Building better education, together
Ontwikkelkracht bridges practice and research
Every day school staff teams work to provide the best education for their students, driven by their commitment, ambition, and passion for their profession. However, the workload of an educational professional is high, and knowledge about what works is not always available or accessible. As a result, well thought out ideas and ambitions do not always come to fruition. While the educational system performs well in many areas, challenges remain. International studies show a decline in Dutch learning outcomes. Additionally, educational inequality is increasing, and interest in the teaching profession is declining. It is about time to enable lasting change in primary and secondary education through Ontwikkelkracht!
Ambition
We aim for the best education for every student in the Netherlands!
With Ontwikkelkracht, we are initiating a movement in which school teams continuously improve education based on knowledge from research and practice. In ten years, co-creation of knowledge between teachers and researchers will be the norm, every school team will know how to find and use the necessary knowledge, and evidence-informed practices will have reached every classroom. The positive effects on learning outcomes and job satisfaction will be measurable and noticeable!
Approach
Education professionals and researchers take the lead as a team.
Ontwikkelkracht originated from educational practice ánd research. Using resources from the National Growth Fund, we are making sustainable investments in the learning capacity of primary and secondary education, by building a robust knowledge infrastructure over a ten-year period.,. The interaction between educational practice and research is essential. Scientific insights are implemented in classrooms, while insights and questions from classrooms will inspire research.
Pillars
With our four pillars, we achieve lasting impact:
Research and Improvement Culture Strengthening the culture of research and improvement in schools through professional development programs.
Knowledge Sharing Making knowledge from research accessible and usable for education professionals.
Co-Creation labs Developing new knowledge through collaboration ofeducation professionals and researchers to address national educational challenges.
Ontwikkelkracht Expertise Schools Supporting and facilitating schools to share their expertise with other schools.
Core Values
Ontwikkelkracht starts from educational practice and is therefore by, for, and of the education sector.
Co-creation Educational professionals and researchers, along with other stakeholders, collaborate as equals to shape the program.
Working evidence-informed Evidence-informed practice involves using not only scientific evidence to make well-founded decisions but also considering practical experience and the specific context within the school.
Learning approach A learning approach involves working from an investigative attitude and improving education cyclically through the use of a fixed methodology.
Schools
We provide school teams with the space, time, and knowledge required for improving the of their education.
Through Ontwikkelkracht, schools can access various promising and proven approaches tailored to their development needs. We offer appropriate support for schools at the start of developing a culture of research and improvement, delving into creating new knowledge for national educational challenges, sharing their expertise with other schools, or learning from the experiences of other schools. In addition to support, compensation in the form of a subsidy is available for invested hours. Furthermore, we make practice-oriented knowledge from research freely accessible to all schools, enabling them to directly apply scientific insights in practice.