The Netherlands Engineering Education: Within the Framework of the Dutch Educational System

The basic outlines of the European engineering educational systems are presented in the SEFI guide 1990. This article contains further detailed information on the characteristic elements of the two parallel systems which exist in the Netherlands. Attention is given to the common elements of both systems and to the points where they differ. The entrance qualifications of the enrolling students, the role of the government and the impact of the relations with industry are briefly reported.     

Women in Engineering in the Netherlands

This paper discusses the situation of women who study engineering in the Netherlands. Quantitative data expressing the underrepresentation of women in engineering is presented against the background of some characteristics of the Dutch society. Next we consider the position of the women who did enter a technical university. Their drop-out rates are compared with those of men. Drawing on the results of our qualitative interviews, we sketch a picture of factors and processes which influence the course of their study. It is argued that the social intergration of women affects the way they deal with the two dominant questions ‘can I do it’ and ‘do I want this’.     

The Relationship Between Engineering Education and Industry in the Netherlands

After a brief introduction the extension of engineering education in the Netherlands after World War II is described. A scheme of the national education system is given. Some attention is paid to post-academic education in engineering and to practical training in industry. Throughout the paper the question of funding is emphasised. The core of the paper is devoted to a new phenomenon at the Universities of Technology in the Netherlands, namely the ‘Transfer Points’ and the help given to new entrepreneurs. A plea is made for a better contact between the Higher Technical Schools and industry, to improve the training and understanding of students as well as staff in industry and for enhancing feedback of experience in industry to the curriculum planners for the future.     

Use of the Collaborative Drawing Technique in School Counseling Practicum: An Illustration of Family Systems

According to the extant school consultation literature, counselors can effectively use brief family interventions and family assessment procedures in schools as part of a collaborative consultation approach. School counselors, however, often lack training in family systems theory, because counselor training programs tend to use individual counseling models. When used in a school counselor practicum course, the Collaborative Drawing Technique (CDT; G. M. Smith, 1985) introduces counselors‐in‐training to family systems concepts and lays the foundation for postgraduate training in family systems. The authors use a case illustration to explore paradigmatic shifts in trainees' case conceptualizations as a function of their use of the CDT with a family.     

DETECTING EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ITEM BIAS USING THE ITERATIVE LOGIT METHOD

A test for mental arithmetic was constructed, consisting of items written in Dutch (the subjects' native language), Spanish, and Roman numerals. A group of 286 subjects received some information on Spanish numerals. The group was randomly split into a Spanish Group and a Roman Group. The Spanish Group received further instruction on Spanish numerals, while the Roman Group got instruction on Roman numerals. Checks on the experimental manipulations showed that the Spanish Group had better knowledge of Spanish numerals than the Roman Group, whereas the Roman Group had better knowledge of Roman numerals. From the total test two subtests were constructed: a 30-item Dutch/Spanish subtest (15 items in Dutch and 15 in Spanish), and a 25-item Dutch/Roman subtest (15 items in Dutch and 10 in Roman). The Dutch items were unbiased between the Spanish and Roman groups, whereas the Spanish items of the Dutch/Spanish subtest were biased against the Roman Group, and the Roman items of the Dutch/Roman subtest were biased against the Spanish Group. The iterative logit method was applied to the two subtests. The method showed very good results in detecting biased items.     

EuraSCOPE: A Pan European Servicing Network for the Maintenance of Engineering Diplomas

Todays development of knowledge and technology calls for ‘an engineering diploma with a service contract’. The service should include general updating, upgrading as well as custom-made training. This service can only be ensured Europe wide through European networks of universities, enterprises, professional organizations and government bodies. EuraSCOPE is a pan European network for the selection, development and Europe-wide dissemination of advanced training courses in technology and management. EuraSCOPE specializes in short courses with a European dimension, develops models for the combination of live courses with multi-media and distance training and contributes short courses to modular curricula. EuraSCOPE submitted the COMETT Cb project proposal ‘EuraSCOPE—Cb EQUAL’. The goal is the development, testing and promotion of a European total quality assurance system for short courses ( EQUAL: European Quality Label).     

The Risk and Potentiality of Engaging with Sustainability Problems in Education—A Pragmatist Teaching Approach

This article engages in the discussion about education's role in relation to sustainability problems, a debate characterised by a tension between two legitimate concerns: a concern about the instrumentalisation of education, and a concern for the urgent need of widespread engagement and mobilisation for coping with the consequences of severe socio-ecological problems. The authors argue for an approach that takes both concerns seriously. Drawing on transactional didactic theory—underpinned by a pragmatist perspective on the interplay of continuity and change through the phases of habit, crisis and creativity—they illustrate that engagement with real-world societal problems does not inevitably result in the instrumentalisation of education. It can, on the contrary, open up a space for newness, creativity, freedom and pluralism. Yet, realising this unique educative potential does not happen automatically. It requires specific didactical work, specific forms of teaching. Through a practical example, the authors illustrate how teachers can stage problematic situations and inquiries in such a way that sustainability problems are brought to the table, turned into a common matter of concern and made free by giving the students possibilities to renew the world. Thus, they turn the question whether or not to engage with real-world problems into the question how to do so.