One size does not fit all: Tailoring Peer Support Programmes for optimal student engagement

Authors

  • Rosey Davies University of Exeter
  • Amanda Pocklington University of Exeter
  • Simon Allington University of Exeter

Abstract

Peer Support Programmes (PSPs) have long been a feature of student engagement activity at the University of Exeter.  Peer Support at Exeter started over eight years ago, with just two discipline-specific programmes. Since then, the number of programmes has increased significantly, but throughout this period of growth the bespoke nature of the programmes has been retained.  All PSPs are student-led and, crucially, they are tailored to meet the specific needs of the student group involved.  We, the authors, are firmly of the opinion that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that tailoring every programme to the specific needs of each student group is vital if it is to be successful.  It is now recognised that engagement in interventions such as PSPs can play an important role in improving student retention and success (Thomas, 2012) and that an understanding of ‘local contexts’ can enhance the efficacy of such programmes (Thomas et al, 2017).  However, this was not as well understood when PSPs were first introduced at Exeter. This short paper seeks to present an overview of the evolution of PSPs at the University of Exeter, which may provide others with a useful insight into the development of tailored PSPs for optimal student engagement.

Author Biographies

Rosey Davies, University of Exeter

Rosey Davies is an Academic Skills Adviser working as part of the Academic Skills and Student Engagement Team at the University of Exeter.  She is an experienced teacher, lecturer and academic tutor.  The main focus of her current role involves developing the academic skills provision for Widening Participation students at the University.

Amanda Pocklington, University of Exeter

Amanda Pocklington currently works as Academic Skills Adviser and Peer Programmes Manager at the University of Exeter, within the Academic Skills and Engagement team (ASET). Alongside, Amanda sits on the Steering Group for the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) and the Academic Peer Learning Leadership group (APL).

Simon Allington, University of Exeter

Simon Allington is an Academic Skills and Student Engagement Officer at the University of Exeter. His work focuses specifically on developing Peer Support opportunities and academic skills support for Widening Participation students.

References

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Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change cover

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Published

10/02/2017

How to Cite

Davies, R., Pocklington, A., & Allington, S. (2017). One size does not fit all: Tailoring Peer Support Programmes for optimal student engagement. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 3(1), 274–277. Retrieved from https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/688

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Peer Learning Communities

License

Copyright is held by the journal. The author has full permission to publish to their institutional repository. Articles are published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence.