TIAS alumnus discusses governance with Dutch Ministry of Education

TIAS alumnus Marieke Dekkers has created a governance code for partnerships in Inclusive Education. This has not gone unnoticed in the education sector. In an interview with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), Dekkers explains why a separate Code of Good Governance is needed.

Partnerships in Inclusive Education enjoy great freedom in how they structure and manage their organization. The current governance codes for basic education are insufficiently suited for this, notes Dekkers, a graduate from the TIAS Master of Management in Education.

Invitation to debate

That is why she developed a Code of Good Governance for partnerships in Inclusive Education. She did this on the basis of governance codes from the private and (semi)public sectors, discussions with experts, and scrutiny of existing partnerships. The code describes principles of governance which partnerships can use to assess themselves.

"Partnerships can use this code to enter into discussions," says Dekkers in the interview with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science on the Passendonderwijs.nl website. "Consider the code as an invitation to debate and as a tool to encourage thinking about governance."

Regional partnerships of schools

The partnerships in Inclusive Education result from the Act on Inclusive Education from 2014. They consist of regional associations of schools and school boards that work together in the field of Inclusive Education. They are responsible for their policies and the management and allocation of resources for additional support.

Supervised by Prof. Dr. Edith Hooge, Marieke Dekkers wrote a thesis on the governance of these partnerships. In December 2015, she graduated cum laude from the Master of Management in Education at TIAS School for Business and Society.

Master of Management in Education

The TIAS Master of Management in Education is specially designed for managers in complex educational organizations or educational service organizations. As a participant you will be provided with new knowledge and practical skills to help you maintain control in the rapidly changing educational landscape. Would you like to know how this Master program can help you actively lead change?