Secondary education too theoretical

12 March 2007

BRUSSELS – All the Flemish schools inspected last year were given a favourable recommendation by the education inspectorate. This emerged from the inspectorate’s annual report which was presented on Monday.

Teachers in secondary education often present the material in too theoretical a manner however, while hands-on activities are not employed often enough.

Every year the education inspectorate draws up an “education mirror,” a report on the state of education in Flanders. This year the realisation of educational objectives and exit qualifications were some of the points of focus in the report.

Teachers in secondary education are still often too concentrated on theory and pay too little attention to skills. Teachers tend to follow their handbooks or own notes rather than the curriculum, the inspectorate said.

The report also focussed on how much attention the schools pay to health education. Schools spend too little time on “stress and emotions” and “rest, exercise and posture,” the inspectorate reported.

The overview of the reports on the schools do show that all the schools were given a favourable recommendation, but most have been given a time limit in which to address the shortcomings with regard to educational level.

Subject: Belgian news