Language and education in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao

Dijkhoff, Marta; Pereira, Joyce

doi:10.1075/cll.36.10dij

In:Creoles in Education: An appraisal of current programs and projects
Edited by Bettina Migge, Isabelle Léglise and Angela Bartens
[Creole Language Library 36] 2010
► pp. 237–272

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Language and education in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao

Marta Dijkhoff | Consultant for Language and Education

Joyce Pereira | The University of Aruba

Published online: 17 May 2010

https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.36.10dij

Although the Spanish/Portuguese-based Creole Papiamentu is widely used on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, its role in education continues to spark highly emotional debates. Except for four Dutch-medium schools, most schools in Curaçao and Bonaire use Papiamentu in the lower grades of primary school and some schools employ both languages in higher grades. In secondary and vocational education Papiamentu is taught as a subject and widely used to support Dutch-medium education. In Aruba, the medium of instruction is Dutch and Papiamentu is taught as a subject in the lower grades of secondary education. This paper critically reviews the process that led to Papiamentu becoming established in education and discusses current problems that hamper further expansion of its use in education. Keywords: education in Papiamentu; language and education; language and politics in the Dutch Antilles

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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.