NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences Speciality : Education
programme: International Teacher Education for Primary Schools

I am really happy I chose this University. It was a pure coincidence that I came across this study, which, for a long time, wasn’t my first option. However, when I joined the open days and did my intake interview, I decided this was where I wanted to spend my college years. I’ve just finished my second year at the International Teacher Education for Primary Schools in Meppel. It was a hard adjustment to start a new life alone, but I was surrounded by many supportive teachers and peers. It’s great to see that our teachers actively try to seek what we as students have to say and our feedback and do try to change things accordingly. 
Overall, I would really suggest this University to whomever wants to have a holistic approach to education, where you get a great education with many hands-on projects included and your mental health is also accounted for. 

I am about to finish my bachelor’s at ITEps (at the Meppel campus!), the International Teacher Education for Primary Schools. The degree is collaborative and innovative. It has left me with a strong motivation to study and think more critically about my approaches to education and how I see myself as a teacher.
The degree also doesn’t just help you become a teacher, but with its design-based approach, it gives you many other skills that can be used in various areas of the education world, whether it be curriculum development, special needs education or material development (like writing books, creating fun activities etc.).
The atmosphere amongst students and staff oozes intrinsic motivation to learn, and lifelong learning skills are strongly embedded in the programme.

The only unfortunate downside of the programme, which is a work in progress, is that it does not fully certify me to teach in all schools as it currently still is a bachelor of education and not a certified teaching programme. This means I cannot work at publicly funded schools, but mainly private ones. However, a certification can be achieved through a one-year online course, so it does not mean there aren’t job opportunities in the future, and many schools still hire ITEps students as teaching assistants and then support them in becoming certified.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the campus is in Meppel, which is a smaller Dutch city. There are no other study programmes there apart from the ITE programmes (ITEps and ITEss), which means your student life depends on the students who study the same course as you. That makes accommodation very affordable – and – there’s no housing issue! The community on campus is great and social, with students organising events for everyone (parties, painting events, sports etc.).

NHL Stenden Emmen has the PABO with uninspiring teachers that are supposed to be teaching students how to teach. Teachers gossip to students about other students, and sometimes refuse to provide feedback on assignments (instead of rubrics with information on where you could improve, you will just receive a grade without any information as to why that grade was given). Assignments are unclear, the online environment is a HUGE mess. Internships have to be provided by the school, although they regularly fail to do so. A lot of internship schools complain about the organization as well. The assignments are sometimes like you are back at primary school (who gets EC for claying a shoe-figure, writing in cursive or doing PE-sessions for toddlers?) Along with that, while the teachers all claim we should be mindful of children who have different educational needs, Stenden will do no such thing with their own students. Those who require more clarity are basically told they are out of luck as the ‘old program’ was just designed that way.

If at any point you are thinking, wow. It can’t actually be that bad as they score quite high in the ‘national student survey’. Keep in mind that Stenden teachers actively tell students they HAVE to fill this in positively, and negative feedback should only be given in internal feedback forms. As they claim it looks bad to have a degree from a college that was rated negatively. So if you want to do the PABO, you’re way better off at KPZ in Zwolle.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend NHL Stenden. The communication is abysmal, assessments seem arbitrary, and teachers are nowhere to be found – students end up teaching themselves without any feedback. Waiting months for portfolio feedback is common, and when you finally receive it, it’s so vague that it’s useless. Asking for help is pointless as you’re left to figure everything out on your own. There’s no communication between teachers, leaving students to fend for themselves without support. Course material is scarcely provided, and the full-time program is crammed into a part-time schedule without any consideration for students with jobs or families. It appears that teachers are only there for the paycheck. My advice: steer clear of this school and opt for an institution where your efforts and energy are truly valued.