“What makes discovery college different?” a co-produced analysis of student experiences of discovery college

Abstract

Background Recovery colleges are an education-based approach to supporting mental health recovery that incorporate the voice of both lived and living experience, and experience by training in their design, production, and delivery. Aims To understand students’ experiences of attending a youth-focused ‘discovery college’ course. Specifically, to see whether students were satisfied with the course, whether the learning goals of the courses were met, and what students felt makes discovery college different. Methods A mixed methods design analysed quantitative data on students’ ratings of the course and their learning goals. A co-produced thematic analysis, incorporating the voice of lived and living experience, was also conducted on students’ responses to the question “what makes discovery college different?” Results Overall, students rated their experience with the course very positively, and mostly met the learning goals of courses. The co-produced thematic analysis revealed students valued the incorporation of lived and living experience in courses, the lack of power imbalance between teachers and students, and felt it was a safe space to share and learn. Conclusions Findings support the delivery of the recovery college model within a youth setting, and highlights this as a useful initiative in engaging people from a range of perspectives in education about mental health.