3.9 Competences for experts by experience in higher education

Competences for experts by experience in higher education

Based on the collected experiential knowledge of experts by experience involved in this project, some national documents concerning the professional profile of experts by experience and the intended competences of the accredited programmes, we have drawn up a list of competences for experts by experience in higher education. Most lists focus on experts by experience employed in social service or social work organisations. We selected and translated essential competences to the specific context of higher education.

Which competences are useful for experts by experience in higher education?

• Can take up his/her own role in an interdisciplinary team/collaboration with students
  • Is expert in living with adversity, social exclusion, stigma and recovery through reflection and dialogue with others
  • Has special sensitivity to clients’ experiences
  • Works from the basis of hope and trust (positive basic attitude)
  • Is aware of his/her own vulnerability and resilience/resilience and can connect to his/her own world of experience in which recovery is anchored
  • Can communicate his/her own point of view from the client’s perspective
  • Shares his/her own experiences or other stories of experience in order to get a better picture of a context
  • Brings in relevant, experiental knowledge, from the client’s perspective
  • Makes connection between clients’ experiental world and the institutional framework of social work organisations/university (of applied sciences)
  • Reflects on own experiences and empowering factors
  • Brings the client perspective into lessons, training programmes
  • Recognises and respects roles, differences and boundaries of colleagues and students
  • Brings the client perspective into education policy
  • Makes the organisation alert to thresholds in its own operations
  • Supports the development and implementation of tailor-made work forms and didactic tools
  • Demonstrates the added value of experiential knowledge alongside theoretical and practical knowledge
  • Identifies processes of stigmatisation and exclusion (institutional reproduction)
  • Contributes to social inclusion and quality improvement of social work and social work education
• Works according to the procedures and agreements within the organisation
• Acts according to deontological and quality principles
  • Respects students and colleagues
  • Sensitivity to discretion (professional confidentiality)
  • Acts from awareness of impact of own frame of reference
  • Respects the integrity of all involved without discrimination
• Maintains a positive, learning attitude
  • Can listen, connect, deal with emotions, dialogue, tune in, reflect, cooperate
  • Adapts own communication style and communicates respectfully
  • Communicates empathically and makes authentic connections
  • Learning attitude, reflects on own actions, exchanges and adjusts where necessary

Sources:

• Leerplan ervaringsdeskundigheid – Kwaliteitssysteem voor Ervaringsdeskundigen (NL) – https://vved.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Leerplan-Ervaringsdeskundigheid.pdf
• Beroepskwalificatie ervaringsdeskundigen (BE)

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Read more about the seven work packages

1. Key educational principles 
2. Guide with didactical and pedagogical methods 
3. Training programme for lecturers
4. A support kit for experts by experience
5. Framework for integrating experiential knowledge
6. Digital forum with state-of-the-art literature
7. Monitoring and evaluation 

Articles:
A support kit for experts by experience