I work as a lecturer in the Department of Clinical Psychology. My specialism is Sexology. I like the broad and interdisciplinary approach that is distinctive of sexology and I have many interests in this field, to mention a few: culture, desire, disorders, education, gender, history, love, methodology, and motivation. Aside from sexology, I’m also interested in teaching methods and involved in the TLC, teaching awards, and BKO. As a union AOb member, I’m part of the FMG Works Council.

Learning with Enjoyment

Within frameworks such as science, politics, and the Executive Board, there are good documents available on educational vision. However, I often find that on the work floor, the educational vision is only implicitly present and not made explicit enough. I believe it would be beneficial to communicate a broader range of educational visions to students, teachers, and managers. I hope that a document like this can contribute to that effort.

I have chosen “Learning with Enjoyment” as the title for my educational vision: working and teaching with enjoyment is my motivation. The behavior of individuals and the insights psychology as a social science offers intrigued me when I was a student and continues to fascinate me today. I conduct research and, above all, teach with great satisfaction. Having the opportunity to teach young people, to inspire them for the field, and to encourage their development keeps you young, too, and ensures that you never stop learning. Learning is growth, and ideally, both the student and the teacher learn in the process.

I also considered “Learning with Contentment” instead of “Learning with Enjoyment.” Perhaps not all readers are fond of the term “enjoyment,” as it may suggest that everything has to be “fun.” For me, enjoyment is associated with joy, engagement, curiosity, work ethic, and enthusiasm. When people study or teach with enjoyment, much is already gained.

The university is a wonderful place for many, a place where many people learn with enjoyment. Alongside my love for teaching psychology, I also appreciate the UvA as a large Amsterdam-based academic community. I am particularly drawn to the UvA’s scale, with its heterogeneous student and teaching population. I see this diversity as a strength, one that brings depth and creativity to both teaching and research. I am also fond of the Amsterdam character, as Amsterdam is a small global city with a proud and (positively) critical attitude, which can be seen within the UvA as well.

Countless factors can contribute to enjoyment; for me personally, three are key: freedom, variety, and the importance of education within the organization.

Freedom

Many students and teachers highly value the freedom within the university. For example, feeling free to form and express an opinion. To foster this, an inspiring and safe atmosphere must be maintained. This includes having a scientific debate on a wide range of topics and a professional and ethical organization.

Freedom and autonomy in one’s own work are also essential. Both students and teachers should not be underestimated in their talents, and the university has a role in offering a climate where people can develop themselves. Students should be able to add their own substantive focus and determine much of their own learning strategy. Teachers should be able to set their own content and pedagogical focus.

This does not mean letting everything go and having no governance. Transparent and clear rules should actually create the framework and peace (freedom) for people to dedicate themselves to their primary task (in this case, studying or teaching). For example, for students, a clear curriculum structure, validation of the program’s objectives, clear learning outcomes, and a transparent assessment policy. For teachers, clarity about the expected teaching effort, how work is divided among various groups, career perspective, etc. However, one rule can lead to another; increased professionalism often comes with increased regulations.

I am reminded of my thesis, written long ago, on Erich Fromm’s book “The Fear of Freedom.” Fromm distinguished between negative freedom, such as the number of rules, and positive freedom, the ability to develop oneself. Both forms of freedom are interconnected, but the latter is more important. The opportunities for people to develop themselves should be actively safeguarded and promoted, and the university is ideally suited for this.

Variety

In my field of sexology, as in education, I consider variety an important value to highlight positively. Psychology (and especially the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences) offers a large-scale program with broad choices. There are different specializations, students who focus on breadth and those with a specialist focus, fundamental and applied researchers, humanities and science research, qualitative and quantitative research. Education includes large lectures, workgroups, and individual guidance. There is blended learning. This variety should be cherished; I consider it the strong point of UvA Psychology and, perhaps paradoxically, also what unites us within the UvA as a whole. Of course, dealing with variety presents numerous challenges, such as defining good education for both weaker and stronger students, or ensuring sufficient “variety in people” (diversity policy).

I specifically want to mention the position of psychology as a social science. The connection with both the humanities and science disciplines is a win-win-win situation: benefits for neighboring disciplines in the humanities, benefits for neighboring disciplines in the sciences, and benefits for psychology itself. I believe this offers opportunities to strengthen the program. In collaboration with sociology colleagues and through teaching I once provided within the Applied Psychology program at the HvA, I noticed that I had too narrow (quantitative-experimental) a perspective. More variety in research methods, more attention to qualitative and applied research (two different things), would be valuable.

Importance of Education

Education is a core task of the university. Good education benefits from good research; the strength of university education lies in the model of the researcher as a teacher (which could also be the other way around, in my view). Many students, however, leave our program as scientist practitioners, and we hope that they will apply their research skills in their future careers. The alignment with professional practice could be improved and is not only relevant for higher professional education. Another challenge is to weigh the teaching effort in career perspectives more heavily than is currently the case. Additionally, psychology has thematic overlaps with disciplines such as didactics and educational sciences, and educational projects within the department could be more encouraged.

When I give a lecture, I find contact with the audience to be one of the most important aspects. This principle of contact can also be extended to other levels. For managers, contact with teachers and students is crucial. To learn with enjoyment, students and teachers are both necessary; university administration and policy cannot function without the input of both parties. There is sometimes a (false) perception that educational policy is implemented top-down. Bringing parties together, as happens in the Education Committee or in an educational symposium, can be stimulating in this regard. This does not happen automatically and requires effort. Sometimes, teachers from the same course line but in different years and from different groups meet. It takes effort to bring everyone together, but most leave such meetings with renewed enthusiasm for teaching. Communication among teachers (and students) about the curriculum is effective, and it is also a way to position the importance of education.

Fortunately, as a teacher, you sometimes experience students suddenly becoming enthusiastic, and everything goes (more or less) smoothly. Everyone is in a good flow, and it even becomes your task as a teacher to set boundaries for students. I have often had this experience in experiential learning (when something exciting happens) or in active learning, where students are asked to contribute themselves. Freedom, variety, and the importance of education within the university are three underlying aspects, and we should strive for this kind of enjoyment, not only in the lecture hall but throughout the UvA.

Amsterdam, 2016

I work approximately half a day per week as a freelancer, giving lectures and conducting education.