Final Report - Peer mentorship: student perceptions and needs
The benefits of peer mentoring are well documented. Research shows that peer mentoring increases student retention and progression rates; enhances performance of the mentee and mentor in grade attainment; enhances student satisfaction, curriculum knowledge understanding of feedback and confidence; reduces stress and anxiety; promotes a realist curriculum and improves employability (Jacobi, 1991; Rodger and Tremblay, 2003; Campbell, and Campbell, 2007; Lennox Terrion and Leonard 2007; Crisp and Cruz, 2009; Andrews and Clark, 2011; Snowden and Hardy, 2012; Gershenfeld, 2014; Collings et al 2016; Cornelius, Wood,and Lai, 2016; Goodchild 2019). Undoubtedly, peer mentoring has the potential to contribute positively to the undergraduate’s experience of Higher Education.
Research indicates that students often feel anonymous, insecure and isolated especially when studying within an unfamiliar environment such as online/distance learning. Evidence from HESA (2019) indicates that about a third of students drop out of university because as Tinto (1975); Snowden and Hardy (2012) and Cornelius, Wood and Lai (2016) assert, have a reduced social network and minimal personal contact with academic staff. Literature also illustrates that a lack of engagement reduces the sense of belonging and the notion of a community (Snowden and Halsall, 2019); which in turn reduces the likelihood of students seeking help when needed. Mentoring programs and the mentor have a clear role in easing transition and contributing to engagement which in turn contributes to a sense of belonging.
Locating these benefits within the context of The Open University, it could be argued that peer mentoring has the potential to benefit student retention, progression and attainment (Thomas et al., 2017). Consequently, the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care set out to pilot a peer mentoring programme. This paper reports on a small research project aiming to better understand what students in health, wellbeing and social care programmes want from a peer mentoring programme.
The report is structured around two studies. The first part report reports on the results of surveys and the second details the findings from a set of interviews. The discussion and conclusion considers the implications of both studies for the design of a mentoring programme.
Funding
Praxis
History
Sensitivity
- Public document
Authorship group
- Academic - Central
Scholarship Exchange project URL
Institutional priority category
- Students Learning Experiences
- Achieving Study Goals
Themes
- Community/Sense of Belonging
- Completion of a Qualification
- Progression
- Peer Support/Mentoring
Subject discipline
- Health and Social Care
- Health and Wellbeing