Education

Student psychologists help students survive in two cultures

A new course, “Living between several cultures”, can help students who are caught between two conflicting cultures.’Second generation’ children of migrant workers who came to Holland from countries like Morocco and Turkey often struggle to combine Dutch norms and values with those of their country of ancestry.

This often results in an identity crisis: Am I more Dutch than Moroccan, Turk, Chinese? Their parents, moreover, want their children to live at home during their university studies

Student psychologists have set up a course to help these students. “We help students from different cultures find their way through their problems,” says Jacintha Nimbita, a psychology student and course organiser whose parents moved from Indonesia to Holland before she was born. “We can’t provide solutions, but we try to teach students how to deal with their problems.”

During the six weekly meetings, students talk about their experiences and problems. “Many students feel guilty toward their parents because they live on their own at university, but their parents want them to live at home. Others live at home although they don’t want to please their parents. This creates conflicting feelings; consequently, the students feel bad about it and about themselves. At the end of the course I hope the students know how to handle these problems and think better of themselves.”

For information about joining the course, contact: j.c.nimbita@its.tudelft.nl

A new course, “Living between several cultures”, can help students who are caught between two conflicting cultures.

‘Second generation’ children of migrant workers who came to Holland from countries like Morocco and Turkey often struggle to combine Dutch norms and values with those of their country of ancestry. This often results in an identity crisis: Am I more Dutch than Moroccan, Turk, Chinese? Their parents, moreover, want their children to live at home during their university studies

Student psychologists have set up a course to help these students. “We help students from different cultures find their way through their problems,” says Jacintha Nimbita, a psychology student and course organiser whose parents moved from Indonesia to Holland before she was born. “We can’t provide solutions, but we try to teach students how to deal with their problems.”

During the six weekly meetings, students talk about their experiences and problems. “Many students feel guilty toward their parents because they live on their own at university, but their parents want them to live at home. Others live at home although they don’t want to please their parents. This creates conflicting feelings; consequently, the students feel bad about it and about themselves. At the end of the course I hope the students know how to handle these problems and think better of themselves.”

For information about joining the course, contact: j.c.nimbita@its.tudelft.nl

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