Staat van de Ouder 2023: Ode aan de leraar.

Staat van de Ouder 2023: Ode aan de leraar.

According to parents the teacher is decisive for the quality of education. They create the atmosphere in the class and the space to develop at your own pace. This quality is often good in primary education. However, among parents with children in secondary education there is a declining trend in appreciation of education quality.

Relationship between parents and teachers

Parents are unhappy about class size, lessons canceled due to teacher shortage, and the high pressure from tests and performance. In the Staat van de Ouder 2023 we focus on the relationship between parents and teachers. Teachers make an important contribution to a child’s development. But the more than 200,000 teachers in our schools are under great pressure. In the Staat van de Ouder 2023 we also show what parents think about Tailored Education, school costs and parental contribution, school participation council, and education quality.

School participation council and school governing body often invisible

Parents could not only say how they experience contact with the teacher. We also researched contact with the school participation council and the school governing body. More than half of the parents do not know which parents are in the school participation council or what it deals with. Especially in secondary education we see that awareness about the school participation council declines compared to 2019 and 2021. The experienced distance between the school governing body and parents increases. For a large group of parents it is unclear under which school governing body the school falls or who is in the school governing body. Also, one in five parents feels a distance from the school director. Primary education scores better in this than secondary education.

Tailored Education must improve

Almost half of the parents involved with Tailored Education say they are unhappy about the extra support their child gets at school. Schools do not signal and investigate well enough whether and what support is needed. Duty of care is poorly followed according to these parents, while it is the basis for Tailored Education. In 23% of the cases there is no development perspective plan for children with support needs in regular education.

Appreciation of teachers increases

Even though many parents see various problems in education, we find it hopeful to see that parents’ appreciation for teachers is high and even increases. This is the basis for education quality. Let us invest with all parties in better training and higher salaries for teachers. And cherish them.

About the Staat van de Ouder

The Staat van de Ouder is an annual publication by Ouders & Onderwijs about what parents think of Dutch education. The report is based on representative research among parents. As in 2017, 2019 and 2021 we did broad research on various themes in education. This time the teacher gets special attention. The focus is on good education for everyone. That means suitable support for every child, as much as possible within regular education.