2. The challenge
• Students from Turkish origin in Flanders…
– perform substantially below average
– have relatively poor command of Dutch
– are severely under-represented in general and
higher education
• The Flemish education system is characterised by…
– extreme competition => selectivity and segregation
– early tracking (age 12)
– assimilationist climate (‘Dutch first’)
08-03-12 2
4. The social capital of schools
Schools with disadvantaged students get educational
priority funding, and yet often have less resources:
– Private infrastructure
– Financial, social and cultural resources of parents /
alumni
– Teachers: quasi-market mechanisms result in ‘Mathew
effect’, with teachers competing for the ‘easier’ schools
(monolingual, close to home, high-SES etc.)
=> de facto inequalities in human resources
08-03-12 4
5. Lucerna’s response: building on the ethnic
capital of the Turkish-Belgian community
• Leadership from 2nd generation
of immigrants
• Financial support from Turkish
entrepreneurs
• Commitment of teachers (extra-
curricular activities, team
teaching, individual tutoring, home
visits…)
• Parents (partnership, voluntary
work, sponsoring…)
• Peer mentoring by successful
students
08-03-12 5
6. Extended school strategy
Supplementing the material, human, social and cultural
capital of families
– Dutch language development: summer camps, essay
contests…
– Multidimensional education (sports, arts, health, Ipad
class…)
– Link between curricular and extra-curricular
activities / between formal and informal learning
(science clubs, inter-school contests…)
08-03-12 6
7. A culture-sensitive community school
• Free choice of religious / moral education
• Building on values and attitudes of immigrant community
(generosity towards community, nurturing excellence, gender
sensitivity…)
• Partnership between school, parents and local community
08-03-12 7
8. Achievements
(note: Lucerna schools started in 2003 => too early to
measure full impact)
• Majority of students remain in general education
• Performance > Turkish students in other schools gap
with average Flemish students has not yet been closed
• Parents’ involvement and teachers’ commitment have
strongly increased
• Transition into / success rate in higher education are
gradually improving
08-03-12 8
9. Points of attention
• Achieving a diverse ethnic and social composition of
student population => magnet school concept
• Interfaith dialogue
– Dissemination of modern, open image of Islam in
islamophobic environment
– Active dialogue between students with different
religious / philosophical background => potentially
very attractive for native students
08-03-12 9
10. Related initiatives
Of Turkish community Of other immigrant communities
• Olympiad associations • Early childhood (e.g. Eerste Stappen)
• Parents’ associations • Homework classes (IQRA , Mariam,
• Early childhood project buddy project Leuven…)
• Youth clubs • Parenting support (IC, AIF…)
• Tutoring, homework classes, • Peer mentoring
intercultural mediation • Literacy / mother tongue courses
• Career guidance & social activities for (Arthis, GROVG…)
HE students • Intercultural mediation, anti-
• Adult education projects discrimination actions (Selam, FMV…)
• Representation, political action (Flemish
Minorities Forum )
08-03-12 10
11. Conclusion: civil society as a triple bridge
Between families
and education Between
communities
Between citizens
and government
This role deserves to be recognised and subsidised
08-03-12 11
