Access to higher education for refugees: The case of the Netherlands

Abstract

The current study examines the barriers that refugees face when accessing higher education in the Netherlands. According to the literature, refugees encounter a lot of obstacles, with the main one being language barriers and unrecognized certificates. The general aim of this research was to address these barriers and provide recommendations. For the data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The respondents consist of both refugees who access higher education and stakeholders who are engaged in initiatives and institutions that support refugees' education and further access to the labor market. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis. In line with the literature, the results from the interviews indicated that refugees face numerous challenges, among which linguistic and bureaucratic barriers being the most prominent. Also, the findings suggest that a centralized policy needs to be implemented by Dutch universities, apart from the financial support of the initiatives that encourage refugees’ access.