Project
Everybody who passes their vwo exams qualifies to attend a university. Sadly, few young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods find their way to a university education. Social-economic factors are more decisive for their future than intelligence or learning skills. to investigate and take on this challenge, dr. gera noordzij, prof. semiha denktas from the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, and prof. Lucas Meijs from the Rotterdam School of Management started the Service Learning project. This links third-year university students to high-school seniors.
High-school students whose parents did not go to college face many challenges. They are often underestimated by their teachers, and wonder whether they truly belong at a university. Service Learning links these highschoolers with third-year students. The students have followed classes on systemic inequality, and their first mission at the high schools is to listen to the seniors’ stories. Exchanges follow, and mutual trust quickly builds. “Students love bringing their study into practice”, says dr. Gera Noordzij, program director of the Erasmus University College. “You can see them abandon their old stereotypes about children from underprivileged neighborhoods.”
The project Service Learning is supported by Fonds de Goede Geijt and the Van Beuningen Fonds. Stichting Tuurlijk also contributes to the project.
