Pupils often go to high school where they mainly affect children from similar backgrounds, the Office of Social and Cultural Planning notes Thursday. According to the organization, the situation can ultimately lead to greater distances between groups of society.
Choices made by school boards and parents have created a separate educational offer, with all children from different backgrounds going to their own schools. As a result, children do not learn to interact with other groups, which could create more distance between groups in the community, SCP warns.
The Standing Committee for Planning emphasizes that broader social skills, including intercultural skills, are increasingly important, for example, in finding work and maintaining a social and professional network. According to the institute, these skills are learned naturally in a more mixed environment.
Schools play a major role in this, because students have to learn to live together in a complex and diverse society. “This assignment is not easy and teachers can be better equipped for this task. Teachers indicate that they sometimes find it difficult to discuss sensitive topics such as Islam or homosexuality,” says the SEC.
More guidance from the government on the educational offer to address social challenges is desirable, according to SCP. Parents should also realize that more widely organized education provides opportunities. “Not only for the community, but also for the personal development of their children.”
According to the SCP, especially in big cities, the chances of meeting between VWO and VMBO students are small because the students are spread across different schools.
