Dealing with street culture in schools: are families, schools

and communities able to work together to improve the

quality of the daily interactions and communication?

Paper 9th ERNAPE International Conference. Families, Schools and Communities: Learn

from the past, review the present, prepare for a future with equity University of Lisboa,

Portugal, 4th-6th September, 2013.

Theme G. Bullying: can families, schools and communities work together to raise confident

teenagers?

Frederik Smit & Geert Driessen

Abstract During the last decade, the quality of Dutch primary and secondary education has been

decreasing compared to other countries. The Netherlands is no longer part of the international

top ten. Shanghai leads the rankings, while in Europe Finland is the frontrunner. Especially

with regard to the level of reading, mathematics and science, the Netherlands is lagging

behind. At the request of NTR, the independent Dutch public broadcast service specialized in

information, education and culture, the research institute ITS of the Radboud University

Nijmegen, the Netherlands and OIG, the education innovation group, conducted an

investigation into the quality of Dutch education for the TV show ´The Evening of

Education´. The research question of NTR was: What are the views of teachers, parents and

pupils on the quality of education?

Main questions

Do teachers interact in a professional manner with parents and pupils? Do teachers provide

pupils a safe learning environment that supports the pupils’ social-emotional and moral

development? Can teachers help pupils to create their own cultural baggage that every citizen

needs in today’s society? Do teachers provide a clear, orderly, and task-oriented atmosphere

in the classroom?

Method and sample

For this quantitative study data were collected in a web survey. In this survey 2,072 teachers

and 2,372 parents in primary, secondary and vocational education and 740 pupils in secondary

and vocational education participated. The study was conducted in the period June –

September 2011.

Main results Pupils are keen to have a good education, personal attention, lots of contact with their teachers

and fellow pupils, good guidance by professional role models and a clear structure. They are

on the one hand looking for adventure and new experiences (‘born to be wild’) and on the

other hand they seek guidance and a secure attachment to others (‘home sweet home’). This is

a paradox that needs to be managed. The ideal school for pupils is the ‘balance school’, which

provides a balance between classroom training and individual teaching methods; working at a

computer and maintaining social contacts; keeping freedom and receiving guidance; having

structure and getting flexibility; receiving a collective and an individual assessment; and

between doing what is told to be done and having a say in the school’s policy. The ideal

lessons convey no boring ready-made messages, but lessons where pupils are challenged in

two-way communication, where they are at the same time both the receiver and transmitter

regarding topics that are based on their experiences. Such lessons invite participation. Pupils

in schools are increasingly expected to actively and independently engage in learning and

contribute to the school as a community. Pupils in secondary education are no citizens in the

formal political and legal sense of the word. Secondary schools generally have a pupils’

statute to clarify the legal position of pupils within the organization. For instance with regard

to the right of getting a good education at school and the obligations pupils have to make this

possible. Also with regard to how is being dealt with arriving too late at school and truancy,

freedom of speech, freedom of appearance, sexual harassment and disciplinary measures are

listed in the pupils’ statute.

Young people sometimes interact in a rough way, not only in the street, but also increasingly

in classrooms. Teachers do not seem to get a grip on the street culture that has crept slowly

into the classes. It is characterized by an indifferent, brutal, aggressive and unapproachable

way, where pupils intimidate not only fellow pupils but also teachers. The language of the

street is usually a mixture of Dutch, Moroccan, English and Papiamento. Features include: a

strong in-group feeling, with an emphasis on tough masculine behaviour where fighting is

seen as cool and where there is a strong hierarchy within the group, with an alpha male as a

leader. They just do not tolerate that a teacher makes comments on their behaviour. A

reproachful attitude of the teacher usually has the undesirable effect that pupils and the

teacher seem to be at ‘war’ with each other. In the street culture, language is also an important

means to share and strengthen your position within the group and in relation to other groups

or gangs (‘language power’). This often leads to exaggerated language. A frightening aspect

of street culture is threatening (‘I’ll kill you’, which often is only a sign of bravado or an

honorable way to leave.

Head teacher: ‘Pupils need clarity and boundaries. They do not need limp educators. For

them, they have no respect. Young people need to know that if they show undesirable

behaviour, they are invited for an interview with their mentor and their parents are always

informed’. Teachers often find it difficult how to deal with street culture and how to correct

pupils if necessary. More and more teachers are faced with machismo that they have never

learned to deal with and cannot handle. Teachers complain about the treatment of aggressive

macho pupils with a short fuse and being permanently on edge. This brings added stress and

tension in the classroom.

Almost all teachers say they are able to keep order in their class. In contrast, one third of the

pupils and parents in secondary and vocational education say that the pupils are in charge in

the classroom. Pupils say they lack structure in the classroom.

Half of the teachers say they have less and less time for simply teaching. Half of the teachers

believe that because they have to pay a lot of attention to problem children (with learning and

behavioral problems) this goes at the expense of the rest of the group. Almost three quarters

of the pupils receive an individual educational plan. One third of the teachers do not consider

themselves well-trained to help problem pupils who exhibit disruptive behaviour in the

classroom. Half of the teachers are not convinced that pupils will perform better through

testing.

The school board must develop policies based on the working conditions legislation aimed at

preventing risks to the safety and health of personnel. Every school should have a school

safety plan as part of the working conditions. The school as an employer is responsible for

creating a safe working and living environment.

Both parents and teachers experience barriers in their contacts and communication with each

other. Half of the teachers and parents prefer a separate room in the school to talk to each

other informally about shared manners and procedures concerning school safety. A majority

of teachers and parents think they need a psychologist or a remedial teacher in school to

support them with their problems.

Implications In Dutch education it is still not common at all schools that teachers are held accountable for

their performance. In order to work professionally as a teacher it is necessary to learn from

colleagues and above all to continue to learn by working together to prepare lessons and

attend each other’s classes.

Parents and pupils elected in the school council may be involved in providing information

about the school culture and thus also contribute to its implementation. The school council

may make use of the right of initiative to present its views and proposals regarding the policy

of the school. The school prospectus provides an entry point to the school with parents and

pupils in dialogue regarding the school culture.

It is not only important that schools, pupils and parents work together to improve the quality

of the daily interactions and communication. Also, pupils, community centre, community

police, and support institutions can be involved in the formulation of shared manners and

establishing procedures concerning school safety.

Literature Smit, F., Driessen, G., Sluiter, R. & Brus, M. (2008). Ouders en innovatief onderwijs.

Ouderbetrokkenheid en -participatie op scholen met vormen van ‘nieuw leren. Nijmegen: ITS,

Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen.

Smit, F., Driessen, G., Sluiter, R. & Brus, M. (2007). Ouders, scholen en diversiteit.

Ouderbetrokkenheid en -participatie op scholen met veel en weinig achterstandsleerlingen.

Nijmegen: ITS, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen.

Smit, F, Wester, M, Craenen, O. & Schut, K. (2011). De visie van leraren, ouders en

leerlingen op de kwaliteit van het onderwijs, ITS, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen en OIG.

Contact dr. Frederik Smit

F.Smit@its.ru.nl