Avans University of Applied Sciences was founded on 1 January 2004 following a merger of Hogeschool Brabant and Hogeschool ‘s-Hertogenbosch and is located in 4 cities in the southern part of the Netherlands: Breda, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Roosendaal and Tilburg. Currently, around 29,500 students study on 48 different courses. 2,800 employees work at 21 schools, 4 support services units and 1 center for Learning and Innovation.
Avans is considered the best University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands based on independent research from the Keuzegids HBO which ranks Avans University of Applied Sciencesas the best major University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Avans consists of 21 schools (academies), one of them is the Avans Teacher Education Institute.
As a knowledge-based institution, Avans develops new knowledge for education and society as a whole. As part of this, lecturers, lecturing researchers and students conduct practice-based research for businesses, government agencies and civil society organisations. The results of this research are implemented into our curriculum. Knowledge valorisation is a key item on our agenda: we take care to ensure that our newly acquired knowledge is of public value.
Practice-based research is carried within a number of research groups, the majority of these are part of one of our centres of applied research. Avans has one research group for the Teacher Education Institute for primary education, called Lectoraat Leerkracht. This research group consists of a mixed group of teachers (educators)/researchers and PhD students who run multiple research projects. There is rich experience in involving primary schools, on a national and also international level.
The Avans Primary Education Institute has contracts with 160 local primary schools which cover placement and research opportunities for student teachers. The education of teachers in collaboration with the professional field has been transformed substantially over the last 15 years. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, has given school-based teacher education in partnerships between schools and institutes a structural place in the education of pre-service student teachers. The partnership is responsible for the quality of the future teacher. There is intensive collaboration between Avans Teacher Education Institute and primary schools in the region.
The Avans Primary Education Institute welcomes around 100 new student teachers every year and its programme spans across 4 study years. In the third year, it offers a unique ‘minor semester course’ called Teaching English Abroad which includes the use of picturebooks for teaching Music, Drama and English.
Click here to see the PPT presentation from the 1st Transnational meeting.
Avans Steering committee
- Tatia Gruenbaum, Avans School of International Studies & Avans Teacher Education Institute
- Nathalie Kik, Teacher Educator and Researcher – Avans Teacher Education Institute
- Meno Kroos, Finance Officer – Avans School of International Studies