Majority of mbo students with non-western background opt for theory-based learning track

Students with a non-western background in general secondary vocational education (mbo) more often than native Dutch students prefer the more theoretically-oriented learning track (bol) to the apprenticeship-based learning track (bbl). No fewer than 8 in every 10 mbo students with a non-western background attended the bol track in the school year 2008/’09. The ratio for native Dutch mbo students was more than 6 in 10.

Students with a non-western background also more often prefer the sector economics, whereas students with a Dutch background more often opt for the sector engineering. Within a particular sector, more non-western than Dutch mbo students opt for the bol learning track. In the sector economics, 87 percent of non-western mbo students preferred the bol track in 2008/’09 and in the sector engineering 63 percent, as against 70 and 47 percent respectively of native Dutch students.

Mbo students by bol or bbp preference, sector and ethnic background, 2008/’09*

Saskia van Muijen