Education expert: 'Major problems threaten for Caribbean students in the Netherlands'

ROTTERDAM - The chance of a major study delay or drop-outs among Caribbean young people in the Netherlands has been high for years, but due to the corona crisis, it would reach a peak. Senior lecturer in Study Success Jean-Marie Molina (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) warns about this.

Molina helps students at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences who have incurred study delay to still obtain their diploma. “A HBO (Higher Vocational Education) study lasts four years, these young people are more likely to do it over eight years. That is serious.”

Due to the corona crisis, Molina sees that education is under heavy pressure. “They were not helped quickly and not properly. Due to the enormous pressure of the corona crisis, teachers are not performing as they normally did. They don't have enough time and they are overworked. In practice, this means that our Caribbean students can get less help than before.”

“Many Dutch colleges and universities now have their hands full with their own problems and a lot of students who are struggling. There are very few people who say: we also have another group that needs facilities: the Caribbean group.”

‘The Caribbean youth are an afterthought for many institutions’

“However good the intentions are, the Caribbean youth are an afterthought for many institutions. It is not that they are consciously forgotten, but you can only pay attention to something if something is always on your retina. And these young people don't stand up for themselves that easily," said Molina. “There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the Caribbean students.”

“Studying is also often a challenge for European-Dutch young people. Many take six years to complete their studies. But among the Caribbean graduates I have to deal with, it is eight years or more.”

“Caribbean students often don't even have a network to fall back on. And unlike the European Dutch, our young people often do not have the parents who can easily pay for tutoring in euros.” 

Molina expects the problems to continue to grow. “Many students that I still guide to the finish line initially thought about a study: oh well, I'll do this for a while. But this corona crisis is going to make it even more difficult for our young people from all sides.”

And what if you get into trouble?

Where do you actually go for help if, after years of studying, you still have no prospect of a diploma? “What strikes me is that our Caribbean students have a reserved attitude: others should help me instead of asking for help themselves. If they do that, the next challenge is to have the discipline to actually accept that help.”

In practice, education do not always appear to be the motivation to leave for the Netherlands after secondary school. “Some of the Caribbean young people come to the Netherlands in the first instance for their freedom. And so an education comes second. And then there's another thing that stands out: they don't actually know whether their choice is right for them. Many of our students also have a hard time psychologically.”

‘Our children often don’t know how to study’

It is estimated that half of the Caribbean students do not pass their first year of study. How did that happen? “Students and parents think that if you have a HAVO or VWO diploma, you can easily go to college, because… after all, you have a diploma. But that's a myth.”

“From elementary school to high school, they stamp numbers and words into their heads to pass a test. They often learn the literal answer to a preconceived question from the teacher. Our children learn everything at school, except how to study all that teaching material.”

“That way you don't make children curious, you don't teach them to ask critical questions and see the bigger picture for themselves. If you can't do that very well, are you ready for a college or university degree? No. But this does mean that the solution lies largely on the islands themselves.”

Jean-Marie Molina has conducted research and developed a method that is applied at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences: Tough Love. “In the end, we always manage to teach them – in a hard, but loving way – so that they reach the finish line. I teach them to recognize their mindset and to adapt to it. And: how they should learn.”

“I also teach them to ask the right questions of themselves and others so that they can complete their studies. What I see happening is that their self-confidence grows. They become motivated because they experience the success of their efforts. It works.”

 

Molina's approach turns out to be so successful that the most difficult cases are still referred to her. At her own university of applied sciences, but also beyond. “This problem also keeps me busy in my spare time. I regularly receive cries for help from parents, colleagues and students via social media, to please help them. I just helped a student, whose face I don't even know, to get her diploma.”




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