Anders behandeld in de klas

In the Netherlands, children of non-Western origin have a lower school performance than children of Dutch origin and children of Western origin. This article examines if the difference in school performance can be explained by the relationship between the teacher and the student. The first aspect of this relationship is how the students experience the expectations of the teacher. The second aspect of this relationship is how the students feel they are treated by the teacher. For this research the data from 2015 of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is used, in which 15-year old children were asked about their school life and background. The results show that Surinamese/Antillean, Moroccan and Chinese students experience lower expectations of the teacher more often than Dutch students do. However, these lower expectations do not lead to lower school performance. Furthermore, the results show that Surinamese/Antillean, Moroccan and Turkish student experience a different and tougher treatment by the teacher than Dutch students. This different treatment can result in lower school performance for Surinamese/Antillean and Turkish students.