Why do Pupils in Primary and Secondary Education in Sint Maarten have Low Test Results in Dutch and Mathematics? A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

According to the Supervision committee (Begeleidingscommissie, 2014), the Dutch and mathematics performance of students in primary and secondary schools in Sint Maarten are below average. However, the understanding of the possible factors behind this phenomenon are still not clear. The goal of this research was to identify the experienced risk and protective factors by teachers and principals that influence the low performance of students in mathematics and Dutch in primary and secondary schools, so that the Inspection can introduce new policy based on these factors. Drawing on the theory of Bronfenbrenner (1977), potential factors that drive these low test results are analyzed. By doing so, an analysis was undertaken based on two methods. First, a survey was sent out to 173 mathematics and 67 Dutch primary teachers from 17 schools. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with principals and teachers in mathematics and Dutch from primary (n = 11) and secondary school level (n = 7) to attain more correct information about the factors. In line with the theoretical arguments presented in this thesis, specific environmental factors – i.e., communicational-, teacher-, exam-, and school based factors – were identified influencing the student’s performance in Sint Maarten in Dutch and mathematics. For policy makers, the results of the thesis may have important implications: Based on the findings, for example, a stimulation of protective factors can be achieved by incentivizing the teachers to use more differentiation-strategies and more culturally sensitive learning materials as well as communicate and exchange more information with other institutes.