Minister Demir calls new minimum goals of primary education ‘challenging’: « I also had to find out who was King Garcia II of Congo »

It is no coincidence that Demir opted for the Ursulines: this school is already applying the English model of a Kennisrijk curriculum, effective didactics and good class management. The new goals were worked out by an expert committee led by Muijs, who previously led the study department of the British Education Inspectorate.

The goals become much more specific. Student start younger with knowledge acquisition. While it sounded in 1997 that toddlers should be able to distinguish characters, it now says that they must recognize at least fifteen letters and pronounce the sound. For mathematics that becomes: toddlers know the count row from zero to twenty.

Another example: in the third kindergarten class, five -year -olds will soon have to know that they live in Belgium, know a local river by heart and have already heard of the Nile. In the fourth grade, this evolves to: Four de -region, all Belgian provinces – and immediately known places such as the Hoge Venen can indicate there – but also know where Belgium lies in the view of neighboring countries.

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A ten -year -old will soon also be able to tell you where the Mediterranean and North Sea are if all goes well, all over the world also know. In the sixth grade, they must then prompt all EU countries and their capitals. But also indicate world powers such as China and Russia. Knowledge is laminated is the message.

Problem behavior

Striking: there is also extra attention for problem behavior. It recently turned out that the number of pupils who are thrown from school, skip or struggle with behavioral problems reached record highs. Demir has been making a hobby horse from good classmangement for some time, now there are also clear guidelines.

For example, it sounds that toddlers can follow appointments in the last class and answer questions. Ten -year -olds must be able to work in DUO without showing disturbing behavior. In the sixth grade, students must be able to maintain a task, even if it is wrong. It is the first time that this is explicitly included in the attainment targets. For the fourth and sixth grade, a good attitude becomes a population goal to be reached.

Also new is that the minimum goals are linked to three benchmarks. In the third kindergarten class, vocabulary, listening and number comprehension are binding on population level. If an individual toddler cannot come along, the experience will be at the class council. In the fourth grade, mathematics and Dutch follow as a population goal. In the sixth grade, binding goals apply at an individual level for mathematics and Dutch.

« The new goals are challenging. I also had to find out who King Garcia II of Congo was, » says Demir. « The experts shot ten courses in goals: from mathematics to Dutch, physical education, learning support skills and courtesy rules. » « We set the bar higher and more specifically, » confirms Professor Muijs. « In Sciences there is more attention for other disciplines than biology, we give students a much broader basis. And in a subject as musical education we point to composers who can treat the teachers. »

Top schools

In March, Demir and the educational umbrella organizations visited three British top schools, including « the strictest school in England ». She then dreamed aloud from a pilot project of schools that focus on the new model that will gradually pretend like an oil slick about Flanders. On January 1, 2025, she will indicate thirty such inspiration schools, the Mechelen school that was the backdrop for the presentation also has the ambition to join the project. The teachers’ corps of the school itself also did an internship at some British top schools.

On the other side of the canal, one could turn the tanker. The recent international Timess report showed that the level for mathematics and science of ten-year-olds has not fallen anywhere more than in Flanders. About ten years ago, the United Kingdom was struggling with similar problems, but today England is just part of the best -scoring European countries in international tests.