Session Outline

Recent research has begun to reveal the extent of childhood and more recent traumatic experiences in students at a university aiming to widen participation in higher education (Davies, Read and Shevlin, 2021). It has highlighted how experiences of trauma can impact students’ learning experiences and outcomes (McGavock & Spratt, 2014). It raises questions about how universities can more effectively support these students to succeed and thrive, including through personal tutoring and academic support structures. This presentation will provide a summary of results from a survey about childhood adversity and adult stressors conducted with 868 level 4 students at the University of East London in 2020. It will discuss the insights provided by the research about how to foster productive interpersonal relationships to improve student outcomes. We will also discuss two practical personal tutoring related case studies about how the insights from this work have implemented in practice at UEL and Goldsmiths College between 2021 and 2022.