Flemish Community of Belgium 2015.

182 Pages·2016·6.181 MB·English

by  OECD

OECD Reviews of School Resources
Flemish Community of Belgium
The effective use of school resources is a policy priority across OECD countries. The OECD Reviews of School OECD Reviews of School Resources
Resources explore how resources can be governed, distributed, utilised and managed to improve the quality,
equity and effi ciency of school education.
Flemish Community
The series considers four types of resources: fi nancial resources, such as public funding of individual schools;
human resources, such as teachers, school leaders and education administrators; physical resources, such as
location, buildings and equipment; and other resources such as learning time.
of Belgium
This series offers timely policy advice to both governments and the education community. It includes both
country reports and thematic studies.
Deborah Nusche, Gary Miron,
Contents
Paulo Santiago and Richard Teese
Chapter 1. School Education in the Flemish Community of Belgium
Chapter 2. Funding of School Education in the Flemish Community of Belgium
Chapter 3. Provision of School Places in the Flemish Community of Belgium
Chapter 4. The Teaching Workforce in the Flemish Community of Belgium
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ISBN 978-92-64-24758-1
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91 2015 10 1 P

OECD Reviews of School
Resources:
Flemish Community
of Belgium
2015
Deborah Nusche, Gary Miron,
Paulo Santiago and RichardTeese
ThisworkispublishedundertheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.The
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Pleasecitethispublicationas:
Nusche,D.,etal.(2015),OECDReviewsofSchoolResources:FlemishCommunityofBelgium2015,OECD
ReviewsofSchoolResources,OECDPublishing,Paris.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264247598-en
ISBN978-92-64-24758-1(print)
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Series:OECDReviewsofSchoolResources
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FOREWORD
Foreword
T
his report for the Flemish Community of Belgium forms part of the OECD Review of Policies to
Improve the Effectiveness of Resource Use in Schools (also referred to as the School Resources
Review, see AnnexA for further details). The purpose of the Review is to explore how school
resources can be governed, distributed, utilised and managed to improve the quality, equity and
efficiency of school education. School resources are understood in a broad way, including
financialresources (e.g.expenditures on education, school budget), physical resources (e.g.school
infrastructure, computers), human resources (e.g.teachers, school leaders) and other resources
(e.g.learningtime).
The Flemish Community of Belgium was one of the education systems which opted to
participateinthecountryreviewstrandandhostavisitbyanexternalreviewteam.Membersofthe
review team were Deborah Nusche (OECD), co-ordinator of the Review; Gary Miron (Western
Michigan University); Richard Teese (University of Melbourne); and Paulo Santiago (OECD). The
biographies of the members of the review team are provided in AnnexB. This publication is the
reportfromthereviewteam.Itprovides,fromaninternationalperspective,anindependentanalysis
of major issues facing the use of school resources in the Flemish Community of Belgium, current
policy initiatives, and possible future approaches. The report serves three purposes: i)to provide
insightsandadvicetotheFlemisheducationauthorities;ii)tohelpothercountriesunderstandthe
Flemish approach to the use of school resources; and iii)to provide input for the final comparative
analysisoftheOECDSchoolResourcesReview.
The scope for analysis in this report includes all levels of school education, from elementary
throughtouppersecondaryeducation.AttherequestoftheFlemishauthorities,thefocusareasof
the Review of School Resources in the Flemish Community of Belgium were: i)funding of school
education; ii)provision of school places; and iii)distribution and utilisation of teacher staff. The
analysis presented in the report refers to the situation faced by the education system in
November2014,whenthereviewteamvisitedtheFlemishCommunityofBelgium.
TheinvolvementoftheFlemishCommunityofBelgiumintheOECDReviewwasco-ordinated
byMarie-AnnePersoons,AdvisorInternationalPolicyintheStrategicPolicySupportDivisionofthe
Flemish Ministry of Education andTraining.An important part of the involvement of the Flemish
Community of Belgium was the preparation of a comprehensive and informative Country
Background Report (CBR) on school resources authored by the Flemish Ministry of Education and
Training.TheOECDreviewteamisverygratefultothemainauthorsoftheCBRandtoallthosewho
assisted them in providing a high-quality informative document.The CBR is an important output
fromtheOECDprojectinitsownrightaswellasanimportantsourcefortheReviewTeam.Unless
indicatedotherwise,thedataforthisreportaretakenfromtheFlemishCountryBackgroundReport.
The CBR follows guidelines prepared by the OECD Secretariat and provides extensive information,
analysisanddiscussioninregardtothenationalcontext,theorganisationoftheeducationsystem,
OECDREVIEWSOFSCHOOLRESOURCES:FLEMISHCOMMUNITYOFBELGIUM2015© OECD2015 3
FOREWORD
theuseofschoolresourcesandtheviewsofkeystakeholders.Inthissense,theCBRandthisreport
complement each other and, for a more comprehensive view of the effectiveness of school resource
useintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium,shouldbereadinconjunction.
TheOECDandtheEuropeanCommission(EC)haveestablishedapartnershipfortheProject,
whereby participation costs of countries which are part of the EuropeanUnion’s Erasmus+
programme are partly covered. The participation of the Flemish Community of Belgium was
organised with the support of the EC in the context of this partnership.* The EC was part of the
planningprocessoftheReviewoftheFlemishCommunityofBelgium(providingcommentsonthe
Flemish CBR, participating in the preparatory visit and providing feedback on the planning of the
review visit) and offered comments on drafts of this report.This contribution was co-ordinated by
Patricia de Smet, Country Desk Officer for Belgium as regards education and training, working
withinthe‘CountryAnalysis’UnitoftheDirectoratefor‘LifelongLearning:horizontalpolicyissues
and2020strategy’,whichispartoftheDirectorateGeneralforEducationandCulture(DGEAC)of
theEuropeanCommission.ThereviewteamisgratefultoPatriciadeSmetforhercontributiontothe
planningoftheReviewandforthehelpfulcommentssheprovidedondraftsofthisreport.
ThereviewvisittotheFlemishCommunityofBelgiumtookplaceon2-10November2014.The
itinerary is provided in AnnexC.The visit was designed by the OECD (with input from the EC) in
collaborationwiththeFlemishauthorities.ItalsoinvolvedapreparatoryvisitbytheOECDSecretariat
on4-5September2014withtheparticipationofPatriciaDeSmet,fromtheEC.Thereviewteammet
with Ms Hilde Crevits,Vice Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of
Education,andotherofficialsoftheDepartmentofEducationandTraining;theAgencyofEducational
Services(AgODI);theAgencyforQualityAssuranceinEducationandTraining(AKOV);theAgencyfor
EducationalInfrastructure(AGIOn);theFlemishCommunityCommissioninBrussels;theInspectorate
ofEducation;theBelgianCourtofAudit;representativesofthemainschoolumbrellanetworks(GO!,
OKO,OVSG,VSKO);theFlemishEducationCouncil(VLOR);teacherunions;schoolleaderassociations;
parentassociations;studentassociations;andresearcherswithaninterestintheeffectivenessofschool
resourceuse.MeetingswerealsoheldwithrepresentativesoftheCityofAntwerpGovernmentandthe
AntwerpAutonomousCityEnterpriseforEducationandtheCityGovernmentofVilvoorde.Theteam
visitedsevenschoolsinthemunicipalitiesofAnderlecht,Antwerp,Brasschaat,Heuvelland,Ieperand
Vilvoorde, interacting with school boards, school management, teachers and students.The intention
was to provide the review team with a broad cross-section of information and opinions on school
resourceuseandhowitseffectivenesscanbeimproved.
TheOECDreviewteamwishestorecorditsgratitudetothemanypeoplewhogavetimefrom
their busy schedules to inform the Review Team of their views, experiences and knowledge. The
meetingswereopenandprovidedawealthofinsights.Specialwordsofappreciationareduetothe
National Co-ordinator, Marie-Anne Persoons, and the co-ordination team for the Flemish Country
Background Report which was organised within the Strategic Policy Division of the Department of
Education andTraining: Jeroen Backs, Head of Division, Katrijn Ballet, Isabelle Erauw and Marie-
AnnePersoons.Wearegratefultotheco-ordinationteamforsharingtheirexpertiseandresponding
tothemanyquestionsofthereviewteam.Thecourtesyandhospitalityextendedtousthroughout
our stay in the Flemish Community of Belgium made our task as a ReviewTeam as pleasant and
enjoyable as it was stimulating and challenging. The OECD Review Team is also grateful to
colleaguesattheOECD,especiallytoFrancescMasdeuforanalyticalsupport,toEleonoreMorenafor
keyadministrative,editorialandlayoutsupportandtoYuriBelfaliforoverallguidance.
* ThisdocumenthasbeenproducedwiththefinancialassistanceoftheEuropeanUnion.Theviewsexpressed
hereincaninnowaybetakentoreflecttheofficialopinionoftheEuropeanUnion.
4 OECDREVIEWSOFSCHOOLRESOURCES:FLEMISHCOMMUNITYOFBELGIUM2015© OECD2015
FOREWORD
This report is organised in four chapters. Chapter1 provides the national context, with
informationontheFlemishschoolsystem,maintrendsandconcerns,andrecentdevelopments.Then
Chapters2 to4 look into three dimensions of resource use that were defined as priorities by the
FlemishCommunityofBelgiumincollaborationwiththeOECD:thefundingofschooleducation,the
provisionofschoolplacesandthedistributionandutilisationofteacherstaff.Eachchapterpresents
strengths,challengesandpolicyrecommendationsregardingtheeffectivenessofschoolresourceuse.
The policy recommendations attempt to build on and strengthen reforms that are already
underway in the Flemish Community of Belgium, and the strong commitment to further
improvement that was evident among those the OECD review team met. The suggestions should
takeintoaccountthedifficultiesthatfaceanyvisitinggroup,nomatterhowwellbriefed,ingrasping
thecomplexityoftheFlemisheducationsystemandfullyunderstandingalltheissues.Thisreportis
the responsibility of the review team.While the team benefited greatly from the Flemish CBR and
otherdocuments,aswellasthemanydiscussionswithawiderangeofFlemishpersonnel,anyerrors
ormisinterpretationsinthisreportaretheteam’sresponsibility.
OECDREVIEWSOFSCHOOLRESOURCES:FLEMISHCOMMUNITYOFBELGIUM2015© OECD2015 5

TABLEOFCONTENTS
Table of contents
Acronymsandabbreviations................................................. 11
Executivesummary......................................................... 13
Assessmentandrecommendations........................................... 17
Educationsystemcontext................................................ 17
Strengthsandchallenges ................................................ 18
Policyrecommendations................................................. 24
Chapter1.SchooleducationintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium ............... 29
Context................................................................ 30
Structureoftheschoolsystem............................................ 32
Governanceoftheschoolsystem.......................................... 34
Mainfeaturesoftheschoolsystem........................................ 40
Policyprioritiesandrecentdevelopments .................................. 44
Notes.................................................................. 46
References ............................................................. 47
Chapter2.FundingofschooleducationintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium..... 49
Context................................................................ 50
Features ............................................................... 51
Strengths .............................................................. 65
Challenges............................................................. 68
Policyrecommendations................................................. 77
Notes.................................................................. 82
References ............................................................. 82
Annex2.A1.FundingflowsintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium ............. 85
Annex2.A2.CalculationoftheoperatinggrantforasampleElementarySchool.. 87
Annex2.A3.CalculationofstaffinghoursandICTpoints
forasamplesecondaryschool............................................ 90
Chapter3.ProvisionofschoolplacesintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium ....... 95
Contextandfeatures .................................................... 96
Strengths .............................................................. 105
Challenges............................................................. 109
Policyrecommendations................................................. 124
Notes.................................................................. 132
References ............................................................. 133
OECDREVIEWSOFSCHOOLRESOURCES:FLEMISHCOMMUNITYOFBELGIUM2015© OECD2015 7
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Chapter4.TheteachingworkforceintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium ......... 137
Contextandfeatures .................................................... 138
Strengths .............................................................. 147
Challenges............................................................. 150
Policyrecommendations................................................. 159
References ............................................................. 166
Annex4.A1.Numberofschoolstaff,bylevel,typeofeducation
andSchoolNetwork,2008,2011,2014...................................... 168
Annex4.A2.Mainfeaturesoftheteachingprofession:initialeducation,
employmentstatusandteacherevaluation................................. 170
AnnexA.TheOECDReviewofPoliciestoImprovetheEffectiveness
ofResourceUseinSchool ............................................... 173
AnnexB.CompositionoftheReviewTeam ..................................... 175
AnnexC.Visitprogramme.................................................... 177
Tables
1.1. Prognosisonstudentnumbersinpre-primary,primary
andsecondaryschoolingintheFlemishCommunityofBelgium,2014-21 ... 32
1.2. Educationalnetworks,umbrellaorganisationsandschoolboards .......... 36
1.3. PerformanceofFlemishstudentsinmathematicsandscience
attheinternationalbenchmarksofachievementinprimaryeducation ..... 41
1.4. SelectedindicatorsofqualityandequityinFlemisheducation,
basedonPISA2012 .................................................. 42
2.1. Indicatorsofstudents’socio-economicstatusappliedinthecalculation
ofschooloperatinggrants ............................................ 56
2.2. Annualcostperstudentbylevelandtypeofeducation(EUR),2011-13 ...... 73
2.3. Examplethemesforasystem-widereportingframework
onschoolfundingandoutcomes ...................................... 78
3.1. Distributionofschoolsbynetwork,levelandtype,2012/13................ 100
3.2. Averageschoolsizebylevelandtypeofeducation,2012/13................ 100
4.1. Number,genderandageofteachers,bylevelandtypeofeducation,2012... 138
4.2. Regulationsonteachers’timeintheFlemishCommunity,2014............ 144
4.A1.1. Numberofschoolstaff,bylevel,typeofeducation
andschoolnetwork,2008,2011,2014................................... 169
Figures
1.1. VariationinschoolagepopulationinBelgium,theOECDandtheEU........ 31
1.2. Percentageofdecisionstakenateachlevelofgovernmentinpubliclower
secondaryeducation,2011............................................ 34
1.3. Distributionofstudentsoverthethreemaineducationalnetworks......... 37
2.1. TheFlemisheducationbudget(inthousandEUR),2008-13................. 50
2.2. Cumulativeexpenditurebyeducationalinstitutionsperstudent
aged6to15years,2010............................................... 52
2.3. Distributionofexpenditurebysecondaryeducationalinstitutions,
byresourcecategory,2011 ............................................ 54
2.4. Elementaryandsecondaryeducation:mainbudgetcomponents
andtrends(inEUR),2011-13........................................... 54
8 OECDREVIEWSOFSCHOOLRESOURCES:FLEMISHCOMMUNITYOFBELGIUM2015© OECD2015