Networker and intermediary: the role of the culture coordinator in schools

Abstract

This article describes the role of the culture coordinator in general formal education, in primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands. This article describes how they function in their professional environment and in contact with artists, providers of educational programs, and cultural institutions. In order to describe the everyday practice of the work of a coordinator and to bring to light the network in which they operate, a group of teachers kept a logbook for one year, describing per week what they did, and which issues concerned them most. The article concludes that the position of the coordinator is fragile, because of its dependency on personal relations with cultural institutions and as a result of the pressure from regular teaching tasks.