School of Economics

Lorna Quickfall on why empowering students matters

In a Mini-Series on Embedding Belonging in the Classroom, Lorna Quickfall from the School of Economics, explains the relationship between empowering students as confident learners and students’ sense of belonging.

Illustration of hands

 

The School of Economics manager of Student Welfare, Lorna Quickfall is taking a holistic approach to embedding belonging in the classroom through events and opportunities where staff and students can share experiences as well as offering individual coaching to students at the School of Economics. 

Writing in the University of Edinburgh's Teaching Matters blog, Lorna highlights the success of coaching sessions at the School which are helping students to navigate common barriers to their studies such as feelings of being overwhelmed, isolation and homesickness. By identifying strategies and actions they can take to overcome these barriers, students have reported feeling more confident and able to achieve their goals. This is having a ripple effect on the sense of belonging in the school.

 

The coaching is proving to be very successful. Every community is a sum of its individuals, and this may be one of the keys to its success. In hearing the staff and student voice, it is important to hear individual voices.

Lorna Quickfall

 

Through listening to and validating individuals, and empowering them to be confident in themselves, we aim to create a ripple effect to continue to embed belonging in the classroom.

Lorna Quickfall

 

Read full blog post