How to Mentor But Not to Helicopter Students in Inclusive Higher Education

Background

BLuE – ‘Bildung, Lebenskompetenz und Empowerment’ [‘Education, Life Skills and Empowerment’] – is an inclusive university programme with a peer-mentoring system, where students of the primary education programme assist students with attributed cognitive or mental disabilities as tutors. Deutsch et al. (2024) showed that it is a challenge to achieve a balance between providing adequate support and avoiding well-meant but exaggerated support. This balance requires on-going negotiations.

Methods

The participatory research project contained two sequences of semi-structured focus groups with BLuE students and tutors.

Results

Various points of tension, all concerning negotiation of responsibility, were identified. Tutors individually seem to manage responsibility for the BLuE student's study without openly discussing it, often making decisions internally. BLuE students make decisions for themselves in accordance with tutors' preferences but without reference to recognised problems.

Conclusions

Tutors play a crucial role in fostering self-responsibility and autonomy in BLuE students. Rather than feeling solely responsible for ensuring course requirements are met, tutors and BLuE students should engage in open discussions about how to share responsibility for the student's studies and the process of gaining greater independence.