IMPRESSIONS OF EDUCATIONAL PROVISIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS FOR CHILDREN WITH MENTAL AND SCHOLASTIC DISABILITIES

Abstract

This article was written after a visit to the Netherlands. During his stay the writer was able to examine the provisions made in a number of schools for the educable and trainable mentally retarded and for children of normal or above normal ability who have serious scholastic disabilities. He also had the opportunity of discussing with officials of the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences, Inspectors, Headmasters and Teachers, problems of special education as they saw them. The information thus obtained supplemented the theoretical knowledge of the educational system of the Netherlands derived from previous reading. The facts given in the article have been carefully checked; any errors will be of minor detail and of no significance in the general picture presented. Comments made on the basis of the facts are, of course, tentative. It would be foolishly unwarranted to make assertions in any way dogmatic about educational forms and practices in a country without a much fuller knowledge of the historical and social background than the writer possesses in the case of the Netherlands.