DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE AND EDUCATION

Many things in the Netherlands will be different from your home country, such as the climate, traffic, food, clothes, and religion. Dutch culture may also be different from your own. For example, Dutch people find it very important to be on time, and will offer you coffee and cookies when visiting but do not expect you to stay for dinner (unless you are explicitly invited). Several other common cultural differences are discussed here.

Independence

Because you are seen as an independent student, teachers will inform you of the material to learn while leaving the specific planning up to you. Assignments might come with few instructions and will leave space to choose your own approach.

Your Own Opinions

‘Having your own opinion’ and ‘being critical’ are important values for Dutch people. Students do not need to master all existing knowledge before formulating their own opinion. When writing a paper, summarising information from other authors will not be sufficient. You will have to make your own selection of available sources, develop your own line of thinking and include your own conclusions and/or recommendations.

Relative Lack Of Competition

Dutch students are usually not very interested in how they rank in class; they are mainly concerned with passing the course. Students striving to be the best will not talk about it as it is not done in the Netherlands to be too competitive or work too hard.

Brutal Honesty

Honesty is highly valued in the Dutch communication style: avoiding losing face plays a less important role. As Dutch society is quite individualistic, Dutch students prefer to show the class how critical they are, rather than strive to be loyal classmates.

The Dutch eagerness for group discussions and strong opinions might make your first presentation a difficult experience. Keep in mind that if a professor or fellow student 'burns' your ideas in public, it's nothing personal. Likewise, you are expected to have a critical mindset, so questioning your fellow students, professors, and people in senior positions on study-related issues is encouraged.

Rules Are Rules

Dutch society runs on rules: individual exceptions are rare. Persuading teachers to give you a higher mark or an additional re-exam is rarely done. The same rules apply to all and aim to guarantee fair and equal treatment of everyone.

Sourced from:

‘Core values of Dutch society’ by Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment 20 February 2014 www.prodemos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/

KERNWAARDEN-ENGELS-S73-623800.pdf

Competition hardly plays a role in Dutch educational culture: students are seldom graded against each other. The teacher sets a minimum score and passes all students that meet this criterion.

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