Dutch students without prior international experience benefit the most from diverse classroom settings. “Regular Dutch students who attended Dutch schools and grew up in the Netherlands typically start their first year of university with lower levels of intercultural competences than international students and Dutch students with previous international experience”, explains Joep Hofhuis, a researcher at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC).
One year
However, after just a year in an international classroom, these students tend to reach the same level of intercultural competence as their peers who have studied or lived abroad. In contrast, students with prior international experience see little improvement, as they ‘already scored higher on these competences’.
Developing these competences is important, explains Hofhuis. Group assignments can be ‘tricky’ when students are from different cultural backgrounds, especially during their first year of university, he says. “Students need cultural empathy and open-mindedness to understand each other in a group.” Developing intercultural skills helps students navigate these situations successfully. It is not only relevant at university, but also in professional settings for example.
Tax on critical thinking
But with the new regulations that Education Minister Eppo Bruins wants to impose, the number of international students will probably decrease substantially and there will be less English-taught bachelor programmes. For Hofhuis, the government is ‘putting a tax on critical thinking’ this way.
According to Hofhuis, international students are already less likely to come to Dutch universities because of what they read in the news. Closing borders to international students would mean ‘missing out on valuable skills and reducing the quality of our research’, Hofhuis says. He adds that ‘it is naive to think that by closing the borders, we can keep the same level of academia’. “International talents add a great deal to our academic world.” Such restrictions would also limit Dutch students’ opportunities to develop intercultural skills within the classroom.
Unsustainable
Internationalisation also has drawbacks, sees Hofhuis. According to Hofhuis ‘it’s not sustainable in the long run to send students abroad for a semester’. “It also increases inequality, since primarily wealthier students can afford to go, even taking grants into account.” Additionally, he notes that hosting foreign students can strain local resources, such as housing.
Dutch universities are trying to create an international environment, providing students with the benefits of cultural exposure without the financial and logistical burden of studying abroad. “There is a lot of diversity in this country already, we can use that to our advantage”, Hofhuis says. In his opinion, it’s possible to have a truly international education while staying home. Nonetheless, Hofhuis acknowledges that while there is no complete substitute for studying abroad, a more selective approach might be interesting. For example, he says it would be beneficial to attract highly qualified international students, who are willing to make a contribution to Dutch society.
