ABSTRACT
The planning and development of the Dutch Open School has been so complex that it was felt appropriate to depart in the instance from the case study format which has been adopted for the other projects and initiatives. During the early seventies, ideas relating to Education permanente’, recurrent education, and educational leave gained currency in many European countries, including the Netherlands. The task of the Open School Committee was to advise the Minister of Education and the Minister of Culture on the best way to establish an Open School system. The project was not yet in operation when the Open School Committee decided that the Open School was not to be organised by a separate institution, nor was it to form a new framework for adult education. In designing the most appropriate curriculum for the Open School project, the Committee inclined towards an open rather than a closed system.
