‘Why can’t you show yourself as a full human being in class?’

“Most of them see activism as part of who they are. It permeates their entire lives. They can’t just switch it off when they get into the classroom,” says Kaja Chmielewska, who is pursuing a PhD at the University of Antwerp. 

However, because of the negative connotations associated with the term ‘activism’, their attitudes towards the word vary. “Some feel comfortable or proud using it to describe themselves and their work, while others say that it is professional to also advocate for action when science provides clear warnings,” she adds. 

Chmielewska graduated with a Master’s in Educational Sciences: Learning in Interaction from UU, which is coordinated by Associate Professor Larike Bronkhorst. Before interviewing the five UU and HU professors, Chmielewska gathered responses from 39 students and graduates involved with activism to understand how they learn from it. Bronkhorst supervised it.

Chmielewska found that, to most activist students, activism is not just about joining protests. It is also about taking further steps, such as organising other demonstrations and smaller actions, and talking about the causes close to their hearts online, in class, and with family and friends. In the interviewees’ case, those causes were the climate crisis and intersectional rights. "In sum, activism takes many forms, and people act in ways that resonate with them." 

In addition, the interviews with activist students revealed that they appreciate it when professors show how they try to change the world themselves. This sparked a new curiosity: getting the professors’ perspective as well. 

The interviews with five members of the UU and HU teaching staff were part of a small research project called Teaching to Change the World, for which Chmielewska received a YELS grant. She worked on this project alongside Bronkhorst and Marc van Mil from UMC Utrecht. The interviews were conducted in 2025, and the activist teachers worked at diverse faculties.

Teaching as part of one’s activism
Talking to DUB about Teaching to Change the World, Chmielewska and Bronkhorst stress that most respondents' idea of activism has little to do with what those who equate it with indoctrination have in mind. The five professors said that they don’t try to convince students to think a certain way. “Instead, it is about giving students as many tools as possible to form their own well-informed opinions,” explains Bronkhorst. 

For them, activism in teaching means preparing their classes well and presenting multiple perspectives, helping students learn to think critically through discussion. They do so to create a better world. 

According to this view, teaching and researching are themselves forms of activism and, therefore, indissociable from it. Chmielewska: “A teacher used the analogy of warnings against smoking based on science to argue that promoting public health is their job. And when science indicates that the climate crisis is a huge threat to public health, shouldn’t it be part of the job to warn about it?”

The research participants also associated activism with care or authenticity. They consider activism as an act of caring for students, their learning, and their future. As for authenticity, one of them said, according to Bronkhorst: “It’s not that I want students to become like me, but I think it’s honest to show them who I am.” 

Authenticity can also mean including a sentence in their email signature, wearing pins, or telling students they had joined Extinction Rebellion, for example. Teachers explained that they do these things to signal that they are there as persons or concerned citizens, not as neutral carriers of knowledge – something they do not even believe is possible in the first place. “To them, a neutral standpoint is not an option because science itself is political,” says the associate professor.

“And because they’re open about it, students can ask questions and learn from that,” adds Chmielewska. The respondents noted that when teachers are open about who they are and what they believe, students also seem more comfortable being themselves in class.

Reception
However, not all students welcome this openness. According to Bronkhorst, student reactions vary, “as they always do.” One respondent said that some students felt a little uncomfortable, while another was criticised by a student who did not think they were critical or activist enough. 

Discussions are welcome, although limits must also be established. Bronkhorst: “One participant explained that the only limit to discussions in class was the denial of science or basic human rights. That was the end of the discussion.” 

The university’s perception of faculty members seen as activists can also become an issue. For instance, some respondents felt that their higher education institutions did not appreciate it when teaching staff expressed their opinions online, even if they did it in their spare time. 

“Based on their interviews, it appears that institutions tend to provide more space for certain causes than for others”, says Bronkhorst. “There seems to be more appreciation for staff members who protest climate change and budget cuts than there seems to be for those protesting the genocide in Gaza, for example.”

Emotional toll
The two researchers underscore that being open about activism takes an emotional toll on university professors – something that was also expressed by the students interviewed for Chmielewska’s previous research. 

According to Chmielewska, activists are prone to feeling they are not doing enough, and they must also deal with openly debating causes close to their hearts. “It can be taxing because the world doesn’t always seem to care,” adds Bronkhorst. 

When asked how respondents measure their success, the two scientists explain that the respondents’ goal isn’t to make students organise protests, although they do appreciate it when it happens. Again, it is about creating an environment where students learn to think and act critically and responsively. 

As a teacher, Bronkhorst appreciates the idea that the very act of teaching is imbued with the hope for a better world. “We, teachers, can get caught up in this treadmill and forget that we’re contributing to making the world a better place simply by doing our jobs well. We may forget how meaningful our work can be.”