Student Collaboration in Action: A Case Study Exploring the Role of Youth Work Pedagogy Transforming Interprofessional Education in Higher Education

Abstract

The College of Health, Psychology, and Social Care at the University of Derby has transformed its Interprofessional Education (IPE) offer from a top-down standalone event into a five-year strategy designed and delivered in genuine collaboration with students. Across the higher education sector, IPE has been a struggle, tokenistic at best, with limited buy-in from students. When academic-led it prevents deep learning; however, by utilising an informal education approach students bring their life, programme, and practice learning together to genuinely break down barriers between professional disciplines. This paper will use an autoethnographic case study to explore the challenges and opportunities of genuine collaboration based on youth work principles in the creation of a ‘value-added curriculum’, not aligned to modules or assessments. It found that buy-in from academics and students comes when students are empowered to take the lead. This is based on youth work pedagogical principles of group work, relationships with shrinking professional distance, critical pedagogy, genuine agency, and an emotional connection made between the professionals and service users. It suggests the potential is considerable as youth workers bring their pedagogical practice to a broader range of spaces within and beyond higher education.