The terms white and black schools are used to describe the
ethnic composition of
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
and
secondary schools
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in
the Netherlands.
[: ''Meer dan onderwijs'', Van Gorcum 2006, p. 46-47 ] In
Flanders, so-called "black schools" are referred to as concentratieschool, or "concentrated schools".
Definition
The term began being used in the 1970s. There is no official definition for what constitutes a white or black school, though several unofficial definitions exist.
The most commonly-used definition is based on the percentage of cultural minorities in the school population. In this circumstance, "cultural minorities" are considered students in which one parent is born in the
Moluccans,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
Aruba
Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
,
Netherlands Antilles
nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom"
, national_anthem =
, common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento
, demonym = Netherlands Antillean
, capital = Willemstad
, year_start = 1954
, year_end = 2010
, date_start = 15 December
, ...
,
Southern Europe and its environs ( (
Turkey,
Greece,
Spain,
Portugal,
former Yugoslavia,
Morocco,
Tunisia or
Cabo Verde), another non-
English speaking country outside Europe (excluding Indonesia), or were admitted under the
Aliens Act. In 2003, for example,
Statistics Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (''Central Agency for Statistics''), often ...
defined a school as "black" if more than 60% of students are cultural minorities, "mixed" if it was between 30-60% and "white" if the population was 30% or under. This definition is largely used by mass media as well.
Another definition involves the percentage of non-Western
migrant background. Non-Western in this context means that the student (or their parents) were born in
Africa,
Latin America or
Asia (excluding
Indonesia and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
). In 2006, for example, Statistics Netherlands deemed a school "black" if more than 50% of the population come from a non-Western migrant background and "white" if it was less than 50% of the school population.
International schools
There is a difference in terminology and perception between "black schools" and
international schools
An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body an ...
, the latter defined more as schools in big cities that are populated by students of expatriates from Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and the United States. Parents of these students are often short-term businesspeople in the country or diplomats in country
.
Education segregation
Schools with
special education programs
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
and a high percentage of cultural minorities are eligible for additional government funding. Since 2019, the country of birth for parents has also played a role in funding.
Nevertheless, some parents prefer "white schools" in their neighborhood due to the (perceived) higher quality education. This is similar to the American concept of
white flight, and leads to
educational segregation in communities.
In response, several municipalities have tried to reduce educational segregation through dispersion policies. In cities like
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
and
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
this is implemented for primary schools, in Amsterdam it is both primary and secondary schools. Limited distribution policies also exist in
The Hague,
Utrecht and
Rotterdam.
See also
* Gewichtenregeling
* Gelijke Onderwijskansen
References
{{Reflist
School types
Race and education
Education in the Netherlands