The Politics of Dutch Education Policy

This chapter sheds light on the dynamics of and research into the Dutch system of education, rooted in article 23 of the constitution. In article 23, both freedom of education for schools and the necessity of continued government attention to the education system are laid down. Consequently, from article 23 a complex balancing act emerges between schools enjoying freedom of education and government interventions based on the notion of continued attention. The authors offer a historical overview, demarcating four phases between 1917 and 2021 based on how the balance between freedom of education and continued attention changed over time. They discuss the actors that emerged within the system and show how changes in the balance between freedom of education and continued attention affect the power of the different actors in the educational field. With a lack of research on the only actors able to change the system and the balance within it, political parties, the authors provide a short analysis of party manifestos. They show that parties remain in favour of the system based on article 23, but increasingly push the balance within the system towards more government intervention. They discuss the state of research on the education system, arguing that there is a tripartite division with studies focusing (1) on the system, (2) on the governance of the system, and (3) on issues of education unrelated to the system. The authors conclude by reflecting on the impact of continuous government intervention and the role that studies unrelated to the system have in this.