Minister’s comments on parents of foreign origin spark debate
Education minister Hilde Crevits told VRT that second-generation pupils in Flanders’ schools lag behind academically in part because their parents are not involved and do not speak Dutch
‘No progress by blaming parents’
“There is a major performance gap between students who speak Dutch at home and those who don’t,” she told VRT. “That is quite normal if it concerns newcomers, but we see that second-generation children don’t score better.”
Crevits referred to the results of the OECD’s recent Pisa study. She highlighted the role of schools but also of parents. “It’s important that parents are actively and positively involved in learning Dutch,” she said.
The minister emphasised that she didn’t want to reprimand parents with a migration background and that you cannot oblige parents to speak Dutch at home or get involved in school activities. “But schools can communicate their expectations when parents register their children, such as that they need to take part in parent-teacher meetings.”
The statements have instigated a fiery debate, with criticism coming from opposition party Groen and from Flanders’ Minority Forum. “It’s not terribly judicious to create polarisation,” said Minority Forum director Wouter Van Bellingen, who pointed to the first two years – or the first grade – of secondary school as an essential period. “Language skills among pupils are not properly supported. That’s why a broader first grade is essential, so that the language skills of all pupils can develop more evenly.”
Professor Piet Van Avermaet of Ghent University’s linguistics department, who is carrying out a related study at Crevits’ request, stated that parents of foreign origin are generally very concerned about their children’s studies but are timid about interacting with schools. There is culturally “an enormous mismatch,” he said. “And we don’t progress by blaming the parents.”
Photo courtesy Onderwijs Antwerpen
