Social Justice, Learning Centredness, and a First Year Experience Peer Mentoring Program: How Might They Connect?

Peer mentoring is a powerful strategy to support students in their first year of tertiary education utilised by a large number of tertiary institutions. While social justice principles such as rights, access, and equity as outlined by Creagh, Nelson, & Clarke (2013) highlight the importance of “student centredness,” Taylor (2013) explains that “learning centredness” is a more empowering approach when working with students in their first year. Learning centredness focuses on learner engagement and acknowledges the active and combined responsibilities of the learner, the teacher, and support networks. This theoretical paper describes the incorporation of principles of social justice using strategies of learning centredness within a First Year Experience peer mentoring program.