Wielinga, H.E., (2011): Vitale ruimte in het VMBO [Vital Space in Vocational Education]. In: Wolf, K. van der, Huizenga, P. (2011); Het Nederlandse beroepsonderwijs: valt daar iets aan te doen? [Dutch Vocational Education: What’s to be done about it?] Garant, Antwerpen. Dutch language.

The book is a collection of the opinions of twenty writers, most of them authorities in the field of education and education research. They assess where things are going wrong and possibilities for improvement in the current system. Contributions consider the past, present problems (especially dropouts), new theoretical insights and applied examples of good practice.

My article theoretically applies the principles of living systems in relation to the role of teachers in the classroom. The teacher's task is to provide vital space, as a conducive climate for learning and preparing for society, rather than transmitting as much knowledge as pupils can absorb.