Een kwalitatief onderzoek naar de opvattingen van docenten over Passend Onderwijs met betrekking tot randvoorwaarden, attitudes en competenties

Abstract

Background: ‘Passend Onderwijs’ is a recent policy introduced by the Dutch government, which aims to keep pupils with special educational needs in regular education settings as much as possible. Teachers are seen as key persons to implement ‘Passend Onderwijs’. Objective: The aim of this study is to fill the gap in the literature about inclusive schooling in secondary schools in the Netherlands. Method: For this exploratory study, eight teachers from six different schools in the Netherlands, were interviewed in depth about their views on conditions needed to successfully implement ‘Passend Onderwijs’, skills needed to teach effectively in an inclusive school setting and their attitudes towards ‘Passend Onderwijs’. Results: The main findings are that teachers think the following conditions are needed to implement ‘Passend Onderwijs’: more attention for physical environment, support and educational organization. Teachers want more skills and knowledge to teach students with special educational needs effectively. Some teachers have a positive attitude towards ‘Passend Onderwijs’, but others doubt about the possibility of changes which are needed to successfully implement ‘Passend Onderwijs’. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of the need for secondary schools to change their organization and for teachers to develop their skills and knowledge. It is also important that teachers have a positive attitude towards teaching in an inclusive educational setting.