Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Anja Vink
2024-2025
Discipline(s)
Educational Sciences
Theme(s)
Education & Science
Inequalities, inclusion & Social Innovation
Labor, Capital & Innovation
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Anja was a Journalist-In-Residence-Fellow at NIAS during 2024-2025.
I have been working as an education and investigative journalist since 1997 for publications including Vrij Nederland, NRC Handelsblad, the investigative program Argos on Radio 1, and De Correspondent. I have received the National Prize for Education Journalism three times: in 2008 for an article in NRC Handelsblad's monthly magazine M about educational segregation in Dutch secondary education, in 2013 for an article in Vrij Nederland about the education policy of former Amsterdam education alderman Lodewijk Asscher, and in 2014 for an article series in the monthly magazine Didactief about the national testing organization Cito.
Additionally, I have written two books about education: 'Witte Zwanen, Zwarte Zwanen. De Mythe van de Zwarte School' (White Swans, Black Swans. The Myth of the Black School) and 'Van deze kinderen ga je houden. Een schooljaar in klas 1d van een vmbo' (You Will Come to Love These Children. A School Year in Class 1d of a vmbo). For this latter book, I received the Johan van der Sanden honorary medal from the vmbo in November 2013.
In addition to my journalistic work, I have also taught. From 2010 to 2014, I taught the course Education Policy & Media at the Faculty of Education at the University of Amsterdam. In January 2012, I taught a seminar group in Investigative Journalism at the Master's in Journalism program at the Vrije Universiteit. And in 2017/2018, I taught about vmbo at the teacher training college of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences in the minor Vocational Education. I also provide customized courses in education journalism to companies and non-profit organizations.
Currently, I am hard at work on my third book: Leraren voor de Werkende Stand (Teachers for the Working Class), the history of the teacher training program for industrial education. Planned publication date: spring 2026.
Research Project
Teachers for the working class. The history of the teacher training in Dutch vocational education
Until the mid-seventies of the past century, the Dutch vocational secondary education system organized and executed its own teacher training program. From the end of the nineteenth century former craftsmen could receive training to become a teacher of their own craft at a so-called ‘Lower Technical School’ (LTS). Likewise, young women could attend the teacher training of a domestic science school, where they could become a teacher in cooking, housekeeping, sewing, and childcare. For both groups this vocational education had significant emancipatory effects.
Despite the fact that Dutch vocational training includes more pupils, and continues to do so in contemporary times, it has always been underrepresented compared to the general secondary education. This especially applied to the vocational teacher education. Currently, the Netherlands is experiencing a large shortage of technical skilled workers and healthcare personnel, yet the highest shortage of teachers are in both these fields.
In my book, I will describe the exceptional way in which this vocational teacher training program organized itself without any governmental support and funding and how this powerful movement acquired its special character. I will also expand on why the teacher training disappeared quickly after reforms by the Dutch education ministry. Can we draw lessons from this history in regard to shortages of teachers in vocational education, technical skilled workers, and healthcare personnel?
Research Interests:
investigative publications into education