Oppikirja, ammatillinen käsi- tai opaskirja taikka sanakirja (D5)

Inclusion into academic life: a guide for peer support groups in higher education




Julkaisun tekijätLundqvist Kia, Mäkinen Johanna, Hashempour Niloofar, Piątek Katarzyna, Mäenpää Pirkko, Halttunen Timo

PaikkaTurku, Finland

Julkaisuvuosi2022

Aloitussivu1

Lopetussivun numero32

ISBN978-951-29-9007-8

Verkko-osoitehttps://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9007-8


Tiivistelmä

Professional supervision groups have been routinely offered to researchers at the University of Turku since 2015. University's Human Resources and Well-being Services coordinate an internal network of professional supervisors who provide professional supervision services to the staff members and affiliated researchers. Drawing from these experiences, a pilot of HEI LIFE Guided Peer Groups was created and is described in this Guide.

Finnish HEIs recognize the importance of supporting diversity and inclusion within their institutions. One of the focal points for HEIs is the internationalization and retention of international talents. However, despite HEIs' best efforts, international academics often face hurdles that impact their ability to integrate. The Guided Peer Groups aim to improve the well-being of the incoming international staff and researchers by offering them a platform where they can discuss their matters in a safe setting.

This guide gives practical examples and tools to promote a more welcoming and inclusive environment in HEIs. It was created together by professional supervisors and former participants of peer groups. As such, it offers unique insight into how international academics need and want to be supported in their journey towards finding their sense of belonging in Finland.

At the University of Turku, seven Guided Peer Groups worked as part of the HEI LIFE project. The experiences presented in this Guide were drawn from more than 90 h of sessions. We present here three alternative forms of Peer Support services: Instructor-Led Guidance, Tutor-Led Guidance, and Peer-to-Peer Guidance. The Guide gives suggestions on how groups can be established, how they work, what principles are useful to follow, what the sessions look like and what topics are often discussed during meetings. We also present the experiences of the individual members which can be further used as a starting point for discussions within peer support group meetings.

With this Guide, we wish to reach staff and leadership at HEIs to inspire them to further develop support and well-being services directed to international members of their communities. We also believe this guide will be of interest to potential tutors, instructors, or peer group participants who want to learn more about the concept.


Last updated on 2023-22-02 at 09:20