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Education
The Working Group on Education / Pedagogysk Wurkferbân
Objectives
The position of Frisian in education, i.e. from pre-school
education up to and including teacher training institutions and
universities, is the primary concern of the Fryske Akademy’s
Working Group on Education.
As a matter of fact, the legal position of Frisian as a subject and as a medium of instruction in the educational system has greatly improved in the past decades. However, everyone is also aware that we are not there yet, by a long chalk, in regard to the introduction of Frisian into current educational practice. Therefore, at present, the central question is more that of the practical implementation of the legal accommodation which exists for both teaching Frisian as a subject and for using Frisian as a teaching medium in schools in the province of Friesland. This demands of course the requisite time as well as the employment of sound educationally-based argumentation.
As a matter of fact, the legal position of Frisian as a subject and as a medium of instruction in the educational system has greatly improved in the past decades. However, everyone is also aware that we are not there yet, by a long chalk, in regard to the introduction of Frisian into current educational practice. Therefore, at present, the central question is more that of the practical implementation of the legal accommodation which exists for both teaching Frisian as a subject and for using Frisian as a teaching medium in schools in the province of Friesland. This demands of course the requisite time as well as the employment of sound educationally-based argumentation.
Themes
In the Fryske Akademy’s Working Group on Education (in Frisian:
Pedagogysk Wurkferbân), different issues are
raised:
- the exploration and discussion of new initiatives, such as the trilingual school (Frisian-Dutch-English)
- the influence of new educational concepts and ideas from both home and abroad, for example the concept of Reggio Emilia, in bilingual education in Friesland,
- the possibility of 'transfer’ in the bilingual school (i.e. the transfer of skills between the first and second language, such as learning to read in one language facilitates reading in a second language)
- the need or demand for differentiation according to differences in the language background of the pupils
In addition, results of current
research are also presented and discussed. The issue of the command
of Dutch and of Frisian among primary school pupils and among
students of teacher training instiutions, for example, come to
mind. At the same time, much attention is given to educational
practice and to educational legislation.
Activities
Further consultation and study are required before Frisian can be
said to have achieved a sound legally- and educationally-based
position in all the schools and playgroups in Friesland. The Fryske
Akademy’s Working Group on Education therefore has the function of
being a platform for everyone involved in education in
Friesland.
You are welcome to take
part in the discussions and debates of our Working Group; the only
condition being that you become a
supporter of the Fryske
Akademy. The Working Group holds its meetings at the Fryske Akademy, two or
three times per year. Meetings are usually held in the
evenings.