Proefschrift Crisis in aantocht! - Onderzoek - Hogeschool Utrecht

Chapters 6 and 7 form the empirical part of this study. The analysis identified
three important discursive activities that are carried out by crisis
entrepreneurs. These are: 1. demonstrating the validity of the problem,
2. establishing the messenger’s credibility, and 3. creating the belief in a
solution. The analysis showed that Matthé Sjamaar creates indirectly undetermined
others in the environment as being partly responsible for the
cause of the problem, while exhibiting a degree of fatalism and holding out
no prospect of a solution. He makes an indefinite-side group responsible
for the problems. He shows he can not control the problem because it is
too large. He creates the crisis as an isolated entity. They are merely the
facts which he shows, which are independent of him. He suggests that he
has done a lot of hard work and now others have to do something.
The media portrayed Rector Sjamaar as symbolizing a problem that was
primarily a personal issue. BON, on the other hand, presents itself as a collective
that is committed to achieving better education in the Netherlands.
The writers display insight and overview of the education problem and
create the association to BON as a group consisting of ‘outspoken thinkers’
who are not hindered by doubts. The authors set themselves superior
in their attitude towards the education reformers. The writers poses the
problem as clear and relevant to everyone and so they create their own
need for existence. So now they start a movement and give voice to something
that has long been going on: BON is the solution to turn the tide. We
can jointly fate a twist. Various media sources reinforced this image, portraying
this social movement as the solution to the problem.
The study has shown that crisis entrepreneurs may differ in terms of the
strategies used and the interactional problems encountered. The solutions
put forward by BON have proved more effective than those suggested by
Rector Sjamaar. As a result, the discursive activities pursued by the former
have been more successful than those of the latter. The diverse reactions
exhibited by the media sources in this study serve to underline the precarious
nature of a crisis entrepreneur’s operation. For instance, the analysis
shows that rather than focusing on the authenticity of his signal, the
responses to Matthé Sjamaar’s article dismiss his views as a purely private
emotion. Based on this study, I show that the Rector’s initiative was undermined
by his presentation of the problem. It failed to trigger a general
sense of crisis as a result of segregation. BON fared very differently, as the
problem of educational reform is already widely recognized. Moreover, as
the analysis shows, BON’s spokespersons are important actors in this connection.
Ad and Marijke Verbrugge have put forward polarizing arguments,
in which they distance themselves from the New Learning concept. These
views have clearly been taken on board by supporters and opponents in the
debate triggered by these authors. The study has also shown that certain
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