Onderwijs·DUB·26 aug 2024

‘Where I’m from, eating in class would be considered disrespectful’

International teachers must not only adapt to a different academic system but also acquire implicit or informal knowledge – things that are obvious to everyone but them. Students’ behaviour is one such thing. DUB spoke with four international faculty members about the differences that stunned them the most when they started teaching in Utrecht and how they adapted to them. “I’ve had more students question their grades in ten months in the Netherlands than in five years in Germany,” one of them says.