Parents of children at secondary schools would like to see a psychologist taken on permanently to help break down the "wall between them and the school", according to a study by the Radboud University of Nijmegen.

Today’s edition of Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reports that parents are particularly concerned about the growing number of problem pupils with disruptive behaviour, which poses a threat for the safety of the other students.

The parents, who are otherwise largely satisfied with the standard of education, want to create more room for informal talks with teachers, who they view as “partners in education”.

There should be more contact with parents, concludes the report. Parents argue that the ten-minute sessions held twice a year are simply not enough to establish a solid relationship with their children’s teachers.

The findings are based on the opinions of 3,000 parents and pupils and 2,500 teachers. The research, carried out by the university’s education innovation task force, was commissioned by a public broadcaster. The results will be incorporated into a special programme on education on Monday evening entitled De Avond van het Onderwijs (An Evening of Education).

(jn/imm)

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