94% of parents recommend Dutch heritage language education for their children abroad

April 29, 2026

94% of parents recommend Dutch heritage language education for their children abroad. This is one of the main takeaways from the latest LeerlingVizier survey by Stichting Nederlands Onderwijs in het Buitenland (NOB).

NOB runs this survey regularly, asking students and parents about their experiences with Dutch education abroad. It shows why families choose to invest time and energy in maintaining the heritage language.

In this year’s results, among the top reasons that parents enroll their children are: continued development of Dutch, future opportunities brought by multilingualism, and the chance for their children to meet other Dutch-speaking children. More than a third of students want to keep up the language so they can speak Dutch with family and friends back home.

What this survey shows us is multilingual families -- whether inside or outside the Netherlands/Flanders -- have the same priorities: they want their children to keep using the language and stay connected with people who share the same background. And they want to keep open future opportunities.

It's great to see this kind of data being collected and shared! It helps policy makers understand the universal benefits of maintaining the home language, no matter the language or location. These results support our vision that heritage language education everywhere should be recognized and supported.

If you are involved with heritage language education, quotes from parents and children in the report summary will sound familiar to you! Read NOB's full report here: https://stichtingnob.nl/over-nob/artikelen/leerlingvizier-2025-ouders-en-leerlingen-positief-over-nederlands-onderwijs-in-het-buitenland