Peer support in action

Currently appearing in the international journal European Political Science as an advance online publication, Helen Drake from the Department of Politics, History and International Relations (PHIR) has just published an article entitled “Learning from peers: the role of the student advisor in internationalising the european studies curriculum”.

The abstract reads: “This article asks whether student peer advisors can contribute to curriculum ‘internationalisation’ through their role in promoting and supporting student mobility. We conducted a single case study of Erasmus student mobility at Loughborough University between 2010–2012, and our experiment offers a perspective on the possible futures of European Studies, where the decline of foreign language learning may find compensation in the internationalisation of the curriculum via the opportunity for study mobility abroad.”

Part of a symposium regarding the teaching of European Studies, this article – forthcoming in print – explores the role that students can themselves play in shaping the curriculum, in advancing the student experience, and in internationalising study programmes. Successive generations of PHIR students have already demonstrated how they can influence their peers. For example, through their use of technology and social media, students returning from abroad influence future student choices, as suggested by resources such as the recent YouTube video created for the benefit of those thinking about an Erasmus exchange.

This is the fourth in our series of blog posts regarding publications by Loughborough University staff on pedagogical issues. Further information regarding this particular publication is available online; the full citation follows: Helen Drake, ”Learning from peers: the role of the student advisor in internationalising the european studies curriculum”, in European Political Science, advance online publication 7 June 2013. doi: 10.1057/eps.2013.32