engineering undergraduate students from five Dutch universities were subjected to linear structural modeling to compare potential gender differences in the relationships among the focal variables. Two structural models were considered. Results Female students spent more time on independent study, reported more social inte- gration, completed more credits, and were more likely to stay in engineering than were male students. Academic integration and intention to persist were important for comple- tion of credits for both genders. Social integration was only important for men’s academic success. Females seemed to benefit less from good preparation through active learning during secondary education, and the effect of a high grade point average on math was neg- ative for females but positive for males. Conclusions Interactionalist concepts can explain academic success, but the relationships among concepts vary by gender. Males’ intentions to persist in engineering are an outcome of engagement processes during the first year, whereas females’ intentions to persist in engineering are manifest at the start of the first year

Een algemene benadering werkt niet:disciplinaire verschillen als verklaring van studievoortgang in het hoger beroepsonderwijs

In dit artikel combineren we concepten uit Tinto’s interactionele theorie over de oorzaken van studie-uitval en Becher’s theorie over wetenschapsgebieden ter verklaring van studievoortgang van eerstejaarsstudenten in het hoger beroepsonderwijs. De data zijn verzameld via een online-vragenlijst, afgenomen bij ruim 8.000 eerstejaarsstudenten van vijf ho- gescholen (respons 30%). Eerst is voor een selectie van de totale responsgroep (N = 1.876) een lineair structureel model getoetst waarin voorbereiding, ervaringen en studiegedrag in het eerste jaar studievoortgang verklaren. Vervolgens zijn modellen voor de sectoren Economie (N = 920), Techniek (N = 313), Gezondheidszorg (N = 284), en Gedrag & Maatschappij (N = 359) ontwikkeld en vergeleken. De ‘intentie om te blijven’, gemeten na drie maanden in het eerste jaar, blijkt in alle sectoren de belangrijkste voorspeller van studievoortgang. Goede voorbereiding op actief leren en academische kennis en vaardigheden in de vooropleiding beïnvloeden tevredenheid over aansluiting en studievoortgang. De factoren geslacht, vooropleiding, voorbereiding op actief leren in de vooropleiding, contacturen en zelfstudie laten per sector belangrijke verschillen zien in effecten op eerstejaarservaringen en studievoortgang. De resultaten impliceren dat een generieke benadering voor het verklaren van studievoortgang, rendementsanalyses, kwaliteitszorg en verbetering van de aansluiting onvoldoende is. Meer aandacht is gewenst voor verschillen tussen sectoren

Quality of teaching in higher education:Reviewing teaching behaviour through classroom observations

This study examines the extent to which lecturers demonstrate effective teaching behaviour. The results of 203 observations reveal substantial differences in detected teaching behaviour. Lecturers mostly demonstrated teaching behaviour in the domains classroom climate, efficient organisation, and instruction. Teaching behaviour relating to the domains activating teaching and teaching learning strategies was observed less frequently, with almost no evidence of behaviour associated with the domain differentiation. The quality of teaching in small classes was slightly higher than that in large classes. These findings can help tailor professional learning activities to lecturers’ professional development needs

Three conjectures about school effectiveness:An exploratory study

In this article, we address three broad conjectures about what really matters with respect to school effectiveness. Our review of previous evidence prompted us to look at three sets of factors connected with classroom teachers, school policies and processes, and matters of governance. All three have featured prominently in the public arena. In particular, we look for the relative contributions of teacher-, school-, and governance indicators for educational effectiveness (measured by Math achievement). About 100 Dutch primary schools form the database together with findings of international school effectiveness research (studies, reviews, and meta-analyses). School-level variables are the most substantial in explaining educational effectiveness. The sector effect (public/private) explains 16% of the between school variance, other school-level variables explain 51%, and the teacher- or classroom-level variables explain 32%. Some of the underlying variables are identified and we address three broad conjectures about what really matters with respect to school effectiveness

Towards graduateness:Exploring academic intellectual development in university master’s students

Our research aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on graduateness by proposing a model that explicates the expected level performance of graduates. In this study, the model is elaborated for 3 graduateness domains: reflective thinking, scholarship, and moral citizenship. We used data on students’ perceived abilities in these domains that were collected at both the beginning and end of 1-year master’s programmes in 3 faculties at a research-intensive university. The model appears to be suitable for investigating students’ academic intellectual development. Not all students appeared to achieve the expected level of graduateness by the end of the master’s programme. However, the results revealed an increase in the proportion of students meeting the thresholds for graduateness. The students’ reports reveal growth in reflective thinking and scholarship during the master’s programme