Cultuur in Harmonie, in collaboration with ITTA, has developed a manual ‘De Volgende Stap’ (‘The Next Step’) for migrant parents providing them information they need when choosing a secondary school for their children.
The transition from primary to secondary education in the Netherlands demands a lot from parents: they are responsible for registering a child at the new school and must be able to have various conversations with educational professionals. In addition to needing the Dutch language, parents also need to have a lot of knowledge about the school system and how they can support their child. During this collaboration. it became apparent that primary schools are committed to informing parents about the switch to secondary school, but that parents does not understand all the information for various reasons.
The Volgende Stap is a package of materials for organizing theme meetings or language lessons for NT2 and NT1 parents who would like to prepare well for their child’s transition from primary school to secondary school. It offers tools for dealing with topics such as school advice, school choice and visiting an open day. The materials include PowerPoints, manuals with working methods and didactic support and worksheets, so that education providers from formal and non-formal adult education can organize meetings. A special focus is on to vocabulary development, speaking skills, reflecting on what participants find important in their choice of school and the role of parents in the Dutch education system. The material is modular and offers plenty of space to include the local context.
