Inclusive education in the Netherlands: Developments through time and an example in primary history education

Abstract

All children deserve the best possible education. This is a universal principle which has led to designing different educational practices is various countries. This article focusses on how inclusive education in the Netherlands developed and describes an example of inclusive history education. The article starts with contextual information about the Dutch education system and an overview of how special education in the Netherlands developed to the current practice of inclusive education, with a focus on primary education. Subsequently an example for history education will be elaborated, focussing on how primary school pupils can be guided in their development in the understanding of historical time.