Coaching and Mentoring to Support Learning and Development
The latest in our series explores the challenges and opportunities supporting a variety of learners engaged in both FE and HE.
28 February 2024
We were delighted to welcome Gill Bradley (Newcastle College) and Emma Hill (Liverpool John Moore’s University). They explored the challenges and opportunities of coaching and mentoring to support a variety of learners engaged in both further and higher education.
Gill and Emma shared their individual research projects. These are based on their experiences of coaching and mentoring to support student learning and development. They highlight the benefits of creating trusting relationships with learners. The research shows how this helps to open up about the challenges and vulnerabilities of learning.
They explored what is needed for interventions to be successful. They consider how all parties and stakeholders involved in organisational coaching and mentoring need to be aligned with needs and expectations.
Both cases touch on the tensions between organisational KPIs. They consider how less tangible benefits of coaching or mentoring may be recognised. These case studies have wider relevance and resonance for coaching and mentoring. They can apply to many other organisational contexts beyond educational settings.
About Gill Bradley
Gill has worked within student support roles in the North East of England for 20 years. This has been within secondary, further and higher education provisions. She has lead pastoral, welfare, safeguarding and learning enhancement services.
She is currently the Academic Achievement Coordinator for NCG (Newcastle College Group). She has responsibility for managing the Academic Support Service across Newcastle College, Kidderminster College and Carlisle College.
Gill is a graduate of the 2023 M.Sc. Coaching and Mentoring cohort at Newcastle University. Her passion is exploring how coaching and mentoring in college based higher education can enhance student experience and address vulnerability, inequality and student agency
About Dr Emma Hill
Dr Emma Hill is Head of Apprenticeships at Liverpool Business School, within Liverpool John Moores University.
Emma joined LMJU in Sept 2023 from Coventry University, where she had been Associate Head of School for Quality. She also ran the apprenticeships in environment and sustainability.
In her new role, she ensures that apprenticeships are compliant with a number of external regulatory frameworks. A critical part of this is ensuring that teaching, learning and assessment on these programmes is excellent.
Emma completed an MSc in Coaching and Mentoring and worked closely with both PG and UG apprentices. She is increasingly passionate about ensuring that apprentices are appropriately supported. This involves going beyond merely ensuring compliance with the rules.
Apprentices face unique challenges that managers, work based mentors and academics do not always fully understand. Often, this is because apprenticeship study is beyond their experience. As a result, Emma has started to develop her research in this area. She aims to understand how apprentices experience not only their apprenticeship, but the experiences of their academic mentors, and how this can be improved.