Market Survey: Study on slavery education in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom

With this market survey, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science hopes to identify interested parties and ascertain under what conditions they would be willing to take part in the study, so as to level the playing field for parties interested in conducting the study.

The research partners in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom will work as subcontractors with the selected head contractor from the European Netherlands, who will study how the slavery past is taught in the European Netherlands. Together, they will work on a final study report synthesising findings from the European Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom (for more, see follow-up process and background).

The study
The research assignment is to identify which stories of anticolonial freedom fighters and resistance heroes from the history of Dutch slavery and colonialism are taught in primary, secondary and special education in the European Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. An inventory should be made of how these stories are reflected in:

• the curriculum;
• the teaching materials published by the major commercial educational publishers in the European Netherlands and the teaching materials used in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom;
• the stories teachers tell in the classroom and what supporting materials and sources they use, in addition to the teaching materials from major publishers.
• the narrative employed in this context, paying attention to pupils’ perspectives and perceptions. We also request that research parties specifically explore the narratives of Eurocentric materials used in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

The outcomes should be aggregated, with the study providing insight into which stories of slavery are currently taught in the European Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. It is particularly important that the study not only outline the stories but also place them in the broader local context, making clear against what background, amidst which circumstances and in which time the resistance took place.

This market survey
The purpose of the market survey is twofold:

1. To identify parties in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom interested in studying how the slavery past is taught in primary and secondary schools on the island.
2. To identify the conditions under which said parties can collaborate with a research party in the European Netherlands studying how the slavery past is taught in the European Netherlands.

The Ministry’s requirements for the research party in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are as follows:

• The research party must be based on or have an office on one of the six islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
• Knowledge and expertise of curriculum research in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom in relation to the slavery past and colonialism.

Responding to this survey
Research parties (including agencies, institutes and educational institutions) are cordially invited to respond by June 28th, 2024 at latest. Please respond by sending an e-mail to pdr@minocw.nl, providing more information about:

1. Your experience with the study brief;
2. Your conditions or requirements for collaborating with the head contractor in the European Netherlands.

For more information, please send an e-mail to the same e-mail address. 

This market consultation is entirely without obligation and does not constitute a promise or a contract.

Follow-up process
After assessing the findings of the market survey, the ministry will start a process to select one single partner from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. This may also mean multiple Caribbean research parties working together, with one serving as the lead party. The lead party, whether or not on behalf of several other parties in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, will liaise with the coordinating chief research officer in the European Netherlands.

To clarify: there will be no contractual relationship between your organisation and the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science. The Ministry will only enter into an agreement with the head contractor in the European Netherlands under the framework agreement on policy-oriented education research. This party will engage with one or more parties as subcontractors in performing the contract in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

The research party or parties in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom will thus work as subcontractors with the selected head contractor from the European Netherlands, who will study how the slavery past is taught in the European Netherlands. The parties will collaborate on the joint final report, as the study aims to synthesise findings from the European Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom (see background).

Background
The Ministry of Education, Culture Programme against Discrimination and Racism of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science coordinates the implementation of the motion on embedding stories about anti-colonial freedom fighters and resistance heroes in the national curriculum.

The motion argues that the current stories taught about the Dutch colonial past in schools are one-sided, leaving the stories of anti-colonial freedom fighters and resistance heroes underexposed and unknown in the Netherlands. As examples of anti-colonial resistance, these stories should be part of history books to ensure that we all learn about what our shared society has endured, where we came from, and how the present is formed by our history. The motion calls on the government to have knowledge of the stories of anti-colonial freedom fighters and resistance heroes from Dutch history excavated, archived and researched so that these stories can be included in the Canon of the Netherlands and embedded in the national curriculum at a later stage.

The Canon is primarily intended for education and consists of cultural and historical topics that Dutch society considers important to pass on to new generations and new residents.