Leiden University Student Repository

Gutierrez Campiño, Kimberli Balentina (2025)

Dutch Caribbean Students in the European Netherlands: Perceived Educational Barriers to Transitioning to Higher Education

Master thesis | Public Administration (MSc)

This thesis investigates the structural barriers faced by students from the Dutch Caribbean when transitioning to higher education in the European Netherlands. While educational mobility within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is often presented as seamless, students from Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius encounter a range of barriers that complicate their integration into Dutch Universities. Based on thirty-two semi-structured interviews and the thematic analysis, the study identifies four main challenges: bureaucratic barriers (BSN, DUO, Housing), language barriers, financial barriers, and cultural barriers. To interpret these findings, the thesis created the Perceived Educational Barriers Theory, an umbrella framework that consists of four sub-theories: Opportunity Access, Language Alignment, Transition Barriers, and Support Effectiveness. The analysis highlights how post-colonial governance structures and institutional arrangements sustain inequality...Show moreThis thesis investigates the structural barriers faced by students from the Dutch Caribbean when transitioning to higher education in the European Netherlands. While educational mobility within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is often presented as seamless, students from Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius encounter a range of barriers that complicate their integration into Dutch Universities. Based on thirty-two semi-structured interviews and the thematic analysis, the study identifies four main challenges: bureaucratic barriers (BSN, DUO, Housing), language barriers, financial barriers, and cultural barriers. To interpret these findings, the thesis created the Perceived Educational Barriers Theory, an umbrella framework that consists of four sub-theories: Opportunity Access, Language Alignment, Transition Barriers, and Support Effectiveness. The analysis highlights how post-colonial governance structures and institutional arrangements sustain inequality within the education system.Show less

Dutch Carribean students, structural barriers , higher education transition, post-colonial governance, language barriers , student migration , transition barriers

Author

Gutierrez Campiño, Kimberli Balentina

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Specialisation

International and European Governance

Supervisors

Salazar Morales, D.A.

ECTS Credits

20

Evaluation

Recommended

Language

en