As higher education expands, research experience opportunities are increasingly explored for student enhancement. However, obstacles to providing these opportunities and varied student experiences remain a challenge. This study explored the experiences of undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology students who had participated in a volunteer-based research experience scheme using semi-structured interviews and analysed these using reflexive thematic analysis. Three central themes were identified: (1) strategic engagement for personal and professional development; (2) transformative impact on confidence, identity, and career direction; and (3) navigating challenges and workload managements. Findings highlight the benefits of student enhancement through research experience opportunities, with students reporting academic, personal, and employability benefits of participation. Several participants also highlighted improved transferable skills and greater confidence following participation. Findings are discussed in the context of the literature and constraints of working within higher education. Practical recommendations for creating and running similar schemes is provided.
Developing helping skills (i.e. counselling skills that promote exploration, insight, and action from clients; Hill, 2019) is essential for counselling trainees’ confidence and skill application. Availability of online instruction for psychotherapy skills has been steadily increasing since the pandemic, although evidence of its effectiveness is still scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a graduate counselling skills asynchronous online course on students’ counselling self-efficacy. Twenty-eight Master’s students enrolled on an online graduate counselling skills course completed pre- and post-assessments at the beginning (Time 1; T1) and end (Time 2; T2) of the 14-week long course. Pre-post differences were tested using a within-subjects t-test. The analysis revealed significant changes in both counselling and multicultural counselling self-efficacy from time point 1 to time point 2, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d>1.0). Our findings suggest that fully asynchronous online learning formats can effectively increase counselling students’ confidence as trainees.
Cultural factors strongly shape how students learn. To improve engagement and success, teaching must be culturally aware and inclusive, supporting motivation. However, most existing research focuses on primary and secondary education in the US and Europe, often using qualitative methods, which limits generalisability. This study addresses this gap by testing a Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) survey with higher education lecturers in the UK. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining a quantitative survey (N=49), interviews (N=9), and a focus group (N=6) to explore CRT practices in UK higher education for diverse adult learners. All participants were adult lecturers working in a HE university. Barriers to CRT included language differences, cultural misunderstandings, and differing expectations between students and staff. Key strategies for enhancing CRT were learning about student backgrounds and using culturally relevant materials. The paper concludes that Future lecturer training should focus on addressing these barriers and promoting inclusive practices to improve cultural responsiveness in higher education.
Psychological literacy is promoted by the American Psychological Association (APA) as the integrative outcome of undergraduate psychology programmes. Its purported benefits are impressive, and almost no pitfalls are anticipated. However, the nature of this outcome and its effects are unclear. This participatory qualitative survey describes the positive and negative repercussions of increased psychological literacy in the daily lives of 83 second-year undergraduate psychology students, from their perspective. The reflexive thematic analysis indicates that, according to the participants’ answers, their psychological literacy develops through an integrative and iterative process that goes beyond basic knowledge to include skill development and identity transformation. Students report that this process makes them strong, open, relationally adept and able to help (Theme 1), but comes with significant challenges, such as becoming stuck in analysis (Theme 2) and facing relationship complications (Theme 3). This indicates a need to develop teaching methods that enhance undergraduate students’ natural integrative learning efforts and support them through the associated developmental challenges.
