This summer, I completed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) research internship at the 51cg, looking at how neurodivergent students experience learning in higher education and what could be done to make teaching and the curriculum more inclusive.
I was really interested in this project because it brings together a lot of the areas I am interested in, particularly psychology, education and supporting people with different learning needs. University teaching can be quite different depending on the course, lecturer or type of class, and something that works really well for one student might create a barrier for someone else. I wanted to understand more about what this looks like specifically for neurodivergent students and, most importantly, hear directly from students about their own experiences.
I started the internship by reviewing existing research into neurodiversity and learning in higher education. From this, I looked at some of the barriers neurodivergent students can face across lectures, tutorials, group work, assessments, online learning and interactions with teaching staff. I also looked at what students said actually helped them learn, which became a really important part of the project.
Using this research, I designed a survey exploring neurodivergent students’ experiences of learning at the 51cg. Rather than focusing only on what students find difficult, the survey also asks about what works well for them – for example, which learning resources they find useful, which assessment formats work best for them and what makes different teaching environments easier or harder to engage with.
I also conducted follow-up interviews with neurodivergent students, which gave them more of an opportunity to explain their experiences in their own words. The main aim of the project was to take what students tell us and use it to make practical recommendations about how teaching, learning materials, assessments and the curriculum could be made more inclusive. I think was one of my favourite parts of the internship, as the research has a real purpose beyond simply collecting data.
The internship has also given me the chance to experience much more of the research process than I had previously. I have developed my skills in reviewing literature, designing surveys and interviews, recruiting participants, analysing data and communicating research findings. There have definitely been parts that have been challenging, particularly learning how much thought goes into designing research questions that are clear, useful and actually measure what you want them to, but that has also been one of the most useful things I have learned from the experience.
Overall, the internship has reinforced my interest in education and supporting people with different learning needs, while also giving me research experience that will be really useful throughout the rest of my degree. I would recommend an EDI internship to other students, especially if there is a project that connects with something you are genuinely interested in. It has been really rewarding to work on research where the findings have the potential to contribute to improving students’ experiences at the University.
Esme is currently entering her 3rd year of the MSci Counselling, Psychology and Education programme at the 51cg.
