Bilingual primary education in the Netherlands: A discussion on national implementation.

Abstract

In 2013, a pilot started that would implement immersion programs in certain primary schools in the Netherlands. The goal was to develop a quality program for bilingual education in primary (BEP) schools. The purpose of this study is to find out whether a national implantation of this type of program is worth pursuing. This was accomplished by means of a literature review. Since immersion education has progressed much further in other countries, a large amount of literature is to be found on the subject. The verdict was determined on the basis of possible benefits and downfalls of BPE. The conclusion is that immersion programs should be nationally implemented, if certain conditions are met. Additional attention is given to suggestions for the possible downfalls.