Etnische Minderheden, Taaldiversiteit En Onderwijsbeleid

The growing presence of ethnic minority groups in society is not a phenomenon that can only be observed in the Netherlands. It is estimated that in the year 2000 about one-third of the population below 35 years in urban Western Europe will have an immigrant background. Against this background, demographic trends in processes of immigration and the emergence of ethnic minority groups will be discussed, both from a European and nationalperspective. Special attention will be paid to problems in defining and identifying ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands, and to the neglected role of the language factor in these issues.As a follow-up of this target group discussion, the focus will be on major characteristics of Dutch policies regarding the education of ethnic minority groups. Both in primary and secondary education, a two-track approach can be observed. Special educational arrangements are made for the teaching of Dutch as a second language and the teaching of ethnic community languages. An outline of this two-track approach will be presented, along with recent research evidence and policy initiatives. Moreover, ideas will be presented for a re-thinking of some basic pre-conceptions in these particular domains of educational policy.