Towards Understanding Induction Policies and Practices in French-Speaking Belgium and the Netherlands

Induction and mentoring are nested within municipal, regional, national, and international policies on educational professional development. To deepen our understanding of the conceptualization and enactment of induction across European countries, this chapter describes and compares the macro-, meso- and micro-level factors that influence how induction practices are manifested in two neighboring countries in Europe: Belgium (the French-speaking part) and The Netherlands. While both countries prioritize and acknowledge the importance of induction, the way induction practices are manifested (from the policies to their enactments in schools) differs. The manifestations of induction practices in these two countries’ policy documents and relevant literature were compared using two theoretical lenses: (1) the ecology of practices and (2) the organizational socialization approach. The comparison of these manifestations provides a rich opportunity to reveal resources and the values that underpin different manifestations of induction practices. We highlight notable similarity at the macro-level, as well as fundamental differences in the way these practices are enacted at the meso- and micro-levels.