Pride and prejudice in the Netherlands Treatment of the themes respect, prejudice, discrimination and racism in Dutch secondary education

The present study focuses on the treatment of the themes respect, prejudice/stereotyping,\ndiscrimination and racism in secondary Dutch education. The Dutch government has established\na set of core goals for the education of the social sciences in secondary education, in which\nthese themes are (implicitly) addressed. The aim of this study is to explore the relations between\nthe core goals set by the Dutch government and the understanding of these themes as expressed\nin (some of) the course-books on the one hand, and the way individual teachers view and\nhandle the themes throughout their lectures on the other. Within this general aim, the ideas\nand perceptions of some secondary school students with respect to the central themes, were\nalso explored. An intersectional theoretical and methodological framework is used, in addition\nto a theoretical one that includes elements of everyday racism and (ethnic) minorisation. For\nthis study semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teachers of the course ‘study of\nsociety’ in secondary schools (in all three education levels offered in the Netherlands: vmbo,\nhavo, vwo) in different areas of the country. Additionally, the core goals of the government and\nthe content of the used course-books were analysed. Finally, to get an insight into the views and\ninterpretations of pupils themselves, workshops were held in a couple of vmbo, havo and vwo\nclasses.