A Possible Approach to Literary Education in the Netherlands
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A Possible Approach to Literary Education in the Netherlands An Evaluation of Integrated Literary Education at the Coornhert Gymnasium.
Mare Hamersma (3489345) Willem de Zwijgersingel 198 2805 BW Gouda Master thesis Engels Educatie en Communicatie 15 July 2013 Begeleiders: Paul Franssen Huub van den Bergh 22101 words 2
Acknowledgement
I would like to dedicate this work to my mother, who will probably read it and say it is good when she does not understand it, to my sister, who might attempt to read until halfway but will most likely end on the introduction page, my brother, who will look at it and thumb through it but never read it and to my father, who will never read it at all. Most of all, I would like to dedicate this to my father, who has, together with my mother, not only made university financially possible but has also shown me that even though life may kick you down, it is not the way you fall, but the way you rise that defines you. Here’s to you, guys.
Also, the writing of this thesis would never be possible without the help of the Coornhert Gymnasium, in special Francis Brands, which is why I would like to thank him and his school for their openness and cooperation. I would also like to thank Paul Franssen for his guidance during the writing of this thesis and for making sure I did not go crazy.
Voor het gemak zal ik in mijn scriptie naar de klassen verwijzen met Amerikaanse grades, omdat het anders heel verwarrend is dit te lezen voor een persoon uit een ander land. M.a.w. tenth grade = vierde klas, eleventh grade = vijfde klas en twelfth grade= zesde klas. 3
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For the sake of convenience I will refer to years or forms in Dutch education in terms of the American grade system, because using the Dutch names could be rather confusing for foreigners. This means that fourth form = tenth grade, fifth form = eleventh grade and sixth form = twelfth grade. 4
Inhoud
1. Introduction
During adolescence, many influences shape a person. Many circumstances, moods, persons and opinions encountered during that age change the way adolescents act and react. New major experiences, friendships and possibilities come about and choices need to be made.
New ways of thinking are developed and even personalities and goals are adjusted. Children are entering a new phase and are becoming adults. During this point in their life, children in the Netherlands are obliged to go to school, as they are globally. The subjects they follow investigate science, history, languages and society. The courses offered, however, do not have overtly specific positive influences on the emotional development of the child. A possible neglected subjects that could offer this would be literature. Research by Nelck-da Silva reveals that the reading of literature and a positive reading attitude have a direct effect on the development of the ego for 12 to 18 year olds (Nelck-da Silva, 2004, 317). The development of reading attitude helps develop the ability to reflect and this helps create a stable ego and less struggling with self-confidence (Nelck-da Silva, 2004, 288). This is certainly something to aspire to give to secondary school children. The amount of attention paid to reading and literature in the educational system in the Netherlands, however, is not enough to have that positive effect (Nelck-da Silva, 2004, 317).
Since children have no clue as to the positive effects of reading literature, it is not surprising that there is a declining rate of book borrowing from libraries and less time spent reading daily, among 12 to 18 year olds (Leesmonitor, 9-10). These two facts also show that 5 this current approach to literary education is not effective enough. When asked about the appreciation for literature, secondary school students indeed show that they do not have an extremely positive reading attitude: 56 per cent of students do not especially care for reading
(Stalpers, 30). A reaction to these percentages could be to point out that 56 percent is lower than expected or emphasize that there is only 44 per cent that does like reading; quite a low percentage. Perhaps, though, we should be happy with the 44 per cent that still likes reading.
This current opinion of the students about reading shows us that there is still hope since 44 percent likes it. The other 56 percent shows us that the educational system has to change so more students gain a positive reading attitude. The question is not, then, whether it has to change, but what it has to change into.
When looking around and asking people for help on this subject, I stumbled upon research by Martijn Nicolaas and Steve Vanhooren about Dutch literary education. In their work, they explain that teaching literary education during Dutch classes is not the only way allowed to teach literature in the Netherlands. In the exam requirements that came with the recently installed Second Phase1, which is one of the initiatives of the government to update the educational system, the Dutch Ministry of Education urges schools to use integrated literary education. Integrated literary education is literature being taught to students as a course on itself. Nicolaas and Vanhooren explain that in research done in 2007, it was found that only 15 per cent of the secondary schools in the Netherlands used this method (Nicolaas and
Vanhooren, 10). The requirement of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in early
1 Tweede Fase 6
2007 to create a mark for Literature that was an average of Literature and two other courses, lowered that number even further (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 10). Considering that this study was carried out during the year the requirement was made, it can be assumed that if the same study were to be conducted now, even more schools will have reverted to teaching literature during Dutch classes. As a result of that thought, I decided to find a secondary school that taught integrated literary education and assess their teaching methods, to find out whether it was effective and if it could be applied in schools throughout the country. That was how I stumbled upon the Coornhert Gymnasium in Gouda. 7
2. Current State of Affairs
Literature is a subject that has been discussed by scholars since ancient times. It has always been seen as a subject that was of value and that people needed to be conversant in.
Accordingly, it is still one of the subjects taught in secondary schools in the Netherlands, now.
Even though this is the case, the effects of literary education have recently not been positive.
Declining number of readers and negative reading attitudes have shocked scholars and teachers, creating a boost in research on the current situation. The most recent facts are derived from Stichting Marktonderzoek Boekenvak and they indicate that there is a decline of ten percent in book sales (Leesmonitor, 9). Since most secondary school students do not purchase but borrow books, this does not appear to be the effect of secondary school students reading less. Additionally, even if they did, the outcome could be a development of the current economic crisis. The number of books borrowed from the library by secondary school students, however, indicates that secondary school students borrow fewer books every year, as well. They currently borrow approximately 9 books fewer than in 1999, when they borrowed
29.2 a year (Leesmonitor, 9). Research by PISA and PIRLS from 2006 also shows that the reading attitude of 15-year-olds is negative and that they rarely read (Leesmonitor, 13). These results suggest a decline in reading among young adolescents, but only in paper form. Many secondary school students now own advanced phones and tablets and use social media, write and read emails, read papers on the internet and some even read books. According to a study on time management of people in society, however, most 13 to 19-year-olds only spend 1, 35 minutes on a tablet per day. They do spend about 43 percent of their 7 hours’ time spent on media on the internet, but not on reading books there: of the 270 13 to 19-year-olds that answered the questionnaire, only 1 percent spent time reading a book on a tablet in 2012
(SPOT, 5). So, overall, there has been a decline in reading among secondary school students 8 that does not originate from the fact that they now read more online. Research by PISA and
PIRL also suggests a decline in positive reading attitude, something that is mentioned by
Cedric Stalpers as well (28). The reading attitude of at least 56 percent of secondary school students is negative or neutral (Stalpers, 28). To conclude: there is a decline in time spent on reading, reading attitude and number of readers.
In other countries, the situation is similar. Research shows that reading attitude has been declining among secondary school students in China and Africa as well as in the
Netherlands (Broeder and Stokmans). Provided that the test used for this study was the same, this is definitely a similarity between the countries. The difference between them is that the
Netherlands has the worst decline in reading during free time. Chinese and South-African secondary schools students have a significantly higher rate of books read in their own time in a year than Dutch secondary school students (Broeder and Stokmans).
In countries with better results, like a less negative reading attitude and a higher rate of books read during free time, more time is spent on literature in class. A case study on English lessons in the United Kingdom, which does have better results, shows that for grades 9 to 12,
“50 percent of time in a representative class was devoted to literature” (Applebee, 33). That is more time than is spent on literary education in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, it does not have a prominent role; only a small one during Dutch class. Gerard de Vriend argues that
“merely the existence of literary education points out the importance we think it has in terms of a complete education” (223)2. In reality, however, “almost nothing (systematical) is done about literary education in the foreign language classroom” (Offermans, 55). Even within the course of CKV, Cultural and Artistic Education, there is no room for literature (Hermans,
“Wereldliteratuur in het curriculum: een onderzoek naar de praktijk van literatuur als onderdeel van culturele en kunstzinnige vorming (CKV)”, 39).
2 “Alleen al het bestaan van literatuuronderwijs wijst op het belang dat in onze samenleving wordt gehecht aan dit onderdeel van het voortgezet onderwijs.” (223) 9
Consequently, not enough time is spent on literary education in secondary schools in the Netherlands. Most schools do not have guidelines for literary education and leave the language teachers on their own. This results in literature not being taught in most of the foreign language classes because it is seen as too difficult to implement in courses. A reason for this could be that English literature, for example, is written in different English than is spoken in these days (Or, 184). Even modern works are said to produce “nothing but bewilderment to students” (Or, 184). As a result, Dutch class usually has to teach literature, but even though this is a viable option, there is an abundance of material Dutch teachers have to teach their students for state examinations and literature becomes less important. The outcomes of earlier mentioned studies show us that this approach to literary education has not been beneficial for the students in secondary school education, though.
One of the questions that comes with that conclusion is how to improve literary education. During the last few decades, teaching methods have already been changed in favor of the students. The number of books to be read has been significantly reduced, to “less than a third of what … had to be read up until now” (Offermans, 50) and publishers of course books have been trying to incorporate students’ reading tastes in their books. A study by Marc
Verboord and Kees van Rees on 34 course books has indicated that instead of choosing to use canonical texts in their books, they use texts or excerpts from popular books (34; Verboord,
2004). This means that both the amount of books and the course books have been changed in favor of the students. Since this has been happening for some time, though, these changes did not have the desired consequences for literary education. 10
To conclude, then, new approaches have to be constructed or found. The next step would be finding out which approach is the most effective. Agee argues that the most adequate way to teach literature would be by using a flexible model and encouraging students to read by offering them the texts that will give them a positive reading experience, preferably a broad range of them (341). This is just one of many opinions about literary education, however, and certainly not the only one. Most of the critic’s opinions center on the choice of canonical texts or popular works (Mathijsen, 12; Verboord, “leesplezier als sleutel tot succesvol literatuuronderwijs”, 49). Theo Witte mentions this choice in his book Het Oog van de Meester. He explains that the current problem it is not canon versus popular works but a fitting book at the appropriate time. He discloses a novel system based on six different degrees of reading proficiency, with which teachers can judge on which level students are and have them read appropriate books of their level. Witte’s system has been seen as revolutionary by many critics and there is currently a website on the internet for students and teachers in secondary schools that want to use his system. The site categorizes books into levels and offers teachers assignments that fit the level of the students. It is already being used in many schools. In contrast to his opinion about the two approaches, though, Witte does argue in favor of reading popular literary work, since the canonical texts have been put in the highest levels of reading proficiency and modernized versions are not mentioned. Witte’s system, however, does not offer a complete approach to teaching literature in class, only a solution for reading the right book at the right time. It focuses on the reading of literature, not on literary education as a whole.
In contrast to Theo Witte, Erik Kwakernaak mentions both. He clarifies that a student- friendly view is necessary during literary education and that the levels Witte made are to be utilized (Kwakernaak, 398)3. In other words, Kwakernaak also encourages students to read
3 “Het heeft geen zin om literaire ontwikkeling te willen forceren” (398) 11 books that match their levels. Kwakernaak, however, mentions literary education and approaches to it as a course throughout the last decades as well, to offer different visions on teaching literature. He distinguishes the historical approach, the text-immanent approach, the societal approach and the aesthetical-reception approach. He explains this in the following manner. In early literary education, during the nineteenth century, the historical literary approach was exceedingly prominent. It focused mostly on contrasting the texts against the life of the author and literary or other artistic movements. There was not much attention for connections with religion and social, political and economic history (Kwakernaak, 396).
Then, a countermovement formed against that approach called the text-immanent approach.
This method looked at the literary text on itself. It focused on the development of literary terms and the structure of the texts. As a result, this approach caused extra emphasis on textual analysis in class. A reaction against that particular method came up around 1965, called the societal approach. This approach, in contrast to the other two, emphasized context and the world around the novel, excluding the author. It concentrated on morals and themes and their representation in books. The last method was formed during the eighties and was centered on the reader of the work. This was called the aesthetical-reception approach, where the text written by the author and the text read by the reader were seen as two separate texts. It had a focus on the student’s literary taste and the encouragement of enthusiasm for reading
(Kwakernaak, 395). In total, then, there have been four approaches in Dutch literary education; the historical literature approach, the text-immanent approach, the societal approach and the aesthetical-reception approach. In his book, Kwakernaak explains that they 12 usually overlap in classrooms, these days, but that the current trend is every approach but the historical literature approach, “because they usually use recent texts” (397)4.
In other words, the biggest current trend for literary education is to use popular literature instead of canonical texts. Most critics are in favor of using popular recent works as well, but they forget the many advantages of old canonical literature. Even though the works may use old language, reading them makes secondary school students learn about sentences, structures, opinions and “enrich their own writing skills” (Hişmanoğlu, 55). Furthermore, the collision of students’ own culture with another one, like in Pride and Prejudice, creates more cultural understanding, tolerance and respect for others (Muthusamy et al, 793-4). By reading canonical texts, students train the mind as it were, because they are forced to think about subjects they never thought about (Parkinson qtd. in Sell, 87). Literature can also become motivational material (Parkinson qtd. in Sell, 87). In other words, reading canonical literature is good for the development of secondary school students, as a whole. Popular literature, however, keeps the students interested, according to many. Therefore, a combination of both current popular literary work and canonical literary texts seems like a better approach to literary education that keeps students both interested and educated.
This combination of both kinds of texts in one literary education course can be found in the course called Literatuur in Context, or ‘literature in context’, at the Coornhert
Gymnasium in Gouda. Considering the fact that this course combines both of these, it is a deviation from normal approaches to Dutch literary education. Since both the practical and
4 “Wel wordt vaak de literair-historische benadering uitgesloten, namelijk door alleen eigentijdse teksten te behandelen” (397) 13 ideological approach are different from the norm and the results are satisfactory, this course will be evaluated to see whether it can be used on a national basis. 14
3. Integrated Literary Education
As has been established in chapter two, literary education in secondary schools in the
Netherlands is a subject that has been put aside for too long. Student reading rates are declining even though teachers have tried to increase them in all sorts of manners. Since this has not worked, however, it seems that the Dutch educational system needs improvement.
At the moment, literary education is mostly in the hands of the individual teacher. The amount of attention paid to literature differs per teacher and school. Maybe, instead of focusing on changing the programs of individual teachers, researching the effects of creating a separate course with separate teachers for literature would be more beneficial. This method is in use at the Coornhert Gymnasium in Gouda.
The Coornhert Gymnasium is an innovative, small-scale secondary school with around
700 students. They offer Gymnasium education, a form of grammar school, which is the highest level of secondary education possible in the Netherlands. The school is well-known for its laptop policy, its safe but challenging education and ambitious teachers. It was founded in 1366 and is the oldest secondary school in Gouda. On their site, the school principal
Oehlenschläger mentions it is “a school with classical fundaments and modern building stones” (Coornhert Gymnasium Website).
The course that will be examined closely, Literature in Context, could be a solution to the literary education problem of the present moment across the Netherlands as a whole. It is a course that concerns Dutch and international literature that has no connection to Dutch class.
By using this system, the Coornhert Gymnasium used an option mentioned in the latest examination demands for the subject of literature by the Ministry of Education, Culture and 15
Science. They created the option to have “GLO”, integrated literary education5, which is explained as follows in the examination demands:
Examination requirements ask that the modern languages collaborate where literature is concerned. This could be achieved by using a few hours from the modern languages and adding those up to create room for one course for literature, called GLO (integrated literary education). This is, however, not mandatory: schools are allowed to decide for themselves how to approach literary education in their curriculum. (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 10)6. The course that is being taught at the Coornhert Gymnasium was named Literature in Context and indeed focuses on literature in certain European languages and countries. To create the course, therefore, some of the study hours legally allotted to Dutch, English, German and
French by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, were taken and bundled together to create a timeslot for Literature in Context.
To construct the course, the Coornhert Gymnasium put together a team that was to decide how literary education should be approached and what it should entail. In the end, the decision was made that the tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades of their system would be taught
5 Geïntegreerd Literatuur Onderwijs, GLO.
6 “examenvoorschriften sturen aan op samenwerking tussen de talen voor het onderdeel literatuur. Dat kan door de studielasturen voor literatuur bij de afzonderlijke talen weg te halen en samen te voegen tot één leergang literatuur, onder de noemer GLO (geïntegreerd literatuuronderwijs). Dit is echter niet verplicht: de school mag zelf kiezen hoe men het literatuuronderwijs wil organiseren”. 16
Literature in Context. The team itself became part of the department of the course and a whole new curriculum was created7. In this chapter, their system will be examined closely and evaluated where possible.
3.1 Practical Information about Literature in Context
During the tenth grade, Coornhert Gymnasium students enroll in the Literature in Context course. They start with one lesson a week, which increases to two hours a week in the eleventh and twelfth grade. The course is assessed with tests and an exam. On students’ transcript of records, the course falls under a combined mark: the final grade is an average of marks students acquired for Literature in Context, ANW (General Natural Sciences),
Maatschappijleer (Societal Teaching) and the final project done in the twelfth grade. All students in twelfth grade throughout the Netherlands have to finish such a project about a subject chosen by themselves. To make sure students would not be discouraged from doing their best at the Literature in Context course because the marks compensate each other,
Literature in Context does make a difference in proceeding to the next year; an insufficient mark means a student cannot proceed.
The course itself is constructed in such a way that all four modern languages taught at the Gymnasium are represented: English, Dutch, French and German literary innovations and specialties are all discussed. Within the literature department, teachers of all four languages
7 17 are present so there is always an expert at hand who has at least one area of expertise as a basis; for many teachers, however, extra research was necessary before being able to teach this subject and they regularly need to read up on literary history for the course. The teachers that teach the course come from all language departments of the school and no new teachers were hired to teach the course with the exception of Francis Brands, currently head of the department. Any problems that arise are settled among the department and other departments, if working together is necessary.
The goal of the course is to alleviate language courses of teaching literature.
Consequently, none of the language departments are now forced to acknowledge literary history in their lesson material. This caused some difficulty when discussing assessment for
Literature in Context, however. In the current educational system of the Netherlands, school exams for Dutch class are usually an oral examination containing a discussion of books read for the literary element of the course. Due to the creation of Literature in Context this was not possible anymore. Luckily, the oral examination was a school exam and not a state exam. In
Dutch education there are school exams throughout grade ten, eleven and twelve and state exams at the end of grade twelve. Together, these two exams make up the final mark for a course. School exams are not written or issued by the Ministry of Education, whereas state exams are and cannot be changed. Due to the particular examination in question being a
‘school exam’ and therefore not issued by the state, the Coornhert decided to use the leeway the government gives secondary schools in this area to the full. The terms of the Ministry of
Education for school exams of Dutch and Literature this year were, for example: “the school examination has to relate to those areas and subdomains that the central or state exam does not focus on” (Examenprogramma Nederlands VWO 2013, 3)8. This requirement is lenient considering that the central exams only touch upon two of the six areas to be tested;
8 “het schoolexamen heeft betrekking op de domeinen en subdomeinen waarop het centraal examen geen betrekking heeft” 18 argumentative skill and reading proficiency. Not verbal skills, writing skills, literature or orientation in life. That is to say, the Coornhert decided to combine two of those other four areas, verbal and writing skills, in their Dutch school exam. They now require their students to perform a debate about a pressing topical matter as a school exam. Literature in Context was given the sole right to have a school exam containing a discussion about literature and the books read for the course. Other courses that deal with literature, but to a lesser extent, like
German, French and English, always focused their examinations on general verbal skills rather than discussing any of the books that were read; therefore, no problems were encountered in that area. KCV (Classical Cultural Education), another course that deals with literature at the Coornhert Gymnasium, does not discuss the subject of literature in class anymore either. The only exception is classical literature, which is not discussed during
Literature in Context.
The lesson structure of the course includes a short period of instruction before the children are asked to perform a task or complete an assignment. Usually, the children are asked to perform non-standard tasks: tailored tasks to ensure plagiarism is not an option, nor is an easy high mark. Examples could be making a Trivial Pursuit game about literature, creating their own anthology of poetry, making a poetry magazine or making a collage about canonical texts. This approach to teaching suits the Coornhert Gymnasium because it aspires to ensure that a student “learns to study independently in an increasing manner”, “accepts challenges and dives into the unknown” and that the teacher “makes appropriate demands of 19 the students and challenges them”; exactly what the school embraces as its vision (Coornhert
Gymnasium Website)9. Most of these tailor-made tasks are to be done on the laptops of the
Coornhert students. The Coornhert Gymnasium was the first secondary school in their town to start experimenting with laptops in class, in compliance with their list of demands of their own education: “there are good facilities and a mix of learning methods” (Coornhert
Gymnasium Website)10. For this particular course, the students use their laptops approximately
2, 5 hours a week. They use them regularly during class and at home to finish homework and tasks that were assigned. Next to that, the Coornhert Gymnasium uses an online program called ‘Magister’, which can be used at home and at school, where students can download assignments, questions about the course book, study guides, schedules and power points.
They can also hand in their assignments on this site.
In terms of the material that is discussed, the curriculum follows the demands the
Ministry of Education makes of literature education, as explained by Ramon Groenendijk in his article “De Versnippering van Literatuuronderwijs Begint bij de Docent”. One of the first
9 “leert in toenemende mate zelfstandig”, “pakt uitdagingen aan, verlegt zijn grenzen” en “stelt eisen op maat aan leerlingen en daagt uit”.
10 “er zijn goede faciliteiten en een afgewogen leermiddelenmix”. 20 requirements is that students should have knowledge of literary terms and be able to use this knowledge to analyze literary works in combination with literary history (11). This first stipulation is met in the curriculum: during the course, students learn and do homework with the help of a course book called Literatuur Zonder Grenzen. This book focuses on literary terms and literary history, so if they do their homework and come to class, students should be able to do this.
The second demand of the Ministry of Education states that students should have knowledge of the history of different literary movements and their characteristics, link those to literary texts and be able to compare those works and literary movements (11). This second set of requirements is met during the eleventh and twelfth grades: during these years the students learn about a different literary movement every term. During the eleventh grade they discuss the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Romantic period and Realism, Naturalism,
Symbolism and Impressionism. During the twelfth grade they study War Poetry, Modernism,
Existentialism and Post-modernism. At the end of the curriculum, students understand these literary movements and periods in history and know how to characterize them.
The last requirement by the Ministry of Education concerns the development of literary taste (11). To help along the development of literary taste, the course works with a reading card system. This uses a reading card that students have to show twice every year. At the end of the twelfth grade, this card should include 12 Dutch books, 6 English works and, depending on individual educational choices, 4 German and 4 French books. This is more than the official minimum number of books Gymnasium students have to read according to the Ministry of Education’s demands (Examenprogramma Nederlands 2013, 5;
Examenprogramma Engels 2013, 3; Examenprogramma Duits 2013, 3; Examenprogramma
Frans 2013, 3). Other than the reading card system, though, there are no current projects to improve reading proficiency in the course, because the board has decided that this is the area 21 of the modern languages department. There are no projects to create more enthusiasm for literature or reading either. There are initiatives to go to a local literary night in a café, but not many students turn up and most leave early. In contrast, the teachers do encourage reading and have a positive reading attitude so as to get more students to pick up a book. All in all, therefore, the last requirement of trying to encourage literary taste is met in the course.
Consequently, the course meets all the requirements set by the Ministry of Education for literary education, has a general schedule for lessons, innovative assignments and offers a broad view of literature and an allowed examination program.
3.2 Reading Card System
The first element of the course to be discussed is the reading card system. It works as follows.
Twice a year students are asked to hand in their reading cards with some primary information about the books they have read. Below, in figure one, an example of an entry on the reading card is given:
Figure 1.
In this example, the two squares for German and French are empty because students that follow German and French do not start reading works for German and French until the eleventh grade. This sample is for the tenth grade. At the end of the twelfth grade, this card 22 should include 12 Dutch books, 6 English works and, depending on individual educational choices, 4 German novels and 4 French novels. Of these works, at least one has to be a work from the Middle Ages, at least two others are from before 1900, at least one is a volume of poetry and one can possibly be a translated work from a different language than the ones discussed. German and French books are read in translation whereas English works are not.
The work from the Middle Ages that is to be read is also a modern translation or modern version of the work rather than the original.
Every year, students have to submit their reading card online twice so the teacher can check their progress. Due to the fact that there are no consequences when students have not read the set number of books, though, many students hand in reading cards without having read any books or do not submit them at all. Furthermore, the reading card does not require a summary about a book nor questions specifically about the book, so students could easily commit fraud. They do, however, have to hand in another item besides the card before their oral examination in twelfth grade: a completed reading file is requested as well. The reading file includes five different items. Included are the reading card and also a balance report, which discusses the development of the student in reading taste and knowledge about literature. There is a poetry report, as well, which is an assignment where either an essay about an anthology of a poet or an anthology with poems selected by the students is made.
Next to that, there is an essay about the top three of the books explaining why the books are in there, what that means about the students’ view on literature and if they have changed in those views along the line. Last but not least is a bibliography, explaining what has been read. This includes the review assignments for five of the books read, which means that students find two reviews of a book, contrast and compare them and write down their own opinion.
Students are expected to finish these assignments after they have read the books in the years beforehand. Usually, though, it comes down to hard work just before the oral exam because 23 there are no consequences to not having read the required number of books in the tenth or eleventh grade. All in all, the reading card is not the only item needed to qualify for a school examination.
Next to that, there is the innovative side of the reading card system. At first, it may seem normal and definitely not foolproof, but reading systems are never foolproof, certainly not in this society where internet is available and has the answers. As for book choice, however, the system is rather innovative. There is no such thing as one book list or students repeatedly asking teachers for advice. In fact, the teachers have resorted to a compromise between popular works and canonical literature. Students are allowed to read canonical texts and modern versions for their reading cards, but not the recent works that most schools have on their book lists now. Instead, the department of Literature in Context decided to give students permission to read recent work, but only if it has won a literary prize, either nationally or internationally. Options could possibly be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Life of Pi, since they have all won literary prizes. This system is used for the books to be read for English, German and French.
For the Dutch books, teachers use Theo Witte’s reading proficiency system. In grade ten, students have to check what their reading proficiency level is and are instructed to read books of their level, found on www.lezenvoordelijst.nl, a website devised by Theo Witte. Only a few authors from his list and the literary prize lists are not allowed to be read for the reading card system, like Saskia Noort, Heleen van Royen and Kluun. Altogether, though, this system that was designed for both the foreign languages and Dutch is innovative and therefore worth a try.
All in all, then, the reading card system is not foolproof, but challenging and innovative. Although some adjustments could be made with regard to assignments about the 24 books read and the foolproof factor of the reading card, the reading file and the book choice are strong points of this system.
3.3 Course Book
One of the other elements the course is built around is the course book Literatuur Zonder
Grenzen. The book itself is out of print, but since it is still used for this course, evaluation is necessary. Within the course, the book is regarded and referred to as an extra; during class the book is not necessary since instructional moments consist of personal course material. As the book is a feature of the course, though, it is not to be dismissed while evaluating the course.
The book used is the VWO edition of this particular method and it is published by
Educatieve Partners Nederland. The course book is made especially for integrated literary education and focuses on European literary history completely. There is no mention of any grammar nor did anything relate to Dutch class other than literature. It also does not mention authors from for example Morocco, like Abdelkader Benali, since the focus is on European literary history (Nicolaas, 41). The approach to literature within the book, though, centers on cultural development, so the exclusion of work from outside the western literary canon seems unwise, but European literary history is rather a lot to learn already. The addition of non- western literary history might be too much for the students. Other than focusing on European literary history, the book focuses on literary terms in the first two chapters. These two chapters are intensely discussed during the tenth grade to make sure students understand all literary terms and to make a discussion of literary works possible. The book also used to have a website with web-quests and extra material that the teachers would sometimes refer to, but ever since the book has been out of publication, the site has been offline. 25
When taking a look within the book, the chronological chapter division immediately becomes clear. This chronological approach fits the course of the Coornhert Gymnasium since it uses a likewise chronological system. The structure of the chapters fits the course system as well. All chapters go from a global discussion of European literary history to a more detailed understanding of the movements and authors. According to Erik Kwakernaak, going from global to detailed understanding helps students understand literary history better (403). Since
Erik Kwakernaak is one of the ideologists that the literature department looked at while developing this course, this structure seems perfect for it. The chapters all consist of subchapters on political and societal changes, ideology used, themes and characteristics of the movements and last but not least, the Dutch, English, French and German authors that made the movements history. Every chapter uses timelines that show what has been learned up until that moment and there are many references to and depictions of paintings made during the movements. The book consists of significant lengths of text and barely any assignments: in chapter one and two there are numerous assignments concerning the literary terms but the other chapters do not feature any assignments. The course book has 351 pages, long laps of text and there are scarcely any pictures. Having the students read the book at home might be the best solution because keeping the student’s attention on such large chapters could be difficult. The chapters are so long because for each movement, the characteristics are discussed thoroughly and while that is a good objective, the descriptions are too elaborate. All in all, then, the book has an approach that fits the Coornhert Gymnasium, but it is rather plain in terms of assignments in most of the book and might be rather difficult for students to keep focused on since there are such long chapters.
The course book itself does not have questions, then, but that does not mean that the students of Literature in Context do not have to finish any questions for homework. The teachers of the Coornhert Gymnasium have developed their own assignments and questions to 26 be worked on during eleventh and twelfth grade and students are asked to finish some of them for every class. This is one of the downsides of the course book since it should not be necessary to develop questions for a course book: they should be included already. Teachers of Literature in Context found it to be one of the downsides of the book as well. Luckily, during tenth grade, students can finish the assignments from chapter one and two of the book; the only chapters that do have assignments. As for usage of the course book, then, it is safe to say that while it is not used in class, it is usually thoroughly perused at home by pupils.
Students are asked to read or learn a subchapter and answer the questions after every lesson.
At the end of term, a test about the material is conducted. Six of these tests are used to account for the students’ final marks. Each forms 10 percent of the final mark and is therefore an incentive for students to learn hard since together, the tests account for 60 percent of the final mark. Overall, however, it can be said that the course book is used thoroughly throughout the course.
Altogether, the book Literatuur Zonder Grenzen fits the Literature in Context course perfectly. It uses a chronological approach to literary history, discusses literary terms first and goes from a global to a detailed understanding. Downsides to the book the scarce number of assignments, exclusion of non-western canonical texts and the fact that the website is offline.
One major problem with the book is the fact that it is out of publication. Presently, the
Coornhert Gymnasium has bought enough books for all students to borrow, but if the school grows in student numbers, a new course book would have to be found. All in all, though, for the current situation, this course book is definitely a good choice.
3.4 Ideological Background of Literature in Context
With regard to an ideological background there are many influences to be found within the 27 course. Naturally, the Coornhert Gymnasium morals and values are the main noticeable influences. As an innovative school, the Coornhert Gymnasium aspires to offer their students
“challenging education in a safe environment” (Coornhert Gymnasium Website)11.
Furthermore, they hope to give “challenging and varying” lessons that “transcend set teaching material for courses or are even without course books” (Coornhert Gymnasium Website)12.
These are all present in elements in the course and not difficult to see, as explained in the general overview. This chapter, on the other hand, will focus on the ideological background of the creators of the course when creating it.
In one of the first plans for the course, its goals are mentioned explicitly. The objectives, together with the focus points mentioned, are numerous and according to the head of the literature department, Francis Brands, they were constructed with the help of
Kwakernaak’s Didactiek van het vreemdetalenonderwijs. Much of the course was inspired by
Kwakernaak’s ideas and the demands have followed suit. First off, there is the aim that “the
11 “Een leerling leert op het Coornhert Gymnasium onder begeleiding van competente docenten in een uitdagende en veilige omgeving en bereidt zich optimaal voor op zijn toekomst.” (Coornhert Gymnasium Website)
12 “lessen zijn aantrekkelijk, kennen een passend tempo, zijn methodeoverstijgend of zelfs methodeloos, uitdagend en gevarieerd en per saldo onmisbaar” (Coornhert Gymnasium Website) 28 student will learn the characteristics and cultural contexts of the most important literary and art movements from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century and be able to create links between art and literature in those periods” (Lambregts and Smit, 4)13. In Kwakernaak’s book, a distinction is made between four different approaches towards literature education, about which he concludes that they all had their high tides but now, most of them are combined in literary education (397). To recap, there were the historical approach, the text-immanent approach, the societal approach and the aesthetical-reception approach. This objective of the course definitely points towards a historical literary approach, because most attention is paid to the different periods in time and their connection to different forms of art (Kwakernaak,
396). The next objective shows us that this is not the only approach used, though, because
“the students will learn to use literary terms where necessary to give a founded judgment on certain literary texts”9. This particular aim points towards a text-immanent approach where
“extra attention is paid to textual analysis by using literary terms” (396). These two are the only specific demands that are mentioned to be the focus of the course and that suggests that the historical literary approach and the text-immanent approach are used for the course. This is in accordance with what Francis Brands, head of the literature department, explained: he mentioned that the course leans towards a historical approach but since students have to give their opinion and have to read so many novels, the other approaches are used regularly as
13 - het begrippenapparaat leren beheersen dat nodig is om een gefundeerd oordeel over literaire teksten te geven - de kenmerken en culturele context leren van de belangrijkste literaire en kunststromingen van Middeleeuwen tot en met de Twintigste Eeuw - de juiste relaties leren leggen tussen de literaire verschijnselen en andere kunstuitingen uit een bepaalde periode. 29 well. All in all, it is safe to say that the historical literary approach is most prominent in the course.
Next to the two main objectives of the course, further specifications of the course were written down. For example, one of these stipulations is that “even though other art forms are discussed, literature should be the main focus of the course” (Lambregts and Smit, 4)14. This is mentioned by Kwakernaak as well. Within the historical literary approach, a focus on authors, art forms, social, political and economic circumstances or chronological periods can be present. Considering that the specification has a focus on literature and uses a chronological structure with regard to material, the historical literary approach is again represented here
(401). Additionally, another objective is that “the course will make students come into contact with artworks they would not search for, themselves”15 and “the course stimulates a broad general development” (Lambregts and Smit, 4). These aims lean more towards Kwakernaak’s
14 in het nieuwe kunstenvak literatuur de centrale, leidende rol heeft
15 -het nieuwe vak in de eerste plaats een algemeen ontwikkelingsvak is dat ten doel heeft een bredere algemene ontwikkeling te stimuleren -in het nieuwe kunstenvak uitgegaan wordt van kennis die vervolgens een toepassing krijgt in de door de leerlingen te lezen teksten en te maken opdrachten -het nieuwe vak daarnaast ook een ervaringsvak is dat gericht is op het beleven van plezier aan het lezen van literaire teksten -het nieuwe vak tot doel heeft leerlingen te laten kennismaken met kunstuitingen die ze niet direct uit zichzelf zullen opzoeken. 30 so-called societal approach to teaching literature, where development of both knowledge and the student are important. The overall approach to literary education within the course, however, is definitely not the societal approach according to Francis Brands, since there is no characteristic focus on themes and different opinions. It is true that all of the approaches tend to overlap with one another, though, so in reality there might be a slight influence of a societal approach that accounts for these demands for the course.
Another aim on the list is that “the course has to create enthusiasm for reading literary texts”. This demand is obviously inspired by the decreasing appreciation for literature among young adolescents. As mentioned before, only 44 per cent of Dutch secondary school students like to read: an alarming number (Stalpers, 30). As a result of this, or maybe the decreasing appreciation of reading, the Coornhert Gymnasium has seen fit to aim for the encouragement of reading with the course. This has repercussions throughout the course, but this does not mean that novels such as Harry Potter and Twilight are allowed to be read and that
Shakespeare is disregarded. Instead, the teachers at the Coornhert Gymnasium have resorted to a compromise. For the book choice, standard rules still apply: all canonical literature is allowed. Coornhert teachers have added to it, novels that have won a literary prize. The teachers simultaneously use Theo Witte’s system, a smart addition to the course, since students “need the six levels of literary competence distinguished by Witte … to be able to go for the ‘N+1’zone, the zone of development” (Kwakernaak, 398). Francis Brands explains that that is what they are indeed aiming for. In the tenth grade, the students are asked to fill in a list of questions to find out their literary competence levels and during class, texts are read that are slightly more difficult than the average level of reading present. If students are a level behind, the teacher sits down and helps them, but does not force the students to climb levels as fast as others. Here, the conviction is that “it is better to keep them at a lower level and 31 enthusiastic, than make them jump up and hate it”16. In other words, a positive experience is important.
Next to demands of the course in theory, however, there is the execution of the plans made for the course. One of the aims for the course was that “the knowledge gained during instruction will be needed by students to finish assignments and read the chosen texts”
(Lambregts and Smit, 4),17 which is a logical demand. Now, every lesson of the course includes instruction and the explanation of the assignment to be done for next class.
Afterwards, students are free to work on their assignments with knowledge gained from the instructional moment. Bearing in mind the fact that all these assignments are made by the teachers themselves, many of them are unconventional. There is nothing standard about the assignments: there are assignments that have students make a Trivial Pursuit game, create a
Wiki-page, create poetry magazines and look for information on the internet. This unconventional aspect was added to address the creativity of the students during the course.
16 “Als een leerling heel laag niveau heeft, ga ik soms samen met ze zitten en dan heb je ze wel meestal een niveau hoger gekregen- beter ze enthousiast houden dan ze het tegen laten zien. Aan het einde maken ze een leesverslag.”
17 “in het nieuwe kunstenvak uitgegaan wordt van kennis die vervolgens een toepassing krijgt in de door de leerlingen te lezen teksten en te maken opdrachten” 32
The teachers join Theo Witte in believing that traditional assignments do not help the teaching of literature whereas unconventional assignments do. Plagiarism was another reason for it.
Next to the assignments, another form of the execution of the objectives is the lesson structure. Kwakernaak mentions that where literature is concerned, the aim is to “try to go from overall understanding to a detailed understanding as much as possible” (403)18. The structure of the lessons of Literature in Context works the same way: first, the instructional moment focuses on a specific period in time, then certain texts are introduced and it is only when the assignments are made that the detailed understanding of the works, movement and author is created. Since the assignments are rather innovative and diverse, too, the student will be able to remember the knowledge they gained with ease.
Then there is the assessment of the course; another form of execution of these demands. When asked after the questions on tests, Francis Brands explained that “most questions are about literary terms and facts, whereas we would like to change that around to analyzing texts, in the future”19. Interestingly, the current assessment points towards a
18 “ga zoveel mogelijk van globaal begrip naar detailbegrip”(403)
19 “Vaak komt het neer op feitjes vragen terwijl we toch willen dat ze teksten analyseren, maar dat is extreem moeilijk nakijken. Ook zouden we graag de niveaus van Witte in de toetsen nalopen, maar het kost ook weer enorm veel extra tijd om teksten te kiezen en zoeken” 33 historical literary approach due to its focus on literary characteristics, whereas the future assessment, the analysis of texts for a mark, can be counted to one of the text-immanent approaches to literature (Kwakernaak, 406). This implies that for assessment and objective of teaching, this program aims for a historical literary and text-immanent approach.
All things considered, though, the course absolutely leans towards a historical literary approach, but since approaches overlap regularly, elements of other approaches can be found within the course.
3.5 Students’ Opinions
Next to the course itself, its background and the practicalities, the students and their opinions should not be forgotten. They are, after all, the only ones who can assess the course from the other perspective. During one of my observations of a Literature in Context lesson, I approached students to inquire after their opinion on certain areas of the course. The interviews were anonymous and therefore no names will be mentioned. To get a more general image I let them fill in a questionnaire online, as well. This turned out to be a good choice, since in the questionnaire only 37 per cent of them stated they enjoy going to this particular class, but during my observational lesson, the students explained that they liked the course.
Only one student mentioned that “since I mostly enrolled in scientific courses, this course is a pain for me. But since it is obligatory, I have to attend. I do understand the need for the course, though, so I endure it with patience”20. The other students said they enjoyed the class, but apparently not enough to give it a high score on the questionnaire.
About the course material and their current assignment, making a Trivial Pursuit game about literary movements in groups, and playing the game after swapping them around, 61 per
20 “Omdat ik vooral een natuur-profiel heb, is deze cursus echt niets voor mij. Maar het moet, dus ga ik er maar heen. Ik snap wel waarom hoor, daar niet van, dus ik lijd gewoon in stilte.” 34 cent agreed that the innovative and sometimes online assignments are fun on the questionnaire. During class, they said that “it might not be the best thing ever, but it always beats a test”21. The fact that they are fun, though, does not mean the students finish the assignments during class. As I was wondering how effective the laptops in class were, I asked one person if the assignments were really done during class and she explained that “it totally depends on the amount of time left before the test week. If we’ve got loads of time, we’ll do it at home. If we do not, we’ll work on it in class”22. Another person answered: “I think a third of the people actually do the assignments during class. Most people just play games on their
21 “Dit is niet de leukste les ever, maar beter dan een toets is het sowieso”.
22 “Dat ligt aan de tijd die we hebben voor de toetsweek begint. Als we veel tijd hebben doen we de opdrachten pas thuis, anders worden de opdrachten snel in de les gedaan.” 35 computers or work on homework for another course”23. This last remark was a recurring answer; many students would do homework for another course if they were already ahead in the class they were in at that moment. In other words, the computer assignments are seen as a positive feature of the course, but they are mostly done at home and not during class.
Next to statements about the assignments, I added statements about the general outline of the course to the questionnaire. More than fifty per cent says that they learn easily with the current system and do not want a complete course book for all three years: they prefer the innovative feel of the course. In terms of being able to explain literary terms and movements,
76 per cent says they understand them well as a direct result of this course. This positive image seems to be the general image because when I asked students in class, the same answer surfaced. One replied, “I think that this way of teaching is really good. I have a good overview of the different movements and periods, and even though we do not go into every language as deeply, it still beats learning nothing. Otherwise, students that have not chosen
23 “Ongeveer één derde van de mensen doet de opdracht ook echt tijdens de les. Maar de meeste mensen spelen gewoon spelletjes op hun computer of ze werken aan huiswerk voor een ander vak.” 36
French or German in their curriculum learn nothing about it at all”24. Overall, therefore, the general opinion of the students is positive.
One area where the students were rather negative was the book list. In the questionnaire, I asked them if they thought it was rather limited and an overwhelming 85 percent of the students replied with a yes. In class, many students confirmed this opinion. Another 70 percent admitted that choosing a book confuses them and 84 percent said their reading has not increased as a result of the reading card system. Interestingly, 50 percent does mention that the positive reading attitude of the teacher has made them curious about reading. Overall, though, the image of the reading card system is not great among students and the same goes for the attitude towards it in class. Most people said that most of the time, they asked friends from other schools for advice on which books to read.
All in all, I think the image of the course among students is good. It is not perfect, but considering that puberty is a rebellious age that might be impossible to attain. So far, however, the students agree that the course is rather good.
3.6 Teachers’ Opinion
The next element that cannot be disregarded after the last one, then, is the teachers’ opinion.
In an interview I conducted with Francis Brands, head of the literature department at the
Coornhert Gymnasium, more information about the opinion of the teachers became available.
24 “Ik denk dat deze manier heel goed is, want ik snap de periodes en tijden goed. (…) Ja, en ook al gaan we niet al te diep in op alle talen, het is altijd beter dan niets. Leerlingen die geen Frans of Duits hebben gekozen leren anders totaal niets erover want ze kunnen het niet leren via andere vakken. Dat heb ik zelf ook, zo leer ik ik nog eens wat over Faust.” 37
Francis Brands explained that the current teachers of the course are happy with the results it has given in the last few years. After a difficult start because of disputes about the importance of the course and deciding who teaches what with the modern languages department, the program has found its final form and even though there is always room for improvement, the current situation is at least stable. There are, however, always advantages and disadvantages to a curriculum. One of the main advantages of Literature in Context is that students now know the importance of different time periods and opinions. They have a broad understanding of the history of literature and know how to use it actively. On account of that, many students are able to use them appropriately and discuss books properly. A clear disadvantage is the extreme workload for teachers due to covering such a large time range in history. The amount of time makes it difficult to focus on specific areas, as well; naturally, teachers try to find examples in all modern languages, but a difference in nuance in, for example, the
Enlightenment in France and England, might be neglected because there is so much to discuss. So even though it is good that students have an overall understanding of the literature, there are not enough language specific details that can be discussed. Next to that, the fact that all four languages are discussed causes an enormous workload for teachers. They need to read up on a substantial number of subjects throughout the year.
With regard to possible changes to the current curriculum, for most teachers the reading card system is a big candidate, as well as the current program. The latter is mainly because the quantity of subjects is too overwhelming so it should be narrowed down and the former because the reading card system is difficult to control. Brands mentions that he would like students that have not read enough books per year to face repercussions, but knows that sometimes students would lie on their cards anyway. He would like to look into other reading systems but does not think the department will change the current system drastically, merely adjust it a bit. Another thing that could be changed is the assessments. In the interview, Brands 38 explains that the current questions in assessments are usually about easily learned facts, whereas assessment on text analysis would fit the course better. Considering that that would also involve finding texts at the right reading proficiency level, though, he thinks it will take time before that change might happen. All in all, however, if there was less material to cover the current approach to literature would be satisfactory.
Francis Brands is adamant that using this system on other secondary schools comes with some changes to the course, or else problems are to be expected. One of these changes should be the assignments. The current course is based on a moment of instruction and then individual work on the laptop, but if students are not allowed a laptop, the assignments should be altered or laptops should be added to the equation. As for other problems that might arise, he mentions that the course book, Literatuur Zonder Grenzen is not available anymore, so a new course book or new edition should be used. Their school does not have a problem because they bought enough books for all students, but other schools might struggle.
Taken together, however, Francis Brands thinks it is possible to implement this course on different schools with a few alterations.
3.7 Evaluation
All in all, the Coornhert Gymnasium’s integrated literary education is an innovative program.
Of the 15 percent of secondary schools that teach integrated literary education in the
Netherlands, this school has an innovative take on the subject (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 10).
There are, however, some factors to criticize and some to laud.
To begin with, there is the inventive virtual aspect that was created for this course due to the school’s extensive use of laptops. Whereas the use of laptops is not unheard of, it is still a feat if a school successfully installs this system. In terms of use in class, a point to be 39 criticized could be teacher control: interviews suggest that many students use their laptops to play games and other things while supposedly working on an assignment. On the other hand, many studies are being performed currently that are trying to map how and if the combination literary education and laptop has a positive influence on students (Bonset en Braaksma, 75).
Research by Van der Logt from 2003 shows that students working on their reading card in an electronic teaching environment resulted in students working together more and learning metacognitive skills (Van der Logt qtd. in Bonset en Braaksma, 75)25. In other words, if the laptops are actually used for assignments it would increase the effectiveness of the assignments. The combination of laptops and assignments is not extremely novel either, since students use computers for homework in most schools; the fact that the computer is allowed in class, however, is new. The fact that the Coornhert Gymnasium uses this to the full extent is a positive feature of the course, but if students’ opinions are to be believed, more internet restrictions would help their current system.
Another factor of the course would be the reading card system. The fact that canonical texts are allowed is not innovative, but the solution teachers found for current literature is not common either. At first glance it seems like a perfect solution, letting children read prize- winning books, since it reduces the number of possible books to be read and as a result, the preparation for oral examinations and reading files is less intense for teachers. Since there are less books to choose from, the original situation of having to read up on around 60 books for
25 “Werken door vwo-leerlingen aan hun leesdossier in de elektronische leeromgeving Blackboard leidde tot samenwerkend leren en het aanleren van metacognitieve vaardigheden (Van der Logt, 2003)”. 40 oral exams is avoided for teachers. In reality, though, this method has proven to be a difficult system. The students mention that it is confusing for them to pick a book to read and that the system does not necessarily encourage more reading. The problem with this criticism is the reliability of the opinion of the students: not all secondary school students may be equally dedicated to searching books. It is, after all, only a few minutes’ difference between searching a title on a list and looking for a book to read online. On the whole, the current system of the
Coornhert Gymnasium is a smart way to encourage reading literature on recent subjects and other views on society since many of the books that have won prizes do not feature in our
Western canon (Johnston, 36). They are books that were published in other countries and languages all over the world, but have views on recent matters all the same. Ingrid Johnston and Jyoti Mangat explain in their book Reading Practices, Postcolonial Literature, and
Cultural Mediation in the Classroom that contact with books outside the canon makes secondary school students reconsider their point of view on culture and prejudice (12). This is rather a good consequence of deviating from normal reading systems, just like the fact that reading books outside of the canon can teach humility and be liberating as well. Patrick
Deneen explains this as follows: reading different books than those in the canon could teach humility to students since it makes them respect the books in the canon even more (Deneen,
38). It could be somewhat liberating, as well, since teachers allow their students to change the rules and liberate themselves from the ideas that dominate this age (Deneen, 38). These two are added extras for the system, though. These extras are needed, because there are some downsides to the system, as well. As was explained by Francis Brands, the card system is easy to fool as a student: there are no immediate repercussions if the number of books set for a year is not reached and even if there is a book on the card that does not mean the student has read it. Moreover, although the review-assignments are supposed to be innovative and fool-proof, a good summary can go a long way. Considering the fact that this is a new system, however, 41 these complications are to be expected and there is time to fix them. All in all, this seems to be an innovative system with a few difficulties.
In addition, it is important to look at the teaching during class. After visits during class and discussions with the course leader, Francis Brands, the repeated use of whole-class discussion came forward. Brands explained that they found it ideal and when a discussion got interesting, it would certainly create more input from students. The teaching of literature by using whole-class discussions is one of the most common ways to instruct students and also the most effective way to do so (Applebee, 136). They combine this way of teaching with an emphasis on literary terms. According to David Hanauer, the explicit teaching of literary terms during literary education “enhance[s] students’ abilities to use these patterns in independent interpretations of novel poems” (179). Since this is only in terms of poems, one can only imagine its effectiveness for novels or texts discussed. Another prominent feature of the class is that it goes from a global to a detailed understanding of the time period by making the students do assignments that create a detailed understanding of the subject. This contrasts with other current approaches being used that focus on the student’s reflection between themselves and the text, the text and others and the text and the world (Nelck-da Silva, 2005,
26). Instead of going with current trends, the Coornhert Gymnasium again followed
Kwakernaak’s conviction that “as a teacher you have to check if the text is understood
‘technically’ or ‘superficially’ before going ‘into the matter’,” (Kwakernaak, 403)26. This
26 “als docent moet je controleren of de tekst ‘technisch’ of ‘oppervlakkig’ begrepen is voordat er ‘onder de oppervlakte gekeken’, geïnterpreteerd of wat dan ook gedaan kan worden.” 42 focus is used in all parts of the course since it benefits the students (403). With regard to teaching the course, then, the Coornhert Gymnasium is well off.
The last subject to be evaluated is the course book. Literatuur Zonder Grenzen is a book that offers material on European history, linking to societal changes and other art-forms throughout the chapters. There are a few negative reviews on the internet, commenting that
“the disadvantage of this is that the student has to flip back and forth in the book all the time, and there is an overlap of information” (Nicolaas, 40). The fact that the course book was made for integrated literary education can be noticed due to the lack of focus on Dutch literature and the addition of subchapters on literature in England, France and Germany.
Unfortunately, the course book is not published anymore. A possible solution for other schools that want to implement this course in their curriculum could be the creation of a course manual which has all material and assignments in it. Since the course does not have a manual yet, however, back to the course book. One of its strong points would be the focus on literary terms in the first chapters; the teachers smartly use this to their advantage. All in all, the fact that the book is not published anymore and is outdated suggests that it is not the best material out there and since it is not used while teaching the class, the actual use of the book seems nullified.
Taken together, then, the course program for Literature in Context works as a whole; there are some points that could be changed, but they form no major problems. The course is right from an ideological point of view and the other elements are in accordance with the
Coornhert Gymnasium’s view. Moreover, the laptops that are allowed in school are used every lesson and could be of value during those periods. Next to that, the reading card system is a novel way to pick books and even though the system is not fool-proof, teachers realize that and will amend that in years to come. The assignments that are above the normal standards, however, do help make sure students do not just copy and paste answers from the internet. 43
The assignments help students learn more, as well, as does the current teaching approach the course applies in class. The only item that could be replaced seems to be the course book, because it not published anymore and is only of use to make students do homework and understand the big lines, whereas written material or a booklet could do the same work. All in all, Literature in Context is a thought through, well-designed innovative course. 44
4. Implementation on Other Schools
So far this essay has focused on the exploration and evaluation of the course Literature in
Context at the Coornhert Gymnasium. Considering that it has been found to have a competent course program, I will now move on to discuss the possibility of implementing the course on other secondary schools.
Simply making a model for a so-called regular secondary school is not at all possible, though. One of the catches of the Dutch educational system is that it works with different levels in secondary schools. In the last year of primary school, pupils complete a test, made by
CITO, the Central Institute for Test Development, to measure their intelligence. Depending on the outcome of the test, as can be seen in Figure 2, students go to a VMBO, HAVO or VWO secondary school. These schools represent different levels of intelligence. They go from highly theoretically intelligent, VWO, to students that prefer the practical side of things,
VMBO. After these levels, there are other possibilities to go on studying but since the focus is on secondary schools here, no explanation for those possibilities is necessary. Among the three levels for secondary school, two have different levels of their own. The highest achievable level is Gymnasium which offers Greek and Latin as well as all other optional courses. This last level is the selected group of students that go to the Coornhert Gymnasium. 45
Figure 2: Educational System in the Netherlands
Considering that the Coornhert Gymnasium already offers education to the small portion of students that reach Gymnasium, I will look at the implementation of this course for the different levels. That is to say, first the implementation on VMBO-level will be discussed, then on HAVO and last but not least, Atheneum. The discussion of the implementation will look at the practical side of the implementation and then at different components of the course like the reading card system, course book, course structures and lesson structures.
4.1 VMBO
Pupils that are advised to study at VMBO-level are practical people. In accordance with that, they are offered a practical form of education, specializing in specific areas of employment like beautician, hairdresser, furniture maker, chef or sales assistant. The name of the level itself, VMBO, stands for ‘voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs’ or lower secondary professional education. The four sublevels are VMBO BB, VMBO KB, VMBO GL and
VMBO TL. Of these, VMBO TL and VMBO GL are the more theoretical and VMBO BB and
VMBO KB more practical. 46
The current situation of literary education in the VMBO is as follows. There is no form of integrated literary education in the VMBO: all literary education is taught during Dutch class and is called fictional education. During fictional education, not literature alone but all forms of art are discussed. In the practical levels, literature is barely discussed and technical proficiency is the focus of the Dutch course. In the theoretical levels, most attention is paid to literature. The problem of students reading less perpetrates the ranks here, as well. Teachers notice the lack of reading amongst students and say the biggest problem is the fact that students are slow readers or do not have any concentration (Hermans, “Fictieonderwijs met boeken die van 'levensbelang' zijn”). In summary, not all VMBO-students come into contact with literature.
If they do, however, they have to create a preparatory reading file on the books they have read for their school exam. They are not allotted a minimum number of books to be read by the Ministry of Education, since other forms of art are allowed to be discussed as well. The school exam is an oral examination that focuses on the books they read for it beforehand
(Nicolaas and VanHooren). The books they have to read for these files are either listed, chosen by students themselves or, research has shown that this happens the most, teachers help students pick a book (Duo Market Research, 16). The reason behind this is that teachers believe those books will create a positive reading attitude and 48 percent of the teachers on the VMBO believe that encouraging a positive reading attitude and pleasure is more important than focusing on reading comprehension in class (Duo Market Research, 24). That is to say, encouragement in reading is put before reading comprehension in the VMBO at this moment.
The demands the Ministry of Education makes of the children considering literary education are not numerous. By the time they graduate, students are able to:
1. Recognize different sorts of fictional works, 2. Describe the thinking and actions of the characters within it, 3. Explain the relation between the fictional work and reality, 4. Point out characteristics of the specific work, 47
5. Select and collect relevant background information about the work 6. Are able to give a personal reaction to the piece and explain it by using examples from the work. (Examenprogramma Nederlandse Taal, 9)27
These demands are prepared for in different ways in all four levels within VMBO and are tested during the oral examination.
Currently, the VMBO is an extremely intercultural level: students from many different backgrounds attend, which results in a more non-western book choice (Hermans,
“Fictieonderwijs met boeken die van 'levensbelang' zijn”). This is encouraged by the schools: identification with texts and fictional situations is important for the VMBO teachers since identification causes more respect and cultural awareness among students (Hermans,
“Fictieonderwijs met boeken die van 'levensbelang' zijn”).
Since literary education is not extremely organized here, a theoretical implementation of the course Literature in Context will be looked at next.
4.1.1 Practicalities
When implementing a new method to teach a subject there are always certain factors to be discussed that can be called practicalities. If implementation of the Literature in Context course on VMBO level happened, the following things would have to be considered.
First of all, there is the problem of duration. VMBO-students only follow a mandatory four years of secondary school, whereas Gymnasium takes six years. This means the course will have to be shortened. If only the tenth grade received literary education, however, deciding which subjects to discuss and which assignments to do would be difficult and would
27 “De kandidaat kan: 1. verschillende soorten fictiewerken herkennen; 2. de situatie en het denken en handelen van de personages in het fictiewerk beschrijven; 3. de relatie tussen het fictiewerk en de werkelijkheid toelichten; 4. kenmerken van fictie in het fictiewerk aanwijzen; 5. relevante achtergrondinformatie verzamelen en selecteren; 6. een persoonlijke reactie geven op een fictiewerk en deze toelichten met voorbeelden uit het werk.” 48 reduce most of the course to nothing. Nor would it benefit the students, who are preparing for their final exams and are not waiting for a new course to take on. The option to teach the secondary school students during the ninth and tenth grade seems the most viable to create a larger time slot than just the tenth grade, but considering the small amount of time they have to teach these children their mother tongue properly, one can expect the Dutch teachers to oppose this. In other words: it is technically possible to teach the course in terms of duration, but it would take a considerable number of adjustments to either the course or the current curriculum that are not beneficial.
Then there is the problem of a where and when: location and timeslots. Time slots in
VMBO schools work differently from HAVO and VWO schools since they are free to decide on their own the amount of time they spend on which courses. The only mandatory study hour limit in the fourth year of their education is that they have to be educated for 700 hours, but that does not say anything about how much time is allotted to either Dutch, English, German or French in the schools. It is, therefore, difficult to decide where exactly time is supposed to come from and it will vary per school if it is possible at all. It seems beneficial that the time for integrated literary education is not taken from Dutch classes alone, but also from English, and German and French to make sure this program will last. It is difficult, however, to decide whether this is possible or not. It might be more realistic to go for one hour of literary education per week throughout the course either way, since literary education is not one of the main focuses of this level. Next to the allotted time, though, a location to teach this course might become a problem too. In some secondary schools, this might be merely a situation of shuffling around timetables, in others there might simply be no place. Some VMBO schools are small and use all their place optimally and others might have enough room for multiple extra courses. Once again it is difficult to decide what to do about this from an outsider’s point of view. It seems only fair to conclude that location and time allotted to the course will 49 vary per school and it is difficult to say if it is conceivable to implement the course on all
VMBO schools.
A factor to keep in mind as well is the teacher. VMBO schools might run into the fact that they do not have a specifically schooled teacher for this course. In many VMBO schools, this might mean that Dutch teachers will have to teach the course, since they have followed courses on literature for their degree (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 20). A problem that could be encountered here, however, could be that the Dutch teachers do not have knowledge about all the literary history discussed. Other options would be the modern language section helping them, hiring a new teacher that has studied literary history or having teachers learn about literary history via refresher courses or extra trainings. The easiest solution would be hiring a teacher, but one hour a week per class for three classes could mean they only get paid for three hours a week and maybe a few hours preparation time. This does not even come close to the average 30 hours a week and could therefore be an incentive to look for a different job.
That is to say, finding a teacher to educate the students in this area might prove to be more of a challenge than initially thought. Next to finding teachers to teach the course, there is the funds needed to pay the teacher, as well. As with all schools, some VMBO schools can easily afford more whereas others cannot; hiring new staff could lead to a higher amount of expenditure than can be afforded. For this practical reason, then, implementation could therefore be counted as a difficult but not impossible task.
Another problem considering the course could be the grading system. The VMBO works with a different educational system than VWO, so the current system for the course, using the average of this course, ‘ANW’ and ‘Maatschappijleer’, cannot be used. A course called ‘Maatschappijleer 1’, Societal teaching 1, which is a mandatory course, could be used, but there is no ‘ANW’ so the system would have to change. Combining Literature in Context and ‘Maatschappijleer 1’ might be an option, but another option could be combining it with 50
Dutch. Either way, a different solution needs to be found, but it is difficult to say whether
VMBO schools will comply with a combination of the two for a mark.
Another problem that could arise during implementation would be the school examination for the course Dutch. The Coornhert Gymnasium has changed their Dutch school exam to a debate, but VMBO-students do not learn how to stage a debate in secondary school.
One of the objectives of the Ministry of Education is “to be able to form your own opinion on the basis of arguments”, but that does not mean that students are as prepared or trained for a school exam containing a debate as Gymnasium-students are (Examenprogramma Nederlands
VMBO, 1)28. A different sort of school examination would have to be decided upon, which could be a drawback for the implementation of the course, as well.
In addition, there is the ICT-side. It is possible that a laptop policy might be in effect in a VMBO school, but considering that most of their education is practical and does not consist of listening to teachers but working with their hands, it seems illogical for them to have a laptop policy. Another practical problem might then become the fact that laptops are not available: again, it depends on the school whether there are computer rooms available or whether this will mean that the whole course system will have to be adjusted.
In summary, from a practical point of view, many adjustments need to be made and considered to implement this course in VMBO schools. It is difficult to say whether it would be possible or impossible because insight in the schools themselves would be needed.
28
“op basis van argumenten tot een eigen standpunt komen. “ 51
4.1.2 Reading Card System
The possibility of implementing the course on the VMBO schools comes with other elements than practicalities as well. One of the features of the course that current VMBO education already uses is a reading system. This means the Coornhert Gymnasium reading card system will be easier to adapt to. One of the differences between the two systems, however, is the fact that VMBO-students do not have a mandatory number of books to read, so the book list could be rather small. Also, the books have to be read in substantially less time and VMBO literary education accepts other works of art on students’ lists as well. The latter would mean that the current rules for book choices do not apply to these students. The concept of the reading card itself, though, could easily be introduced.
Something that might be more difficult to achieve is the reading of canonical literature for the reading card. Students that follow VMBO education “need to be able to imagine the situation in the text, they need to be able to connect the text to their own personal situation”
(Cinop, 49). Most canonical texts from English, French or German literature do not create that situation, nor do most Dutch canonical texts. Maybe, if teachers looked at the summary of the story with students and suggested comparable situations, there would be recognition, but otherwise, there will not be any. In fact, these students read texts to gain information about recent events, products or facts (Schram, 2008, 33). Canonical texts do contain knowledge, but they contain ideological arguments, solutions and dilemmas rather than everyday information. So the texts do not fit the kind of texts VMBO-students need or are able to read.
Furthermore, even if these students read the texts and were able to understand them, it would say nothing about creating a more positive reading attitude. Research among VMBO-students by Dirk Schram shows that VMBO-students do easily understand texts but that this does not create a positive reading attitude among them (2002, 116). For them to get a more positive reading attitude they need to be able to relate to the text, but they would not relate to 52 canonical texts (Cinop, 49). So adjustments regarding the choice of books for the reading card system would be necessary if it was to be used. An imaginable solution might be working completely according to the reading proficiency levels Theo Witte set out. In fact, it is the most realistic solution for VMBO schools. Since they do not read books in other languages but Dutch since their proficiency is not high enough in foreign languages, it is a perfect fit.
Since it does turn around the system, however, it does mean that adjustments will have to be made.
The assignments that are done by students for the reading file are a good idea as well, but difficult to use. Since the level of knowledge of literature is lower and the students have only a limited amount of knowledge about analyzing, these assignments will have to be custom-made. This is a significant amount of work and therefore might not be received with enthusiasm.
So in general, VMBO schools could use the reading card system, but major adjustments are necessary with regard to the number of books to be read, the choice of books and the assignments for the reading file.
4.1.3 Course Book
On with the next element of the course system that has to be implemented in VMBO schools; the course book. The course book used by the Coornhert Gymnasium, Literatuur Zonder
Grenzen, is out of print. There is, however, no method available by the same publisher for
VMBO. Neither has research on course books for VMBO and literary education in the
Netherlands resulted in any titles that are currently available. Online there are projects like
‘LeesCase’, which offers episodes on youth literature, or ‘Boek en Film’, book and film, developed by Stichting Lezen, which offers lesson plans with regard to films based on literary 53 books. Both of these projects are innovative and would fit in the course as additions to it, but by not following the Literatuur Zonder Grenzen course book, teachers will have to find a way to incorporate the global literary movements into their lessons as well, whereas if they had another course book, they would have the students read about it at home.
In other words, there is no specific literary course book for VMBO that fits the needs of the course but the few projects that are there could possibly be used in combination with their own material. This would, however, cause major alterations in course material.
4.1.4 Lessons
The last element of the course that schools need to pay attention to is how the lessons are organized. Different sides of the lessons need to be considered when deciding if it is possible to implement them on schools.
First, there is the fact that this course has a specific schedule for every lesson and for every year. As mentioned before, though, the VMBO only lasts for four years instead of six.
This means that the whole system that was set up by the Coornhert literary department would have to be altered to fit the four year system. Things that would have to change would be how long the course is taught, for how many hours it is taught, which subjects will be taught and which not, which assignments are more important than others and so on. In other words, the program made by the Coornhert Gymnasium would have to be changed around completely to fit the educational system of the VMBO.
Similarly, it might be difficult to keep the unique lesson structure of this course the same. Seeing as VMBO-students are rather practical, they simply might not have the concentration to work on their assignment for 45 minutes. Furthermore, previous discussion 54 has suggested that most VMBO schools do not have the same laptop policy as the Coornhert
Gymnasium for obvious reasons. Consequently, there will be no more assignments that can be done on the computer during school hours. If that time was filled with explaining more about global literary history, the problem of a course book would be solved, but then we encounter the question of where to start and what is necessary and is not. The demands the government has for newly graduated VMBO-students are not that broad, as mentioned in 4.1, and mostly pertain to students, their opinion and explaining actions in the book, not to the book in respect to global literary history. In other words, it would be difficult to decide what to keep and what to leave out considering that there are no specifications for it.
If, however, the school does have computers in school and a computer room is available for the duration of the weekly class, the problem shifts. The problem does not become the time schedule of the course, but the assignments that are used. The innovative assignments were made for Gymnasium-students, not for VMBO-students. Innovative assignments using different media and points of view are always appreciated by all students, but the goal of the assignments might be too high for VMBO-students. The assignments do not necessarily focus on describing the work, explaining the work and reactions to the work, as VMBO-students need to be able to do, but on the background of either authors or time periods and art movements. These are features a VWO-student needs to learn and understand but not a VMBO-student. The same goes for tests used for the course as well; they should be changed from asking for facts about global literary history to questions about texts, fictional works, opinions and characteristics on and of the work. In summary then, the course lessons and assignments will have to change, whether or not computers are available.
As a result of the laptop problem, then, it has become clear that implementation of the course in terms of lessons, assignments, lesson structures and curriculum structures will require major adjustments to the course. 55
4.1.5 Conclusion
Taken together, then, it can be said that implementing this course on a VMBO school will be a great challenge. In all areas alterations will have to be made, not only within the reading system or course book but also in practical things like course program, the marking system and lesson structures. The problem with the implementation of this course on a VMBO school is that it is simply specifically geared towards a theoretical education and is too focused on a global literary history rather than a personal experience of the text.
The implementation is not entirely impossible, but considering the effort that is needed to create a Literature in Context course for VMBO schools, it would be less time-consuming and more rewarding if the current system was changed around by adding things like
‘LeesCase’ or ‘Boek en Film’ to their programs.
4.2 HAVO
The next level to test the implementation on would be HAVO. HAVO is short for ‘Hoger
Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs’ or higher general secondary education. This level is usually taught in secondary schools that teach VWO-students as well. It is a level where the theoretical approach is adhered to more, but elements of the practical approach feature as well. In total, HAVO-students go to secondary school for five years and are then free to either start working or go to college. There are no sublevels within HAVO.
The current situation with regard to literary education on this level is rather different from that of the VMBO. Since 2007 and 2008, literary education has become an obligatory 56 element of Dutch class for HAVO and is an area of examination. As a result of the Ministry of
Education’s demands about the minimum number of study hours and class hours, HAVO- students have to follow an obligatory 400 hours of Dutch in a year (Nicolaas and Vanhooren,
14). The schools are allowed to decide which areas time goes to exactly, though, so if they chose integrated literary education, no regulations would be broken. In fact, as we know, integrated literary education is already used in around 15 percent of the secondary schools that offer both VWO and HAVO (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 10). This would mean that some schools would not need to undergo any changes or even adapt to the Coornhert Gymnasium system. The other 85 percent, however, might still be in need of an effective system.
In HAVO literary education, the current focus is mostly on recent literature, individual development and the development of reading taste (Janssen). Most emphasis is put on the encouragement of taking pleasure in reading and least on societal awareness (Van Lierop-
Debrauwer and Bastiaansen-Harks, 55). For most HAVO-students, the reading system is not what it used to be: there is a specified number of books to read for each student but no book list to choose from. Around 80 percent of HAVO and VWO teachers do not use book lists, according to research by Helma van Lierop-Debrauwer and Neel Bastiaansen-Harks. Instead, students usually consult their teachers about books they want to read for their reading card
(Van Lierop-Debrauwer and Bastiaansen-Harks, 55). Students do still have to create a reading file with assignments about the books. They are usually tested on their reading during their school exam for Dutch, which is an oral examination.
When the HAVO-students graduate, they are supposed to be able to use a certain set of skills. This list is specified by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and contains the following things:
Domain E: Literature Subdomain E1: Literary development 7. The candidate can explain their reading experiences by referring to sound arguments and a number of selected literary works. 57
*Minimum number of books: Havo 8, Vwo 12 of which a minimum of three works were written before 1880. *The works were originally written in Dutch. Subdomain E2: Literary terms 8. The candidate can recognize and differentiate some genres of literary texts and use literary terms while interpreting these literary texts. Subdomain E3: Literary History 9. The candidate can give a general overview of literary history and place the read literary works in this historical perspective. (Syllabus Nederlands HAVO 2013, 11)29
This list of demands is exactly the same as the one for VWO-students. The only difference between the two is the number of books to be read: HAVO has to read 8 books for Dutch and
3 for English, German and French each, whereas VWO has to read 12 books for Dutch and 3 for English, German and French each. As became clear from earlier discussion, both educational levels have oral examinations for state exams.
In summary, the current literary education for HAVO-students is mixed: there are some schools that offer integrated literary education, but not all of them do. The implementation of the Coornhert Gymnasium system is therefore still possible, could create a more positive attitude towards reading and that possibility needs to be researched.
29
“Domein E: Literatuur Subdomein E1: Literaire ontwikkeling 7. De kandidaat kan beargumenteerd verslag uitbrengen van zijn leeservaringen met een aantal door hem geselecteerde literaire werken. * Minimumaantal: havo 8; vwo 12 waarvan minimaal 3 voor 1880. * De werken zijn oorspronkelijk geschreven in de Nederlandse taal. Subdomein E2: Literaire begrippen 8. De kandidaat kan literaire tekstsoorten herkennen en onderscheiden, en literaire begrippen hanteren in de interpretatie van literaire teksten. Subdomein E3: Literatuurgeschiedenis 9. De kandidaat kan een overzicht geven van de hoofdlijnen van de literatuurgeschiedenis, en de gelezen literaire werken plaatsen in dit historisch perspectief.” 58
4.2.1 Practicalities
The first element of the course to be discussed is practicalities. When implementing the
Literature in Context course, certain things will need to change in HAVO secondary education.
One of the dilemmas that installing the integrated literary education would bring, is the financial side. Since most HAVO-students are taught at HAVO/VWO schools, hiring teachers for a course for HAVO-students alone would give more benefits if the teachers taught VWO- students as well. Plus, changing everything on a big scale once seems more logical than on a small scale twice. Since the teachers that teach the highest grades of HAVO are usually teachers with the highest qualifications in education, they are qualified to teach VWO- students as well and thus only one teacher needs to be added to the staff. This could be one of the advantages of changing both HAVO and VWO literary education at once. It makes the position more attractive for potential applicants, as well. One teacher for HAVO-students alone, two hours a week per class, teaching three classes, could mean they only get paid for six hours and maybe a few hours preparation time. This does not even come close to the normal 30 hours a week and could therefore be an incentive to go on looking for a different job. If these potential candidates taught VWO as well, it would mean another three classes which is around 12 hours plus preparation time. The position would instantly become much more attractive for candidates.
In theory, however, it is perfectly possible for modern language teachers that already work at these secondary schools to teach the course. These teachers should be perfectly able to teach the literature course the Coornhert Gymnasium developed according to Francis
Brands, head of the literature department at the Coornhert Gymnasium. So with regard to the teachers, using present modern language teachers or hiring teachers might be slightly easier 59 for HAVO-levels. In contrast to implementation on VMBO, then, it seems more likely integrated literary education can happen with regard to this specific course element, although it always depends on the budget of a school if they are financially able to afford hiring these teachers for the course. Especially if it is a school that teaches both VWO and HAVO, where complete adjustment is easier, the costs for hiring a new teacher might be too high. In summary, then, finding teachers for this course on HAVO might be easier, but since every school has a different budget, there is no secure answer.
Next to teaching and financing the course, factors like location and time need to be discussed too. The same answer applies to HAVO as to VMBO for location. The implementation of the course may simply need a change of timetables, or it might not be possible at all to create room. Most schools do have computer classrooms, however, so the
ICT-problem and location problem could both be solved easily if there is enough time to use one for the course. This all depends on the school one is talking about, though, and is therefore difficult to assess. With regard to time, a more definite observation can be made. As mentioned earlier, HAVO-students are legally obliged to spend 400 study hours on Dutch education each year (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 14). Schools are asked to divide the time according to their preferences and a possible outcome could be integrated literary education.
Since hours from Dutch, English, French and German could be taken away and combined to create time for a course like Literature in Context, there seems to be no problem time-wise.
The situation is the same as that on the Coornhert Gymnasium and should therefore be no drawback while trying to implement the course.
Grading the course is not a difficulty for HAVO schools either. If they are willing to accept the changes the Coornhert Gymnasium has made and create an average mark with
‘Maatschappijleer’ and ‘ANW’, there is no problem. These courses are taught at HAVO level 60 as well, under the same conditions as at the Coornhert Gymnasium. As a result, there should be no problem implementing the course, in this area.
One thing that could possibly pose a problem is the duration of the course. The
HAVO-students are taught for five years instead of the six years the Gymnasium-students are.
As a result, the course would have to be shortened for these children. There is, however, a difference between the VMBO schools and HAVO / VWO schools. If the original system of enrolling in the course at the start of grade ten is adhered to, not a lot of changes need to be made to the material. Especially not if a solution like teaching two hours a week from the start is used: this would only reduce the original time spent in class by a fifth. So even though the course would have to be adjusted, it would have to be adjusted less than for the VMBO.
In summary, from a practical point of view, some adjustments need to be made and considered to implement this course in HAVO schools. It is difficult to say just how much would be possible or impossible.
4.2.2 Reading Card System
The next element of the course that needs looking at is the reading card system. Presently,
HAVO-students are asked to read 8 books for their book list for Dutch, 3 for English, 3 for
German and 3 for French. Instead of picking these books from a book list, HAVO-students usually consult their teachers about which books they should read (Van Lierop-Debrauwer and Bastiaansen-Harks, 55). This fits the emphasis the HAVO level puts on individual development during literary education (Janssen). The recommendation of books could, after all, result in increased pleasure in reading. 61
As for the books read for Dutch, the system devised by Theo Witte is used on many
HAVO / VWO schools already. Even if the schools do not use the system, it is well-known that HAVO-students adapt fast. In fact, even though half of the students in levels like HAVO and VWO start with a lower proficiency level than is needed, 73 percent of all HAVO- students are able to attain the requisite standard in Dutch reading proficiency, the third level, whereas only 43 percent of all VWO-students ends at the required fourth level (Witte). In other words, it might even be easier to use the Coornhert reading card system here than at the
Coornhert Gymnasium, since HAVO-students seem to have no difficulty in reaching the levels they need to get to. With regard to reading books for the Dutch part of the course, then, there should not be a problem.
Books read for other languages and canonical or prize-winning texts should not be a problem either. A common view of HAVO-students is that they are weak readers, low in reading proficiency, but the results of Witte show us that they are not. Also, in research by Van
Dooren, Van Den Bergh and Evers-Vermeul it becomes clear that level does not imply strong readers or weak readers: the VWO readers can be worse in reading proficiency than some of the worst HAVO-students (37). So in fact, HAVO-students can easily handle the prize- winning and canonical texts. Furthermore, things like proficiency in German and French do not have to be accounted for, since all texts except for English texts are translated. This is one factor less to worry about. Their level of English proficiency could pose a difficulty but if recent literary works are used, this should not be a problem. As a result, the books used for the reading card system should not be an issue.
Then there is the matter of the reading cards themselves. These could theoretically be used without many difficulties. A smart adjustment would be omitting one review-assignment from the list or changing the assignment to using one review only, but the writing of the reading card, reading file and possible summaries is definitely not something that is too 62 difficult for HAVO-students. The school examination, the oral exam, is the same as that for
VWO-students as well, so assessment does not have to be changed either. The only changes would have to be the school exam for Dutch, but since HAVO-students are taught how to debate as well, they could use a debate as a school exam as well. The assignments and oral exam about the books should therefore pose no problem.
All in all, then, it is definitely possible to use the reading card system the Coornhert
Gymnasium uses on HAVO schools. Witte’s proficiency levels are usually already applied so using it in the reading card system is only a minor change, and they should definitely be able to read canonical texts or prize-winning literature. With minor adjustments in the course like reducing number of books to be read and adjusting the assignments and tests to be done by the students about the books, the course should be implementable.
4.2.3 Course Book
The next element of the course system to be examined is the course book Literatuur Zonder
Grenzen. As was explained earlier, the edition that the Coornhert Gymnasium uses is out of print. This means that the problem of choosing a different method arises. In Martijn Nicolaas’ review “Literature Course Books for the Second Phase: the current situation”30, another course book that could work is mentioned. Literatuur in Perspectief is a HAVO-VWO course book with a focus on European literary history (39). The only problem is, there is no mention of
30
Literatuurmethodes voor de Tweede Fase: een stand van zaken. 63 literary terms in the course book, while the Coornhert Gymnasium method relies on the book to explain them to students (39). Another solution to the problem could be Laagland,
Literatuur en Lezer, a course book by publisher ThiemeMeulenhoff. No reviews of the book could be found yet, but ICT elements, the addition of European literary history to the HAVO edition and literary terms suggest it is a feasible option (ThiemeMeulenhoff). Another option could be Eldorado, a course book that focuses on literary history (Nicolaas, 39). The assignments in the book in newer methods of Eldorado are mixed descriptive assignments and reading experience assignments. This could be a good mix for the current approach to literary education for HAVO (Nicolaas, 40). On the Eldorado site, teachers can find assessment material, which could be handy because making the assessments of the Coornhert Gymnasium would be too much to ask of the HAVO-students.
So in summary, other good course books are available with the same characteristics as the Literatuur Zonder Grenzen course book so all in all, there should not be any drawbacks in picking a course book.
4.2.4 Lessons
Last but not least is the factor lessons and course structure. The latter definitely has to change, the former is less of a problem. Considering the shorter amount of time HAVO-students are at school, the course schedule made by the Coornhert Gymnasium will have to be changed.
Fewer years means less education; in this case 38 weeks, which is around 76 hours of literary education less. One solution to the loss of time could be immediately starting with two hours a week in tenth grade, instead of the Coornhert system, which starts with one hour per week in grade ten and then two for grade eleven and twelve. This would mean only 20 percent of the 64 hours is lost and not 40. The loss of time will cause adjustments to the course schedule, though, and definitely to the structure of the reading card: different deadlines will have to be decided on and the reading system will have to become intensive faster than with VWO because of the time pressure. In comparison with VMBO schools, however, there are fewer adjustments that need to be made in terms of course structure. All in all, then, it can be said that course structure will cause some difficulties, but the material will not have to be adjusted to the level too much and the loss of time for the course is not as enormous as it is with
VMBO schools.
Next to course structure, there is lesson structure. Currently, HAVO literary education puts the emphasis on individual development (Janssen). This means that more attention is paid to individual perception of works and teachers do not focus as much on literary history
(Janssen). Canonical texts are not used as much and personal interpretation has a front seat. In assessments, teachers of HAVO-students find it more important to see personal reactions and judgment than explicit knowledge of literary movements (Janssen). The course devised by the
Coornhert Gymnasium, however, focuses more on literary history than on individual development. They, like many VWO teachers, focus on literary history and cultural establishment, discuss more poetry, structure, literary terms and movements, use more than one course book and think chronological overview is extremely important (Janssen). Since these two approaches to literary education are each other’s contrasts, the implementation of this teaching method might have a positive effect. Considering that the current approach does not seem to help the image of literary education, change could be positive. It does mean that teachers would have to accept these changes and since every school has different teachers, it is difficult to predict how many changes would be accepted. If teachers do not agree with these changes, another solution might be limiting the time span of literary history taught and so leave room for the interpretational approach by most teachers of HAVO-students, which 65 they think works. This would mean a few considerable changes to the program, but it could solve the fact that HAVO-students are educated one year less by giving the limitation of time span a good reason. All in all, the problem of the different approaches can easily be solved.
With regard to lesson structure concerning the ICT-assignments and assessments, the same difficulties emerge as at VMBO level. HAVO-students might struggle with keeping their attention on the assignments, but to a lesser extent than VMBO-students. The assignments and assessments themselves might have to be adjusted as well, bearing in mind that HAVO- students have less time to spend on the course. It might be smart to exclude the most difficult assignments and assessments, since HAVO-students simply do not have to have the same literary proficiency as Gymnasium-students.
Accordingly, this section has proven that implementation of the course in terms of lesson structure and course structure is possible, but with a few adjustments. Change would have to be accepted by current HAVO teachers and effort will have to be put into adjusting the course structure due to less time spent on the course, and on adjusting assignments here and there. It does not pose enormous difficulties that cannot be overcome, though.
4.2.5 Conclusion
The results of this discussion indicate that adjustments have to be made but that implementation is possible. The grading system, the time distribution structure, finding teachers and the reading card system can all be adopted without difficulties. Factors like choosing which course book to use and adjusting the course material to a different level were to be expected, as well as adjusting assessments for HAVO-students, so they should not cause 66 too many difficulties. All in all, then, implementation of this course on HAVO-schools is certainly possible.
4.3 VWO
The last level to be discussed is VWO. VWO is an abbreviation of ‘voortgezet wetenschappelijk onderwijs’ and it means pre-university education. The VWO is divided into two levels, Atheneum and Gymnasium: the highest achievable level of the two is Gymnasium.
Since the Coornhert Gymnasium offers education for Gymnasium-students, this section will only go into the Atheneum level problems, since the Coornhert Gymnasium has proven that it is possible to implement it on Gymnasium schools.
Atheneum and Gymnasium, then, are on the same level. The only difference between
Gymnasium and Atheneum is that Gymnasium-students have to enroll for Greek and/or Latin class. Next to this minor difference, the two levels are exactly the same: a Gymnasium diploma actually says the student has attained an Atheneum diploma with extracurricular courses like Latin and/or Greek. The two levels follow exactly the same obligatory courses, are allowed to make the same choices in terms of extra courses (except for the one obligatory classical language for Gymnasium-students) and there is no difference in course books. One small difference could be that Gymnasium-students go through course material a bit faster than Atheneum classes. This depends on the school students go to, however, since some schools do not acknowledge the difference between the two but see Gymnasium-students as
Atheneum-students with extra courses. In theory, they are not wrong. The two levels do not differ much and are usually taught on the same schools and by the same teachers. 67
4.3.1 Practicalities
First of all, there are the practical elements of the course. As a result of Atheneum and
Gymnasium levels being similar to each other, the practical side of the implementation should not be a problem if those schools made same changes as the Coornhert Gymnasium. As with the HAVO educational system, the VWO system is free to decide what exactly the 480 study hours set for Dutch VWO classes are spent on (Nicolaas and Vanhooren, 14). Adjustments like those at the Coornhert Gymnasium could be made and hours could be taken from all language courses involved in Literature in Context. In terms of creating time for the course, then, there should be no problems. Since the educational structures of both Atheneum and
Gymnasium are the same, there are no problems regarding duration either, nor any problems with differing demands of the government for their knowledge of literature (Syllabus
Nederlands VWO 2013, 13). Regarding assessment and examinations, the same rules apply and the grading system of the course should not be a problem if schools accepted the system the Coornhert Gymnasium devised. The same goes for the school exams for both Literature in
Context and Dutch: if changes are accepted, no problems are to be expected. Altogether, this means that adjustments to the course structure and material are not necessary at all.
Next to that, teachers from all relevant modern languages could be asked to teach the course and form the literature department for the course. The reason for this being that teachers that teach the higher grades of VWO usually have the highest qualifications for education, which means they have followed courses about literature in university. If the teachers are not prepared to do this, however, a different solution should be found. Teachers can be hired or receive extra training if it is financially possible and applicants apply for the job. Considering that Atheneum is only a sublevel, it might be smart to hire a teacher for both
Gymnasium and Atheneum. If the school is a HAVO / VWO school, a similar argument can be made. So far, it seems that there are no practical problems, then. Since every school is 68 different and there is no insight with regard to budgets, though, it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion.
A possible difficulty during implementation that could be encountered would be the
ICT-department of a VWO school. Since the laptop policy that the Coornhert Gymnasium has is rare, the many computer-related assignments could be a problem. The solution that could be applied to both VMBO and HAVO schools can be applied here, as well. If the schools taught
Literature in Context in computer classrooms, there would be no problem while teaching the course. This would also immediately solve the problem of location for the course, if the computer classroom was open for indefinite use by the Literature in Context. It is true that not all schools have place in their timetables for another course that uses computers, however, so no general assumptions on this area can be made. It is important to remember that all schools have different budgets, time tables and schedules.
All in all, then, the practical side would cause fewer difficulties while implementing
Literature in Context on the Atheneum level than for HAVO and VMBO. From a practical side, therefore, implementation would definitely be possible.
4.3.2 Reading Card System
Introducing another element of the course, the reading card system, should not be a problem, either. In fact, it might benefit VWO-students greatly in terms of their Dutch reading proficiency: research by Theo Witte has shown that the reading proficiency level of VWO- students after graduation is insufficient: 47 percent does not get to the VWO-goal of level 4.
One out of five does not even get to the HAVO-goal, level 3. Since Witte’s system was devised to make it easier for students to improve their reading proficiency, the implementation of this reading card system can benefit VWO-students greatly, if Witte’s system is not yet 69 used in their schools. So the reading card system could greatly benefit schools that offer a
VWO level.
Regarding canonical texts and prize-winning books, these students should not have a problem either. Atheneum education barely differs from that of Gymnasium-students: the texts they are supposed to read are not different from Gymnasium-students either, normally.
Additionally, the minimum number of books to be read by Atheneum-students is exactly the same as the Gymnasium-students’: 12 Dutch books, 3 English books and depending on individual course choices, 3 books for German and 3 for French. There is no difference in the official demands of the reading file, then. Considering that the Coornhert Gymnasium asks their students to read 6 English books and depending on individual course choices, 4 books for German and 4 for French, though, they demand more of their students than. In theory,
Atheneum students could easily read more books, but it is always a possibility to reduce the amount of books for this level. All in all, though, there should be no problem concerning the amount of books to be read if the course were to be implemented on Atheneum level.
Last but not least are the assignments due for the reading file. Since Atheneum students can also handle the review-assignments, poetry anthologies, balance reports, essay and bibliography, there does not need to be a difference at all between reading files for
Atheneum and Gymnasium. Contrary to HAVO education, the approach to literary education at Atheneum focuses on literary history, as does Gymnasium literary education, so even with assignments, teacher’s attitudes or discussions of the books, no difficulties should arise
(Janssen). No drawbacks are expected at all, then, since both levels need to have the same knowledge about literary history at their graduation.
In summary, the reading card system does not pose a threat to implementation of the course on Atheneum level. In fact, the reading card system could benefit the level greatly. 70
4.3.3 Course Book
Another feature of the course to be implemented that cannot go unmentioned is the course book. As a result of the unavailability of the book used by the Coornhert Gymnasium, choosing a new course book would be difficult. There are alternatives that can be recommended to take its place, however. Firstly, there is Literatuur in Perspectief, which is a
HAVO-VWO course book with a focus on European literary history but no mention of literary terms, while the Coornhert Gymnasium method relies on the book to explain those to students
(Nicolaas, 39). As mentioned earlier, another solution to the problem could be Laagland,
Literatuur en Lezer, the VWO edition. This is a course book developed by ThiemeMeulenhoff publishers. No reviews of the book could be found yet, but its virtual elements, European literary history and explanation of literary terms make it a possible option to take over the role of Literatuur Zonder Grenzen (ThiemeMeulenhoff). Yet another option could be the VWO
Eldorado course book, which focuses on European literary history and societal changes as well as other art movements. Literary terms are explained well and the fact that it uses a virtual environment fits the Literature in Context course, too (Nicolaas, 40). A workbook that can be used with the course book is optional and could be a smart addition to the course so the questions for the textbook do not have to be made by the teachers (Nicolaas, 40). To conclude, then, even though Literatuur Zonder Grenzen is not published any longer, there are enough options to replace it.
All in all, then, the course book should not be too much of a difficulty when implementing the literary education system the Coornhert Gymnasium has developed on a
VWO school. There are plenty of options available.
4.3. 4 Lessons 71
The last features of the course Literature in Context to be considered are lessons, lesson structure and course structure. Earlier, the issues duration of education and time distribution within the language department were discussed and it was established that none of the course material would be compromised or changed if integrated literary education was used on
Atheneum level. In fact, none of the assignments for the students need to be adjusted either, since there should be no problem for Atheneum-students to finish them. All tailor-made assignments that are course material can be used for these students. Next to the assignments, examination would not create any difficulties either, since the demands of literary knowledge for both Atheneum- and Gymnasium-students are the same and they are supposed to receive parallel education. As a result, the Literature in Context examination would not have to be adjusted. The only factor that would need adjusting is the Dutch school examination that would have to change from an oral examination to a debate. So regarding assessment and assignments, no adjustments are needed.
Actually, the two levels are so similar that in approaches to literary education, both
Atheneum and Gymnasium teachers are known to focus on chronological literary history rather than on thematic representation (Janssen). They focus on cultural development, discuss more poetry, structure, literary terms and movements and think chronological overview is extremely important (Janssen). Since both levels have the same approach to literature, no adjustments would be needed of teachers and implementation should not be a problem.
Nor should there be a problem with the lesson structure of the course. Atheneum- students might possibly be used to more passive education, since the Coornhert is increasingly interactive in its education, but this should not be a problem that is difficult to overcome.
Students from other schools are usually used to a more or less lecture-style class instead of a class-discussion and Trivial Pursuit Game-making class. That does not mean that these 72 students might not think it is nice to try something else, though. Students of Atheneum are not expected to have any problems with concentrating, nor should they be unable to finish the assignments. All in all, then, the actual lesson structure needs no adjusting for the Atheneum level.
Taken together, then, implementation would not be a problem in terms of course structure, assignments and approach to literary education.
4.3.5 Conclusion
In summary, implementation of the course Literature in Context on schools that offer VWO is definitely possible. The number of difficulties is minimal, since the reading card system, course structure, lesson structure, assignments and assessment do not need to be adjusted. The only possible problems could be the course book, the budget of the school and the computer- element of the course, but there are viable options to replace Literatuur Zonder Grenzen and the computer-element is completely dependent on the school and its budget. All in all, then, implementation of the course on VWO level would definitely be possible. 73
5. Conclusion
It seems that a conclusion can be made considering the integrated literary education used on the Coornhert Gymnasium. This conclusion can be made as a result of different interviews with the head of the literature department at the Coornhert Gymnasium, Francis Brands, multiple lessons visited, examination of the course book and unlimited access to the online virtual environment used by the Coornhert Gymnasium.
First of all, an evaluation of the course was necessary to make sure the course would make a difference. By now, it can be concluded that the course Literature in Context is a complete and well-developed course. All the different elements used in the course fit in with the ideological point of view used when developing the course, from the reading card system to the teaching approach and lesson structure. The course is also completely in compliance with the demands made by the Coornhert Gymnasium. Its well-reasoned ideology, inspired by
Eric Kwakernaak, has positive results among the students. Furthermore, the computer policy is used to the maximum extent and the innovative reading card system benefits the students that undergo it. One of the difficulties that comes with the course is the outdated course book that is used, Literatuur Zonder Grenzen, which is not published any more. There are other possible course books out there at this very moment that have the same qualities as Literatuur
Zonder Grenzen, however, so replacing it is no problem if any difficulties arise. All in all, the course has been found to be a representative course which benefits students.
The second area of research was possible implementation of the course on other Dutch secondary schools. A problem during this research was the absence of a teaching manual for
Literature in Context at the Coornhert Gymnasium. Luckily, conclusions could still be drawn without a teaching manual, but its presence would have been beneficial. Also, if schools were to implement this course on their school, a teaching manual would help the adaptation along. 74
So the development of a teaching manual by the Coornhert Gymnasium is mandatory if implementation on other schools is desired.
Now, though, the conclusions. After careful consideration of each element and possible outcomes in all levels, the following conclusions can be made. As a result of the many alterations needed it can be concluded that implementing this course on a VMBO school would be a challenge. After consideration of the major adjustments needed, my recommendation would be to stimulate literary education for VMBO-students in other ways, like adding new projects and material to current courses. The implementation is not unmanageable but it would take so much adjustment to make it work for VMBO that
Literature in Context would be something it did not set out to be.
Secondly, results of research for HAVO indicate that implementation of the course on
HAVO schools would be possible. This implementation would need adjustments but areas like the grading system, the time distribution structure, where to find teachers and the reading card system will not need to be changed. All things considered, implementing the course in HAVO schools is definitely imaginable and recommended since it will benefit students greatly.
Finally, there is the question of implementation of the course Literature in Context on
VWO level. As a result of the similar educational system of Atheneum and Gymnasium, adaptation to a new system like that of the Coornhert Gymnasium should theoretically be no problem. The number of adjustments needed is minimal, only areas like the course book and the computer element of the course would need to be looked into. All in all, implementation of Literature in Context is definitely achievable here and it would definitely benefit students.
In summary; it is beneficial and recommended to use the Literature in Context system for HAVO and VWO schools, but not recommended for VMBO schools. 75
6. Discussion
To come to this conclusion, lots of research was necessary. As I mentioned in my report, however, some factors depend completely on the school that is applying the course. There is no such thing as one general VMBO, HAVO or VWO school and sources pertaining to income of schools, used programs and ICT-policies were difficult to find. As a result, not all conclusions have to be true for all schools.
Next to schools that are different, there is a different viewpoint at the course that this study did not focus on. To create a complete image of the Literature in Context, an evaluation of the course from the student’s point of view is necessary next to this evaluation from the teacher’s point of view. The route to literary competence from their point of view would be an interesting side of the course and even though it could not be discussed by me, investigating the course from that point of view as well would be beneficial. It would lead to a more complete evaluation of the course.
Also, my evaluation of the student’s opinion of the course and the effectiveness of the course is only at face-value. Seeing as there was no control group, outcomes have not been compared to other situations and the conclusions about the course are purely from a literary background point of view. New research concerning actual results of students that have followed integrated literary education versus students that have not is necessary to make an accurate observation about its effectiveness. This would be a good investment because there is hardly any research in this area.
During my search for material on literary education as a whole, it was especially difficult to find documents which could determine whether or not different levels could handle Literature in Context. This was a result of the fact that the ministry did not have clear requirements regarding the educational goals for literary education of both VMBO and 76
HAVO. The demands made of VMBO-students are fixed, but there was no mention of literary history in the demands, whereas these students would definitely be able to handle a bit of education on literary history. The problem with the list of objectives for HAVO-students, by comparison, was that it was quite clear in terms of literary history, but exactly the same as that of VWO-students. Considering the fact that HAVO-students usually do not go into material as deep as VWO-students, this does not seem correct. Clearer demands for HAVO literary education would be preferable, to be able to create more tailor-made literary education and evaluations.
Next to the unclear demands for literary education, however, research on course books for literary education is needed, since there are barely any reviews on new course books.
More reviews on Dutch course books for literary education would create a clearer and more balanced image of the books for teachers and might end in more positive results for literary education in the Netherlands. Presently, only a few reviews are available via the internet and most of those are outdated. The only other source of information is the site of publishers of the course books, who are usually biased about their products. As a result, reviews of course books for Dutch literary education are necessary.
Moreover, methods to encourage reading should be looked at. At present, there is numerous research which shows that students on Dutch secondary schools read less and also on why they read less, but there is barely any research on how to improve reading. Research like this is necessary to show teachers with hard facts and numbers how literary education can be most effective and to make these teachers change their approach. It would also be easier to evaluate course programs. All in all, however, studying reading attitude, reading habits and experience would create a more complete image of the current system regarding literary education or at least point out the problems with recent literary education. 77
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