Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

A national qualifications framework (NQF) is an instrument used to classify a country's qualifications at different levels. Each level is defined by a set of learning outcomes expected at that level. NQFs can be useful tools in education and training reforms and are vital reference points for lifelong learning and comparing qualifications across…

Within a learning family, every member is a lifelong learner. A family literacy and learning approach is more likely to break the intergenerational cycle of low education and inadequate literacy skills, particularly among disadvantaged families and communities. The selection of case studies presented in this compilation show that for an…

In its first decade (2001-2010) the OER movement has been carried by numerous relevant and successful projects around the globe. These were sometimes large-scale but more often not, and they were primarily initiated by innovating educational institutions and explorative individual experts. What has remained, however, is the quest for a sustainable…

The stimulation of lifelong employability of employees is one of today's challenges in all sectors of the Dutch society. In this article, we will outline the historical context of the life-long employability issue in the Netherlands, and provide an overview of current business responses to the issue. We will discuss key obstacles for improving…

The evaluation of government-financed research has become increasingly important in the last few decades in terms of increasing the quality of, and payoff from, the research that is done, reducing the cost of doing it, and lending public credibility to the manner in which research is funded. But there are very large differences throughout the…

The Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden are leaders in introducing comprehensive and targeted risk reduction programs for pesticides. Describes these programs and their implementation, incorporating material obtained through interviews with representatives of the main constituencies involved in reduction Tables list pesticides that do not meet the…

Discusses the policy report of the Minister of Education and Sciences, the creation and functions of the Advisory Committee on Education and Information Technology and the Centre for Education and Information Technology, characteristics of the development and implementation of computer literacy in the Netherlands, and a planned nationwide survey.…

Three papers and a brief report on audiovisual services and the agencies providing them in three countries of western Europe include: (1) "National Service to Public Libraries in the Field of Audiovisual Media: The Situation in the Netherlands," by Ed Spruit, who discusses problems concerned with the inclusion of audiovisual media in…

Designed to provide assistance to countries in developing centralized services to their libraries for nonbook materials, this pamphlet contains examples from five countries that have succeeded in establishing such services. Those examples include: (1) "The Central Library Service for AV-Materials in Denmark" (Suzanne Hemmeth…

The use of reporting final examinations in the Netherlands is described. Each October a public report is published by Cito, supplying information about the achieved level of education and describing observed psychometric qualities of the measurement instrument. General information needs are provided by the National Bureau of Statistics. (LMO)

Moral education in the basic schools of the Netherlands is a counterpart of religion in the denominational schools. It is organized by the Dutch Humanistisch Verbond (Humanist League) which also trains humanistic educational teachers. That organization defines the humanistic context of this form of education. (Author/SJL)

Describes a national project on computer and information literacy in the Netherlands for all students in lower secondary education, i.e., the 12- to 16-year-old age group. Curriculum development is discussed with emphasis on equal participation by female students and teachers, and hardware and software specifications are noted. (LRW)

The implication for universities of a trend to orient research and development to national needs is explored. University research policies are responding to fears of losing internally funded research and a growing reliance on external funds. (MLW)

The Eindtoets Basisonderwijs (final primary school test) is a Dutch national achievement test taken annually by 90,000 pupils. This article overviews the Dutch educational system and describes this testing program, emphasizing test equating methods. Evaluation findings from 1980 and resulting changes in test content and evaluation reports are also…