Education Lab Netherlands

  • Education Lab NL is a research network that aims to contribute to sustainable improvement and innovation in education, by facilitating ‘evidence informed’ education and policy. We do so by organising Research Practice Partnerships (RPP’s) in thematic co-creation labs. These are collaborative, long-term relationships between researchers and practitioners, focused on promising interventions. The education labs are characterized by co-creation and the 5D-method. In our academic research, we use state-of-the art methods, like randomised impact evaluations, big data analyses and policy simulations. We also invest in dissemination in order to increase impact in education, by active knowledge sharing, lectures, masterclasses and instruments for practitioners. The Education Lab NL network consists of researchers from ROA (Maastricht University) and ACLA (Free University of Amsterdam).

    Research themes

    Education Lab NL hosts four co-creation labs:

    1. Teacher Lab

    What causes the teacher shortages? What are promising intervention to attract and retain teachers on schools in the Netherlands? And how can we reduce dropout in the teacher training programs and among beginning teachers?

    The Teacher Lab is part of the program ‘Ontwikkelkracht’ and the projects are financed by the National GrowthFund (NGF).

    2. Language Lab

    How can we ensure that all children in the Netherlands develop strong language skills — the foundation for learning, participation, and equal opportunities? This question lies at the heart of our Language Lab. Together with teachers, school leaders, and researchers, we develop and test promising strategies to strengthen language education across schools. Our work includes initiatives such as thematic reading, vocabulary development, and language-rich instruction across all subjects. We also explore how schools can use data and scientific evidence to identify and address language gaps early on. What makes the Language Lab unique is the close collaboration between researchers and practitioners: co-creation is at the core of our approach, ensuring that insights from research and practice reinforce each other to achieve lasting impact on pupils’ language development.

    3. Onderwijs Kennisnetwerk Amsterdam (ONA)

    ONA is local knowledge infrastructure that helps schools find, use, and create evidence to improve learning. The network connects schools, school boards, researchers, and the Municipality of Amsterdam to strengthen evidence-informed policy and practice across the city. Its activities include a citywide professional development network with masterclasses, trainings, and multi-session learning trajectories. Four research schools — Alan Turingschool, De Driemaster, Pro Rege, and Wereldwijs — act as hubs for peer learning and outreach, helping embed evidence-informed improvement in daily school practice.

    4. Policy lab (Academic Workplace in Education)

    What influences performance of students? What are differences among various groups of students (SES, migration background)? And how to improve our education system in the Netherlands? 
    The Academic Workplace in Education is a long term collaboration with the Inspectorate of Education. The projects in this lab are funded by the Inspectorate of Education and the NRO.