Inequality in citizenship competences: Citizenship education and policy in the Netherlands

Abstract

The Dutch school system is characterized by early educational tracking and high school autonomy. This chapter focuses on how this is related to citizenship competences among students. Results of IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 study indicate that whereas by itself citizenship competences of students in the Netherlands seem reasonable, they lag behind those of their peers in comparable countries. Furthermore, relatively large differences in citizenship competences between students with different social backgrounds and between educational tracks are documented. These findings are discussed, with a critical reflection on how characteristics of the Dutch school system may have contributed to this, and suggestions to improve citizenship education in the Netherlands are made.