M. Rietveld-van Wingerden

Half a century of Islamic education in Dutch schools

AbstractDuring the second half of the twentieth century, faithful followers of non-Western religions immigrated into Western European countries. Their children were a challenge for the respective educational system in the host countries. In the Dutch context, the educational system consists of public and private schools in which religion is the most dividing factor. Private schools are largely denominational schools with, as main denominations, Roman Catholics and Protestants, while state schools are presented as religiously neutral. How did this dual system cope with the import of a relatively new religion like Islam? In our contribution, we describe half a century’s history of Islamic children in Dutch schools by addressing the following questions. In what way did state and denominational schools on the one hand and the government on the other hand try to include Islamic pupils (and their parents) and facilitate their integration into the Dutch educational system and by consequence into Dutch society? A...Abstract During the second half of the twentieth century, faithful followers of non-Western religions immigrated into Western European countries. Their children were a challenge for the respective educational system in the host countries. In the Dutch context, the educational system consists of public and private schools in which religion is the most dividing factor. Private schools are largely denominational schools with, as main denominations, Roman Catholics and Protestants, while state schools are presented as religiously neutral. How did this dual system cope with the import of a relatively new religion like Islam? In our contribution, we describe half a century’s history of Islamic children in Dutch schools by addressing the following questions. In what way did state and denominational schools on the one hand and the government on the other hand try to include Islamic pupils (and their parents) and facilitate their integration into the Dutch educational system and by consequence into Dutch society? And, the other way around, how did these new comers adapt themselves to the Dutch educational system, and did they stimulate, directly or indirectly, reflection on religion and values? We come to the conclusion that the most influential initiatives came from both Christian and Islamic schools as a consequence of their focus on the importance of the formation of pupil identity and life orientation and that teachers’ knowledge about and attitude regarding (religious) diversity are pivotal in processes of learning about and from each other as a precondition for integration into a society characterised by diversity.

A dangerous age. Secondary education and moral-religious training. The case history of Dutch Jewish secondary education 1880-1940

Many small cultural and religious minorities are confronted with the problem of how to introduce their offspring into their own religious culture and values and at the same time to integrate into society. Often education is considered as the main tool to manage the problem. The historical case of the Dutch Jews and their perception of Jewish secondary education highlight the arguments in the shaky balance of integration and segregation. Coming from a situation in which Jews were set apart from society before 1850, they intended to integrate but at what price? This article uses source material from Jewish papers in which the discussion about Jewish secondary education dominated the contents from 1890 to 1928, the year in which the first Jewish secondary school was realised. The awareness of puberty as a dangerous age stimulated the discussion and underlined the old and new arguments in favour of their own secondary school as a matter of survival for Jewry. Why it took such a long time before the school was...Many small cultural and religious minorities are confronted with the problem of how to introduce their offspring into their own religious culture and values and at the same time to integrate into society. Often education is considered as the main tool to manage the problem. The historical case of the Dutch Jews and their perception of Jewish secondary education highlight the arguments in the shaky balance of integration and segregation. Coming from a situation in which Jews were set apart from society before 1850, they intended to integrate but at what price? This article uses source material from Jewish papers in which the discussion about Jewish secondary education dominated the contents from 1890 to 1928, the year in which the first Jewish secondary school was realised. The awareness of puberty as a dangerous age stimulated the discussion and underlined the old and new arguments in favour of their own secondary school as a matter of survival for Jewry. Why it took such a long time before the school was realised was mainly a consequence of the internal struggle between proponents and opponents, who both fostered the strong desire not to be set apart, but at the same time were worried about the increasing assimilation. This article explores to what extent the arguments were based on cultural and religious values and beliefs, and the way in which societal developments strengthened the points of view.