Acquiring Skills for a Globalised World through a Peer Mentoring Scheme: A UK Law School Experience

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3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

International students arriving in the UK for the first time often experience
an acute sense of disorientation.1 The reasons for this response to their
new surroundings are not hard to find. They are confronted by a new
social and academic culture. They have to find their feet in a new institution.
And they are expected to meet the demands of a higher degree.
Students in this situation need reassurance. To know that a tutor has put
herself in your shoes is reassuring. Newcastle Law School has sought to
meet this need by appointing an International Student Tutor whose job
it is to offer guidance on how to respond to the challenge of a radically
new situation. This post has existed (first as a pilot) since 2004. Since
that time, the School has gathered statistical data that support the conclusion
that support on the model offered in Newcastle can facilitate
learning and enhance the student experience more generally. At a time
when British universities hold themselves out as offering international
students a rich and rewarding experience, initiatives that may help to
turn this into a reality deserve to be taken seriously.2 This article is a contribution
to a debate on the initiative implemented by Newcastle Law
School for new first year international students in ensuring both their
social and academic needs are supported during the initial academic
year. Initiatives of this degree ought to have a place in British higher
education. The paper undertakes both qualitative and quantitative analysis
to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme initiated; questionnaires
(open questions) are collected from students from 2006 to students
doing their first year.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15-37
Number of pages23
JournalThe Law Teacher
Volume46
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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