How care and collaboration can make a difference: a case study of embedded academic skills provision in Midwifery education

The successful development of academic skills is fundamental in the transition of students into, through, and out of university. Our case study assesses the potential barriers and enabling factors for the success of embedding academic literacies into the undergraduate Midwifery curriculum. A team of Midwifery educators and academic developers co-designed and piloted a new series of academic skills workshops. After a successful evaluation, the provision was rolled out across the programme. This case study provides findings from that latter phase of the project, for which we reviewed the state of the literature on how embedded academic skills support can reduce barriers to success in Midwifery education and conducted focus groups with students. Our findings show that collaboration and compassionate pedagogical approaches are key factors in the successful delivery of embedded provision. The student voice was necessary to surface their needs and expectations with respect to how the development of critical thinking, writing, and reading skills should be embedded within their programme from the start, reflections on the timing of the sessions, and the need to start with an assumption of high diversity of prior knowledge in this domain. This case study shows the benefits of taking an iterative approach to the design of embedded academic skills provision and the importance of close collaboration between students, Learning Developers, and subject educators. These are necessary factors to ensure a compassionate pedagogical approach to the development of academic skills in Midwifery education.