Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts school inspection, that is, school evaluations for the assurance of the quality of education in the Netherlands, to school visitation, that is, school evaluations by the Dutch Dalton Association for the accreditation of Dutch Dalton schools. This study explores whether inspectorates accept and do not interfere with Dalton education, a type of alternative education that is based on the principle of "freedom of education." In this study, the characteristics and indicators of both school inspection and school visitation for Dalton schools were analyzed. In the Netherlands, the extent of school inspection is based on data obtained from self-evaluation by educational institutes. This indicates that educational institutes' self-evaluation is accorded high importance in school inspections. Additionally, in this respect, it appears that the Dutch Inspectorate approves of school visitations for Dalton schools, because these visitations are characterized by school- centered evaluations and the Dutch Dalton Association itself evaluates whether the schools adhere to Dalton's standards regarding education quality. Moreover, some certain indicators to evaluate the educational process are used in not only school inspections but also school visitations. In fact, the Dutch Dalton Association added similar indicators as the indicators of school inspections. Although the school visitation indicators for Dalton schools do not include the indicators of educational achievement as school inspections, it is assumed that Dalton schools can achieve the achievement level inspectorates expect if they maintain Dalton's standards regarding educational processes. In conclusion, it can be said that inspectorates accept and do not interfere with Dalton education.
