Educating on Equity: How Aspirations Influence the Fight Against Educational Inequality in the Netherlands

This research investigates the impact of primary school educators’ aspirations on the implementation of policies designed to reduce educational inequality in the Netherlands. As the issue of inequality of opportunity has risen in Dutch education, understanding how educators’ motivations intersect with policy goals is essential for improving implementation outcomes. However, the link between these two variables has not been researched in this context. Consequently, this study answers: ‘What is the influence of primary school educators’ aspirations on the implementation of policies aimed at reducing educational inequality in the Netherlands?’. Using an inductive, qualitative approach involving 31 interviews, it was found that while educators often express aspirations to support disadvantaged students, these aspirations have a limited and mostly indirect impact on implementation. Structural barriers, such as insufficient funding and unclear policy, constrain educators’ ability to act. These results demonstrate that aspirations can shape, but do not determine, policy implementation in practice.