Patrick: ‘For many mbo is a blind spot, despite the more than half a million young people studying there’.

Patrick: ‘For many mbo is a blind spot, despite the more than half a million young people studying there’.

Ouders & Onderwijs is also ready for parents with children in mbo. This is very important, because parents play a key role in helping young people get their diploma and make a good career choice. Let us meet our new mbo advisor: Patrick Woudstra

‘Everyone knows an mbo student, but few know mbo itself,’ emphasizes Patrick Woudstra. Without mbo, not much would happen. Think about the climate and energy transition: we need mbo students for that. If you take a train to work and there is a traffic controller, that is an mbo student. If your car breaks down you call someone from the road assistance, trained by mbo. The same goes for nurses, and so on.’

It is noticeable that mbo does not always get the attention it deserves, especially from policy makers. ‘For many, mbo is a blind spot, despite the more than half a million young people studying there. The focus is often more on primary and secondary education. If I could change something, it would be that.

You have been a teacher in mbo for 21 years. How was this for you?

My goal as a teacher was always the same as their parents’: the best education for their children. I worked for a time as an internal support coordinator to help students with specific needs. One of the best success stories is a student with a physical disability. With special adjustments she could still take exams and with help from ambulant supervisors we found a practical location that welcomed people with physical disabilities. Colleagues were skeptical at first: “Can we handle this?”, they asked. But I noticed that if you talk within a team, you can find practical solutions. People often think too much about problems.

How important is parent involvement in mbo?

It remains essential to involve parents in the school decisions, also in mbo. At parents’ evenings not all parents showed up. For some, the barrier was too high. Then we started visiting parents at home. A different approach, but it led to more involvement.

Parent representation can be much better. In primary and secondary education a school participation council with parents is required, but not in mbo. Only if at least 25 parents ask for it, must the governing body listen to them. Parents often have more influence than they think.

What challenges remain around parent involvement in mbo?

From parents’ perspective, there are several challenges. Often mbo students tell little about school to their parents, especially if things are not going well. The same goes for information from the school: parents only hear something if there is a real problem, often too late to intervene. Parents often find their role hard; they want to give their children independence, but also stay informed. Many parents feel excluded by the school. They get the message from programs that they mainly deal with students, not parents.

But mbo schools also have challenges. Parents are involved in different ways and levels, which makes a single approach hard. Finding the right balance between involving parents and teaching students independence needs an investment from schools. This investment often leads to more study success for students, so it is definitely worth it.