Institutional Management of Peer-Led Learning: A Framework for Holistic Integration

If we are to accept that peer-led learning (peer mentoring, peer tutoring and related approaches) are of benefit to students, how are we to approach the implementation of such approaches at the institutional level in a way that is resource efficient and effective? This paper presents the holistic framework for the institution-wide coordination and support of a wide variety of peer-led learning initiatives developed at De Montfort University. The framework presented sidesteps the thorny issues of categorisation that dominate the discourse of peer-led learning by devolving issues of definition to the site of implementation. A simplified typology is presented that characterises an initiative based on its level of formality and its overarching purpose with respect to transformational ‘transition points’ through the student lifecycle. This ‘mixed economy’ approach accommodates highly idiosyncratic and locally-defined approaches to peer-led learning coordinated and supported by the university’s learning development unit (the Centre for Learning and Study Support).