The Agora School in Roermond should pay more attention to important subjects, such as mathematics. This is stated by former students in a study by emeritus professor of Educational Sciences Jos Claessen of the Open University of Heerlen.
The researcher asked 22 former pupils at havo and vwo level how they look back on their school days at Agora Roermond and how their studies are going now. At the Agora school, the students can determine the content of their day themselves. Claessen spoke to the ‘Agorians’ who took the exam in 2020. It is the first time that the effects of this form of education have been studied in Roermond. The report ‘Over the threshold’ shows that the former pupils are very pleased with the independence and personal responsibility they experienced.
Knowledge transfer crucial
In Agora education, which has been offered in Roermond since 2014, students are in charge of their own learning process. That means no classes, no timetable, no courses, no grades and no reports. “We first look at the child and then at the knowledge. The transfer of knowledge remains crucial. It is a chicken-and-egg story. The knowledge is necessary to become motivated, and vice versa,” says Rob Houben, program manager at Agora Roermond and a math teacher himself. .
Also read: ‘Agora education in Roermond has been successful’
Not a right choice
Despite the fact that the students mainly learn about matters that already interest them, the report shows that the choice for a suitable further education did not become easier. Only 14 of the 22 students now say they made the right choice. Rob Houben indicates that this aspect has their attention. Of the 18 former pupils who have started further education, nine are on schedule a year later. It is striking that four former pupils with a VWO diploma did not continue their university education. According to researcher Claessen, there is therefore still a challenge for Agora in the field of career choice. “We can never expect every child to make the perfect choice when they are forced to choose further education at the same time,” says the Agora School program manager. “As a school, we should perhaps be more aware of it.”
Wider Orientation
The secondary school has now made an effort to give children in the lower years a broader orientation. To this end, collaboration was sought with ICLON of Leiden University. This is an educational model of Professor Fred Janssen that focuses on perspectives for targeted learning. “We offer them more stability in the first few years,” Houben explains. “And that they’re learning things they didn’t even know they wanted to learn.”
Perfect zero measurement
Agora Roermond sees the research report as ‘the perfect baseline measurement’ and Houben is pleased with it. “You can shape education differently in this way. We want to see improvements in the figures in the coming years.”
Content baggage
This also applies to substantive subjects, such as mathematics. That baggage is sometimes still a bit too meager, according to the participants in the study. Houben says they learned from this batch of students how to improve education. “Because we have also grown as a school, we have more people with a mathematics background in our organization.”
Link to challenges
According to Houben, the collaboration with ICON has ensured that they can link mathematics more specifically to challenges faced by students in the lower years. “Suppose a child thinks a glass is fantastic and wants to know everything about it. Then we ask: how much water goes into such a glass? That is not a question from a child, but it can be added to the challenge. When you start working with mathematics, you learn what a millimeter is and how to calculate the volume of a cylinder.”
Delusion of freedom
The school is pleased that the former students are very pleased with the freedom and independence they enjoyed. According to Houben, the teachers are there to provide the necessary guidance. “We let the students believe that they have a lot of freedom. We, the wise gentlemen and ladies, look at how they deal with those freedoms. This way we can guide them personally. The hand of the master may occasionally be felt at giving them a push in the right direction. After all, children are not born independently, we have to teach them that.”