Komparativna analiza hrvatskog i nizozemskog školskog sustava

The article commences its comparative analysis of the Croatian and the Holland system by emphasising the main features of the Croatian and the Holland state and society and by analysing the Croatian and the Holland school subsystems: kindergardens, elementary schools, high schools, institutions of higher education, specialized schooling and schools for grownups. Transition, as the basic characteristic of the Crotian school system and multiculturalism as the chief feature of the Holland system, are given places of prominence.The authors conclude that the surrounding European cultural context, the geographical and resource potential of the countries which stress the immense significance of education, the large number of the population covered by elementary and high school subsystems and the problems of the social deviation of youth are common to both the Croatian and the Holland societies and their school systems.The differences between these two systems are much greater and these can be divided according to the structure, the degree of centralization and way of running the schools, financing them, their ownership, the organisation of their activitiess, their programs, the pedagogical standards, the position of those attending the systems and the state of the educated labour market.At the end of the article, the authors voice a plea for the application of the positive experience of the Holland school system into the Croatian school system, taking into consideration its historical, cultural, economic, social and national specificities in order to bring the school system of Croatia as close as possible to that of the developed world.