INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY IN THE NETHERLANDS 1

Country Case Study Interview Report:

Integrated Technology in The Netherlands

Jordan S. Rolls

University of Maryland Global Campus

EDTC 645: Integration of Technology: Global Perspectives

Professor Joseph Wieczorek

November 22, 2022

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Introduction

The implementation of technology on a global scale varies in every single country. In the

United States, we may feel that we do not have the appropriate access or availability of

technology in schools, but in comparison to some countries around the globe, we may be very

well off. While conducting research of the Netherlands, it became apparent that educational

technology is not a regular practice, nor is it even encouraged in some schools. Prior to

conducting interviews, research provided that there is a large lack of access for technology in the

classroom, but there is a growing emphasis on the development of Educational Technology

(EdTech) courses in vocational schools and higher education. The ability to conduct interviews

and further research allowed me to progress my understanding of the challenges faced in the

Netherlands with educational technology.

Interview Questions and Rationale

The following interview questions were developed to gain a further understanding of the

access and implementation of technology within schools in the Netherlands based on information

learned during the research process.

1. Please state your name, current occupation or educational position, and duration of your

educational career.

Rationale: This question is needed to understand the educator’s current and background

knowledge within the education system. The number of years teaching will allow a clear timeline

of how long the teacher has been exposed to technology in schools.

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2. In your experience, what types of technology are available for teacher and student use? Is

there a limit on how much is provided to classrooms?

Rationale: Based on data posted by the Statista Research Department (2022), the most

commonly used technology in the Netherlands is a graphing calculator. This question is meant to

determine, from an actual teacher, what technology is readily available for teacher and student

consumption to either confirm or deny the data from Statista Research Department.

3. How often do teachers and students receive training on digital or technological tools? If

so, could you provide a brief description of what those trainings include?

Rationale: As written in Volume 36 of the European Journal of Teacher Education, “in Dutch

professional development schools, increased attention is needed both by researchers and

practitioners on the process and outcome dimensions of doing teacher research” (Vrijnsen-de

Corte, den Brok, Kamp, & Bergen, 2013, p. 3). This statement identifies that no one in the school

system is receiving the appropriate training to utilize anything of a technology-based nature. This

question will determine if the schools of my interviewees are in that same state, or if they are

receiving any training based around technology at all.

4. Are there cybersecurity and cybersafety courses programmed for teachers and students?

If so, can you describe them?

Rationale: Cybersecurity and cybersafety are imperative to technology-based education. When

schools are allowing students to access devices of any kind, students must be appropriately

educated on how to be a digital citizen and learner. This question is necessary to ensure that the

right safety courses are being taught for students while using the Internet.
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5. Are students taught with the intent of technology integration, or is technology viewed as

a supplemental device to be used occasionally? What would you change about the way

technology is utilized now?

Rationale: Schools started integrating technology with science education in 2004 (de Vries,

2019, p. 21). Before this, technology education was its own subject area. With these intentions of

bringing technology into science, has the Netherlands also progressed into implementing

technology into other classes? This question will help to gain clarity on whether integration is an

intended outcome, or if teachers only use it for supplementing at convenient times.

6. How do you evaluate whether or not students are learning on their devices in comparison

to how they learn with traditional teaching? If you use specific evaluation models, please

list them.

Rationale: The outcome of student learning while utilizing technology is a key component in

determining if the technology is useful and impactful or not. Teachers must have a clear plan on

how they will be evaluating student learning both with and without technology so that they may

determine if the technology is progressing student learning at a faster pace. This question will

allow interviewees to elaborate on their chosen methods, if any, to help demonstrate what

strategies work for them and their students.

7. In what ways is technology used regularly in schools in the Netherlands?

Rationale: This question will help determine the main ways Dutch educators are currently

implementing technology in their classrooms. This could also help determine which methods
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teachers are using, such as SAMR or TPACK for the implementation of their technology-based

lessons.

8. Are there any additional supports that educators receive to enhance their technology skills

for the classroom? If so, please list them.

Rationale: In addition to training and professional development sessions, sometimes teachers are

given mini-trainings or refresher courses in the United States to help them re-develop their skills

in a certain area. This question will demonstrate whether the Netherlands supplies its teachers

with any additional training or support that may help them further in the classroom when needed.

Strategy Used

Contact and Method Initial Email Response

1. Jacob Krusestraat 10/21/22 10/25/22

The Netherlands Education Group
Declined
Method of Contact: Email

2. Global Partnership for Education 10/21/22 10/21/22

The Netherlands Group
Declined
Method of Contact: Email

3. Dennis Wiersma 10/21/22 10/24/22

Ministry of Education
Declined
Method of Contact: Email

4. Education Systems International 10/21/22 11/3/22

Dutch Association for Teacher Educators
No Response
Method of Contact: Email

5. Pieternel Zwart 10/21/22 11/3/22

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Netherlands Educator
Accepted
Method of Contact: Email, Responses

6. Deutscher Bildungsserver (Connected me to 11/3/22 11/4/22

Dutch Server)
Education Server Declined

Method of Contact: Email

7. Design Futures Project Found 11/16/22 N/A

Researched Interview to take place of the Second
Interviewee

Found Via: Online Research (pgs. 43-58)

Interviewees

Throughout my search of interviewees, I was unable to locate candidates on my own that

would respond to my efforts. Professor Wieczorek recommended a friend of his that I could

reach out to and request an interview. I contacted Ms. Zwart and was successful in gaining

interview results. In place of my second interviewee, I located a previously conducted interview

report to utilize the answers.

My first interviewee is Pieternel Zwart, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher

for grades 7-10. She has been teaching for approximately 5 years at a Waldorf School located in

the Netherlands. Ms. Zwart was selected because her information was made available to me, but

throughout the interview process, it is clear that she offers great material on the impact of

educational technology currently used in the Netherlands. In her interview, I learned that

technology plays a very minor role in the school systems, which confirms prior research that

students do not access technology until they attend a vocational school or decide to begin a
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career in Educational Technology. Ms. Zwart gives a clear view on the lack of resources and

materials in primary and secondary schools.

Since there was no second interviewee found, in its place is a needs analysis report from

Design Futures Project that incorporates the feedback and reflections of multiple teachers in the

Netherlands. Throughout their study, “the team conducted interviews with 11 teachers and 2

school directors. The two directors have experience both as teachers for 6 and 12 years and as

directors of 15 respectively 6 years” (Design Futures Project, 2021, p. 43). The wide range of

data collected in this study provides viewpoints from thirteen different perspectives about the use

of technology and learning methods in Dutch schools. Although “the two directors coordinate

relatively smaller schools of 117 and 170 students and coordinate 9 respectively 10 teachers”

(Design Futures Project, 2021, p. 43), it is relevant to use data from schools varying in size. Do

the supply of resources and materials change based on the size of the school in question?

Overview of Findings

The information gathered during my interview with Ms. Zwart and the published report I

found greatly detailed any information I already knew about educational technology in the

Netherlands. My thoughts before this process were that the Netherlands had great plans and

processes in place to promote technology use in schools with their implementation of the EdTech

movement, but learned that this movement is created more specifically for vocational and higher-

education schools rather than primary and secondary schools. I was under the impression that the

EdTech movement was set to impact all schools, and I assumed that because of that, there would

be more technology access and implementation in all school levels. With the desire to produce

more young adults that lead in the EdTech industry, one would assume that the educational
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process starts at a young age. These findings between the interview and the published report have

their differences, which makes the connection between progression in schools questionable.

As identified in the report by Design Futures Project, the educational methods used in the

Netherlands are “student centered, focused on 21st century skills, teachers role is that of a

coach/facilitator, integrates technology, design thinking and methods supported by research”

(2021, p. 43). Many of the teachers interviewed shared that they had received a large amount of

their trainings from previous or current colleagues, while the article also states that Dutch

teachers are required to “acquire innovative teaching and learning methods through formal

education as opposed to other countries where it was mostly outside the formal education”

(Design Futures Project, 2021, p. 44). As learned in the article by TechLeap, most of the

integration of technology in schools is based around scientific technology education. The article

identifies that Dutch schools are still working for “improved accessibility for a broader audience

to high-quality learning resources” (Techleap, 2022, para. 21). While reading through this report

based on interviews of multiple teachers, the results feel contradicting as some educators identify

different levels of training provided than others. This may result in different levels of ability

among teachers and more discomfort with the implementation of technology due to lack of

training among school systems. Some teachers identify that they “try to integrate innovative

methods as much as possible, some teachers have dedicated days and others try to integrate such

practices daily” (Design Futures Project, 2021, 44). While this report shares a seeming large

plethora of technology usage, Ms. Zwart shares that “students are encouraged to use as little

technology as possible at (my) school” (Zwart, 2022, email communication). Considering that

Ms. Zwart works at a school of over 1,050 students, questions arise as to why they have such

limited access and implementation of technology while other teachers have reported usage as
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part of their weekly schedule. This proves a major challenge of inconsistency among Dutch

schools.

Another challenge identified in the interview process is the lack of official training for

teachers and students when they are utilizing technology devices. When asked about device,

cybersecurity, and cybersafety training, Ms. Zwart shares “students receive no training, but there

is a movement at my school to offer IT classes” (2022, email communication). She also shares

that the educators in her building are fully aware that these methods of learning and restricting

student usage of technology will not help progress student learning and abilities in the long-run

(Zwart, 2022, email communication). In comparison, Design Futures Project states that teachers

participate in training sessions, seminars, and various European projects to strengthen their

knowledge in Design Thinking and Maker Education (2021, p. 44). Ms. Zwart’s responses align

with research found in the teaching journal by Vrijnsen-de Corte, den Brok, Kamp, & Bergen,

which summarizes that based on educator preference, the appropriate topics, skills, and network

training that is needed is not being provided at the appropriate level (2013, p. 3). Zwart also

states that she is unaware of any additional support for teachers when it comes to technology

education, but also shares that there may be at other schools (2022, email communication),

highlighting again that there is a lack of consistency among schools when it comes to need.

A challenge evident in both interview reports is the lack of access to technology that

students and teachers have. While conducting the synthesis report, the Statista Research

Department demonstrated that the most commonly used device in the Netherlands was the

graphic calculator, being used by 79% of students (2022, figure 1). Laptop usage is near 54%

and tablet usage is a devastating 17% (Statista Research Department, 2022, figure 1). With this

data, how could it be concluded that students are regularly being exposed to or taught how to use
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educational technology while in the classroom? Ms. Zwart confirms this data when she states

that “we have several sets of laptops for classes (three times 30 for the entire school; there are

about 1050 students). There is a library with some computers and for teachers there are laptops

available. We also have digiboards available to us” (Zwart, 2022, email communication). The

Waldorf school has a small fraction of the devices needed to supply over a thousand students.

While discussing availability and implementation of devices, a teacher interviewed in the Design

Futures Report shares “every school is different, for instance in their facilities or support from

the directors” (2021, p. 52). This concludes that the directors of schools may be the determining

factor when it comes to designing and implementing curriculum. Although Ms. Zwart shared that

teachers in her school are pushing for more Information Technology (IT) education, that does not

speak it into action unless the directors decide to follow through.

Conclusion

As a result of the case study interview process, I have learned that like the United States,

there are many inconsistencies with the integration of technology in Dutch schools. Whether or

not they are funded by the government does not seem to make a difference, but it does seem like

the accessibility of resources, training, and devices depends entirely on the school itself. The

connection of the interview report and synthesis study concludes that the Netherlands must

redirect and redefine for “improved accessibility for a broader audience to high-quality learning

resources” (Techleap, 2022, para. 21) in their schools. With attention to how and when students

are learning educational technology and the implementation of their EdTech plan, students in the

Netherlands may have an increased chance at gaining high-quality, technologically focused

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education. Overall, the case study interview has helped me gain a further understanding of the

educational system in the Netherlands.

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Attachments: Images of Email Conversation with Ms. Zwart
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References:

Design Futures Project. (2021). Needs analysis report of teachers and students. Design Futures,

43-58. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from

https://designfutures.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Needs_Analysis-1.pdf

Lynch, M. (2018, May 24). Which country is leading the edtech movement? The

Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/which-country-is-leading-the-edtech-

movement/

Statista Research Department. (2022, June 13). Devices used at schools in the

netherlands 2018. https://www.statista.com/statistics/940327/devices-used-at-schools-in-

the-netherlands/

Techleap. (2022). Learning. Unlearning. Relearning: How dutch edtech can spark vital

change in the netherlands. https://www.techleap.nl/articles/learning-unlearning-

relearning-how-dutch-edtech-can-spark-vital-change

Vrijnsen-de Corte, M., den Brok, P., Kamp, M., & Bergen, T. (2013). Teacher research in

dutch professional development schools: Perceptions of the actual and preferred

situations in terms of the context, process and outcomes of research. European Journal of

Teacher Education (36)1, 3-23.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1080/02619768.2012.662639