Folke Glastra

Lifelong Learning as Transitional Learning.

Globalization and individualization have radically changed both the economic system and the personal life world in industrial or postindustrial nation-states. To survive hypercompetition and volatile consumer choice, learning organizations and a workforce engaged in lifelong learning are needed. Constructing “the good life” has become an individual responsibility demanding reflexivity and skills. The question pursued in this article is how current policies in the context of lifelong learning relate to the requirements of a competitive economy, on one hand, and the good life on the other hand. To be able to evaluate dominant and alternative answers thoroughly in terms of lifelong learning, the authors look at the consequences of globalization and individualization. After having analyzed lifelong learning policies in the Netherlands, the article examines an important alternative, the so-called biographicity approach. In conclusion, the authors outline their own “transitional learning” perspective as an integral approach to lifelong learning as life-wide learning.

The Filmic Construction of Tolerance: Representations of Interethnic Relations in Educational Films

As in other West European countries, both ethnic minorities and immigration have become permanent features of Dutch society. Although there are differences between nationalities, it can be said that, on the whole, these minorities are socially and economically disadvantaged (Schumacher, 1987: 124, 173). In dealing with the problems involved, much use is made of educational films. These films are employed to inform ethnic minorities about rules and regulations of the Dutch welfare state and to provide the indigenous population with information about the cultural backgrounds of the newcomers. In our research, we analyse representations of interethnic relations in such films. In this article, we discuss some of the results of this detailed analysis. Educational films vary particularly with respect to the kind of contradictions they thematize, in their assumptions about the social actors involved and in the lines of development they sketch. In conclusion, we discuss the results of the analysis against the background of the myth of tolerance.

Developing ethnic talent in the Dutch national tax administration: a case study

Purpose – The lack of career movement of members of ethnic minority groups in work organizations has been widely documented. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into conditions for the realization of diversity goals in the case of talent development.Design/methodology/approach – In a case study of management development in the Dutch national tax administration, the practice of fostering vertical mobility of ethnic minority personnel through diversity management has been analysed. The authors make use of theories regarding effective diversity management and career advancement of ethnic minority employees. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with 12 participants in the management development course, and a further 25 functionaries involved in the project.Findings – With regard to diversity management as a means of fostering talent development of ethnic minorities, the authors come to the conclusion that key success factors mentioned in the literature such as top level commitment a...

Education and the contested empowerment of migrants on the Dutch labour market

Abstract In this paper, we analyse the emergence of a sub‐field of educational initiatives which aim at the empowerment of migrants on the Dutch labour market. Although the sub‐field attracts a lot of money, its effective margins are small, since the empowerment of migrants is a controversial affair and the growth of the employment volume is staggering. Drawing on Bourdieus ‘field theory’, we trace the most important approaches of tackling the problem, and relevant ideologies informing them. Our analysis shows that the consensus with regard to interethnic relations in the Netherlands has been broken, and a social obligations ideology is presently asserting itself.