Reflections of peer learning and support: one decade on

If there’s one thing recent years have shown, it’s that we need good people around us to be able to tackle challenges and make progress. 

For students at university, this remains equally true. Peer learning and support schemes are a useful resource in which students work together and support one another’s academic and interpersonal development. Such schemes benefit retention, aid in transitions from previous life or study experiences, encourage socialising, and open the university doors wider to those who might once have been denied entry.  

An advisory group of professionals involved in implementing peer learning and support have worked together (naturally) across the past two years to showcase the value of such schemes in higher education institutions.  

If you don’t have a scheme at your institution, or if you want to change the way your scheme currently operates, we’ve worked to help show you what it could involve – and what you may face along the way. 

What have we done? 

Ten years ago, Chris Keenan (2014) published a report mapping student-led peer support in the UK. With our 10th anniversary follow-up, we’ve scoured the literature produced since then and determined that: 

• we now have a wealth of impact studies showcasing the perceived value of peer learning and support for students (which were not available in 2014) 
• there are perceived benefits to developing schemes for specific groups of people (based upon needs, experiences and course) 
• we have observed perceived benefits for students in terms of confidence, belonging and wellbeing 
• there are perceived benefits for peer leaders and mentors when providing support to others. 

We’ve also talked to you about your peer learning and support schemes, with case studies covering, but not limited to: 

• widening participation for care leavers, disabled students and students from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds 
• the value Students’ Unions can bring through implementing peer learning and support for students 
• what the schemes can do to ease student transitions between college (or international equivalents) and university 
• the advantages of academics collaborating with students to develop the schemes which work best for you, in your institution. 

We have also taken note of the biggest difficulties faced by those implementing peer learning and support, with the lack of resources often, but not exclusively, referenced by survey respondents: 

• funding for the scheme, particularly in times of economic uncertainty, impacts the operation of the schemes with staff doing more, with less 
• there is a difficulty mapping student engagement with their academic achievements, to conclusively showcase the value of the scheme 
• student engagement is affected by a wealth of external factors, including course requirements, financial pressures and other personal challenges 
• maintaining a high-quality scheme through regular training and support can prove difficult within the constraints of time, timetabling and funding. 

As the forthcoming report will show, there are a host of successful schemes operating despite the challenges faced. With your involvement, such schemes can continue to thrive, and students can make the best of their time at university. 

What can you do? 

Keep up to date with the discussions and activity by signing up to the peer learning and support JISC mailing list today.  

Join in the conversation with our live X Chat on Wednesday 29 May, before the full report becomes available in July. 

Visit us at our poster stand at Advance HE's Teaching and Learning Conference in July.  

Watch this space! We’ll be holding a launch webinar in the Autumn of 2024 with members of the Advisory Committee: 

• Dr Jill Andreanoff, Cranfield University 
• Dr Nevan Bermingham, Technological University Dublin 
• Lucy Chilvers, University of Brighton 
• Dr Paul Chin, University of Bath 
• Yvonne Cotton, Teesside University 
• Carly Emsley-Jones, Cardiff University  
• Carly Garratt, University of Central Lancashire 
• Ruth Lefever, University of Bradford 
• Dave Lochtie, Open University 
• Dr Catherine McConnell, University of Brighton 
• Callum Perry, University of East Anglia 
• Amanda Pocklington, University of Exeter 
• Dr Christie Pritchard, University of Plymouth 
• Dr Olga Rodriguez Falcon, St George’s University of London 
• Aoife Walsh, Technological University of the Shannon 
• Fiona Ware, University of Hull