Community-building Activities Research Articles

The Drivers and Barriers of Clinical Health Professions Student Flourishing: An Integrative Review.

To determine the drivers and barriers to flourishing for clinical health professions students through a review of peer-reviewed literature. Articles were analyzed in Scopus, PubMed, and EBSCOHost and hand-searched education journals through May 2024 describing flourishing among clinical health professions students. Whittemore and Knafl's integrative approach was used, and quality was assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The 26 articles included medical (14/26, 53.8%), pharmacy (8/26, 30.8%), physician assistant (3/26, 11.5%), and nurse anesthetist (1/26%, 3.8%) students. Results were framed by the Social Ecological Model. Individual drivers included meaningful work, feeling valued, and pride in overcoming challenges, while barriers included feelings of self-sacrifice to achieve success. Intrinsic factors were both drivers and barriers (eg, positive affect was positively correlated with flourishing). Interpersonal drivers included feelings of belonging, social relationships, and mentorship, while scheduling conflicts was a barrier. Organizational drivers included integrated wellness efforts and faculty buy-in, while barriers included inadequate recovery time between demanding tasks, required participation in activities perceived to have individual low-value, and resource inaccessibility/insufficiency. There was a deficit in the exploration of the impact of communities, public policy, and race and/or ethnicity on flourishing. Limitations include possible exclusion of relevant articles due to search term and database selection. Students, faculty, and programs are cocreators of environments that promote or thwart flourishing. Educators can intentionally create learning environments that promote flourishing through increasing student autonomy, implementing community-building activities, and developing individual values in the context of training.

Creating Connection: Building a Culture of Belonging in the Workplace

This article explores how organizational leaders can cultivate a culture of connection where employees feel a strong sense of belonging by discussing the importance of social bonds for both individual well-being and organizational success based on research evidence showing that loneliness and lack of social connection are linked to poorer physical and mental health as well as lower performance, productivity and creativity at work, while socially-connected workplaces outperform those characterized by disconnect. The article provides strategies for leaders to promote meaningful social bonds by emphasizing the need to intentionally create an inclusive culture through implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to foster a sense of belonging for all employees, cultivating compassion by establishing formal and informal support systems that demonstrate care for employees' wellness, and facilitating shared experiences through community-building activities and social events that help employees connect on a personal level beyond just work tasks. Exemplar companies that comprehensively implement these types of initiatives through programs promoting unusually strong employee collaboration, retention, morale and organizational success are shown to benefit from nurturing social bonds so that when these bonds are cultivated, both individuals and their workplaces can thrive.

Impact of Village Savings and Loans Associations Participation on Cocoa Farmers’ Livelihood in the Western North Region, Ghana

The study examined the impact of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) participation on cocoa farmers livelihoods in the Western North region of Ghana. The study analyzes the factors that influence VSLA participation and the intensity of savings. The sample size for the study was 301. The Heckman two-stage model was used to analyze the factors that influence VSLA participation and the intensity of savings. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to examine the impact of VSLA participation on cocoa farmers livelihoods. The results demonstrated a positive and statistically significant relationship between VSLA participation and the following variables: age, gender, household size, education, children’s education, and social contributions. However, variables such as respect, income, and gender had a negative influence on VSLA participation. The result also established a positive and significant relationship among extension contact, respect, income, and intensity of savings. VSLA participation had a negative impact on natural capital (land size), a positive impact on human capital (children’s capital) and on financial capital (total income), and no impact on social capital (community social distributions) and physical capital (home assets). Policy makers should therefore consider these factors or attributes of beneficiaries in the development and implementation of future interventions. It is recommended that government of Ghana through Ghana COCOBOD should implement policies that intensify sensitization and education on need for farmers to participate in VSLAs. Additionally, policies that support community-building activities such as VSLAs, can be implemented to foster community engagement and build social capital in cocoa growing communities.

Sustainable and Collaborative Health Promotion in Urban Communities: Practical Implementation and Outcomes Based on Community Capital

In the context of rapid urbanization, leveraging community capital for health promotion to achieve sustainable community development has become a critical issue. This study examines 60 communities in Taipei City through a resource inventory, application analysis, and impact assessment to explore the effects of community capital and community building on sustainable development. Key findings include: Resource Inventory: The 60 communities identified a total of 3407 resources, averaging 68.14 resources per community. These resources encompass social capital (e.g., community organizations and volunteers), human capital (e.g., professional skills and education), physical capital (e.g., facilities and venues), and financial capital (e.g., funding and grants). Resource Application: of 752 resources applied, 48.5% were for teacher matching, and 24.7% for venue borrowing, highlighting a high demand for these resources in health promotion. Regression Analysis: The results show that social capital (β = 0.35, p < 0.01) and human capital (β = 0.29, p < 0.05) significantly enhance community sustainability. Additionally, the frequency of community-building activities (β = 0.31, p < 0.01) positively correlates with sustainable development. Overall, the study confirms the importance of community capital and community building in fostering sustainable development, emphasizing the need to enhance social and human capital for community health and sustainability.

Influence of Industrial Relations with Ukhuwwah (brotherhood), ‘Adl (justice) and Ihsan (benevolence) among Islamic Universities

The existence of industrial relations with the industrialization drivers has been argued with the persistent competition among different entities, including workers, capitalists, bureaucrats, and authorities, to reduce operating costs while maximizing financial profits. While industrial relations have been relevant through the human resource management of organizations, from the perspectives of Islam, three core values, ukhuwwah (brotherhood), ‘adl (justice), and Ihsan (benevolence) are essential in establishing a harmonious and ethical relationship between employers and employees, which serves as a solid foundation for creating a positive work environment. This study used the grounded theory method through focused group discussion to explore the integration of Islamic values into the industrial relations of Islamic universities. It focuses on insights from participants who emphasized the significance of promoting positive human relationships, incorporating Islamic teachings, and maintaining a balance between procedural work and community-building activities. The study's findings suggest that incorporating these principles can establish a cohesive and morally upright work environment that is advantageous for both employees and organizations. Suggestions for the industrial relations unit, top management, board of governors, and the government involve cultivating strong unity through team-building, maintaining fairness with clear and open policies, and promoting excellence by supporting professional growth and empathetic work conditions.

Mixed-Methods Analysis of Community-Building Activities in Minnesota Hospitals.

Nonprofit hospitals are required to annually report spending on community-building activities (CBAs) to the Internal Revenue Service. CBAs are actions that address root causes of community health problems such as housing and food insecurity. While addressing these issues is important regardless of location, CBA spending could particularly benefit rural residents who, on average, experience worse health outcomes. However, national CBA spending has historically been extremely low, potentially due to confusion surrounding reporting. This explanatory mixed-methods study sought to illuminate nonprofit hospital spending patterns on CBAs in one state, Minnesota, to understand why spending in this important category is so low. Authors first conducted quantitative analyses of publicly available tax return data for the year 2019' which revealed no statistically significant differences in CBA spending by rural location or hospital system affiliation. Authors then performed a case study of the top spending hospitals' narrative statements provided in nonprofit hospital tax return documents and found significant variation in what is reported as a CBA. We suggest CBA spending be reported differently to reduce confusion and render tax documents more accurate portrayals of nonprofit hospital spending, thereby providing policymakers with needed information to ensure nonprofit hospitals are financially supporting community health.

Teaching Scientific Literature Analysis: A Systematic Adoption of Skill-Building Methods to Enrich Research Training for Undergraduate Students.

Teaching scientific literature analysis skills is a critical step in research training. Here I describe a 6-week skill-building module on understanding scientific literature, incorporated into a 10-week undergraduate honors research practice course in Neuroscience. Key pedagogical components include: 1) student-centered active-learning, skill-building and community-building activities; 2) persistent adoption of a proven CREATE method and a novel curate scientific summary (CSS) method for teaching scientific literature analysis skills; 3) collaborative class organization consisting of persistent learning pods (PLPs) to facilitate student-driven participation and peer learning; and, 4) role play of a real research lab. Skill development was assessed using a self-assessment survey (SAS) and longitudinal evaluation of the CREATE and CSS methods application by the PLPs to analyze primary research articles (PRAs) over four weeks. Outcomes demonstrate alleviation of pre-existing student anxiety to read complex scientific literature and advancement of critical-thinking and collaborative skills. Specifically, the SAS responses indicate that student perception about reading scientific literature transformed from being a daunting task to an enjoyable activity; this enhanced their confidence in evaluating scientific literature. PLPs fostered student engagement, peer instruction, and community building, and contributed to skill development. Weekly assessment of CREATE and CSS application highlighted marked improvements in students' abilities to analyze and critique complicated scientific material. Role playing a research lab setting with a focused research theme facilitated integrative understanding of a frontier topic in Neuroscience. The outlined innovative approach can be adopted in Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) and should help contribute to systematizing didactic practices to train neuroscientists.

Navigating the inception stage in online peer production communities: a comparative study on community building activities, user roles and interaction dynamics

PurposeThis exploratory, descriptive study examines the factors that might influence the success or failure of online peer production communities during their inception stage. It focuses on community-building activities, the roles of users and the dynamics of user interaction, aiming to shed light on practices that could contribute to a community's success at the inception stage.Design/methodology/approachBy comparing two Stack Exchange Q&A communities with the same timelines but opposite outcomes during their beta testing phases, the research utilizes quantitative methods to categorize community activities, define user roles via k-means cluster analysis and examine interaction networks using social network analysis.FindingsOur findings suggest the successful Mathematics Q&A community exhibited several distinct practices during its inception, such as the utilization of both external and internal tools, the development of community-specific tutorials and the strategic use of flagging functions for moderation. Eight user roles were discerned, with roles like content editors, metadata curators and gatekeepers being particularly prominent in the successful community. Additionally, a more densely interconnected user network characterized by active participation was observed in the successful community.Originality/valueConcentrating on the inception stage of online communities, this study uncovers insights into the dynamics at play in the early life of peer production environments and provides empirical observations that may assist in shaping strategies for new online communities. It stands out by comparing communities within the same period to understand factors that may influence their early success.

ProteoCure: A European network to fine-tune the proteome

Proteins are essential molecular actors in every cellular process. From their synthesis to their degradation, they are subject to continuous quality control mechanisms to ensure that they fulfil cellular needs in proper and timely fashion.Proteostasis is a key process allowing cells or organisms to maintain an appropriate but dynamic equilibrium of their proteome (the ensemble of all their proteins). It relies on multiple mechanisms that together control the level, fate and function of individual proteins, and ensure elimination of abnormal ones. The proteostasis network is essential for development and adaptation to environmental changes or challenges. Its dysfunctions can lead to accumulation of deleterious proteins or, conversely, to excessive degradation of beneficial ones, and are implicated in many diseases such as cancers, neurodegeneration, or developmental and aging disorders. Manipulating this network to control abundance of selected target proteins is therefore a strategy with enormous therapeutic or biotechnological potential.The ProteoCure COST Action gathers more than 350 researchers and their teams (31 countries represented) from the academic, clinical, and industrial sectors, who share the conviction that our understanding of proteostasis is mature enough to develop novel and highly specific therapies based on selective tuning of protein levels. Towards this objective, the Action organizes community-building activities to foster synergies among its participants and reinforce training of the next generation of European researchers. Its ambition is to function as a knowledge-based network and a creative exchange hub on normal and pathologic proteostasis, focusing on developing innovative tools modulating the level of specific protein(s).

The Dissonance Between “Big Fashion” Discourses and Nepalese Garment Workers’ Environmental Voices

This article explores the views of hemp apparel workers in Nepal from social, cultural, economic, and environmental perspectives. Through interviews with workers in a producer network, the study reveals the workers’ persistent environmental anxiety, which has motivated them to actively engage in climate action and collaborate with micro-ethical and sustainable fashion labels to create environmentally friendly products. The workers’ economic profiles were investigated, including their earnings and take-home share based on the value addition of the commodity (hemp) as it moved through the links of the global value chain. The study highlights the workers’ highly developed ecological consciousness, advanced ecosystem understanding, and desire to participate in community-building activities. These characteristics challenge the fashion industry rhetoric that low-wage workers prioritize economic development over environmental concerns and underscore the importance of analyzing the funds at different stages to understand how value and payments are distributed throughout the chain.

MEDIATING ROLE OF SENSE OF BELONGING IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL FACTORS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD ATTACHMENT: A CASE STUDY OF PENANG, MALAYSIA

Many studies have examined the impact of social factors on neighbourhood attachment. However, more studies need to be on the mediating effect of the sense of belonging in a built environment. This study aims to investigate its mediating role in the relationship between social factors and neighbourhood attachment in two neighbourhoods in Penang Island, Malaysia. A sample of 362 residents was requested to answer a questionnaire survey with a Likert scale to measure the residents' assessment of social factors, neighbourhood attachment level and sense of belonging. Neighbourhood attachment is a second-order factor structure assessed by a first-order factor structure that includes place dependence and social bonding. The social factor is also a second-order construct with two dimensions: social trust and social support. The findings were then analysed by structural equation modelling. These results support the theoretical findings in the literature that social factors significantly affect the sense of belonging and neighbourhood attachment. The results also support the mediating role of a sense of belonging in the relationship between social factors and neighbourhood attachment. Fostering social trust and support within neighbourhoods is crucial for promoting neighbourhood attachment. This can be achieved through community-building activities and community-shared places. By fostering social trust and support, neighbourhoods can become vibrant, thriving communities where individuals feel a sense of belonging and connection.

NFDI4Microbiota – national research data infrastructure for microbiota research

Microbes – bacteria, archaea, unicellular eukaryotes, and viruses – play an important role in human and environmental health. Growing awareness of this fact has led to a huge increase in microbiological research and applications in a variety of fields. Driven by technological advances that allow high-throughput molecular characterization of microbial species and communities, microbiological research now offers unparalleled opportunities to address current and emerging needs. As well as helping to address global health threats such as antimicrobial resistance and viral pandemics, it also has a key role to play in areas such as agriculture, waste management, water treatment, ecosystems remediation, and the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of various diseases. Reflecting this broad potential, billions of euros have been invested in microbiota research programs worldwide. Though run independently, many of these projects are closely related. However, Germany currently has no infrastructure to connect such projects or even compare their results. Thus, the potential synergy of data and expertise is being squandered. The goal of the NFDI4Microbiota consortium is to serve and connect this broad and heterogeneous research community by elevating the availability and quality of research results through dedicated training, and by facilitating the generation, management, interpretation, sharing, and reuse of microbial data. In doing so, we will also foster interdisciplinary interactions between researchers. NFDI4Microbiota will achieve this by creating a German microbial research network through training and community-building activities, and by creating a cloud-based system that will make the storage, integration and analysis of microbial data, especially omics data, consistent, reproducible, and accessible across all areas of life sciences. In addition to increasing the quality of microbial research in Germany, our training program will support widespread and proper usage of these services. Through this dual emphasis on education and services, NFDI4Microbiota will ensure that microbial research in Germany is synergistic and efficient, and thus excellent. By creating a central resource for German microbial research, NDFDI4Microbiota will establish a connecting hub for all NFDI consortia that work with microbiological data, including GHGA, NFDI4Biodiversity, NFDI4Agri and several others. NFDI4Microbiota will provide non-microbial specialists from these consortia with direct and easy access to the necessary expertise and infrastructure in microbial research in order to facilitate their daily work and enhance their research. The links forged through NFDI4Microbiota will not only increase the synergy between NFDI consortia, but also elevate the overall quality and relevance of microbial research in Germany.

Alternative curricular experiences for young prisoners

Despite the rhetoric of the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET2020) to prison education – in particular, the learning needs of people excluded from policy and the recent research that emphasizes the crucial role of education for young prisoners’ personal development, and for their rehabilitation reducing the chances of recidivism (e.g., Jonck et al., 2015) in the Greek context, it seems that educational policies do not meet young prisoners’ educational needs (Petsas, 2017). We report on a project that directly addressed the inappropriate curricula and texts, and teachers’ lack of preparation for this population’s needs. The project ACTinPRISON (https://actinprison.sed.uth.gr)[1] pursued empowerment of young prisoners by creating common spaces between “insiders” --young prisoners-- and “outsiders” –the academic team and students/prospective teachers. Our “common spaces” framework mitigated the dominant, disciplinary, prison discourse with the perspective and techniques of Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) for developing mathematics and language literacy. This challenged symbolic boundaries separating the two groups by using co-creation of mathematics to foster equal participation and interaction. The initial needs analysis phase of the project introduced young prisoners to the idea and practice of research as a matter of participatory practice, and incorporated important mathematics concepts and skills within jointly constructed community-building activities. Likewise, moments of open-ended discussion were effective as emergent language and mathematical literacy events The second project phase applied that experience to the preparation of university students for entering the prison, followed by the university students and young prisoners working together in the common spaces inside prison. Again, mathematical activities evolved as extensions of the information regarding their funds of knowledge. Work sometimes integrated this knowledge into theatrical play, at other times the group exploited mathematics contexts as here-and-now moments of group development. These experiences afforded the expression of situated mathematical concepts through informal mathematical language as the young prisoners were exposed to the idea of a mathematics register. We report on our persistent pursuit of a transition to scientific language use in this educational context despite the complexity of this challenge. (Resource limitations combined with super-diverse sociolinguistic repertoires and literacy backgrounds of the participants were treated as opportunities rather than obstacles). The ACTinPRISON project extends previous action creating common spaces with young prisoners and prospective teachers (http://cospirom.sed.uth.gr) that identified the need for new participatory practices to challenge typical research protocols. This new work responds through joint mathematically-rich activity to post-colonial critiques of research with marginalized populations. Such critiques often describe research as a “dirty word” (Thambinathan & Kinsella, 2021), because it perpetuates forms of hierarchy and injustice. We counteracted this concern by inviting young prisoners to be co-researchers of their experiences. The examples we present here result from bottom-up extra-curricular experiences involving mathematical ideas. We discuss how such an atypical “school framework” challenges together numerous expectations of both traditional mathematics education and commonsense discourse of prison life. Based on this project experience, we propose in our conclusion the potential for co-constructed needs analysis research to set the stage for informed curriculum development when working with disenfranchised learners who research their own needs. We also discuss the challenges of making this kind of work sustainable and institutionalized.

Report on the 2nd ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO 2022)

The second annual ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO'22) was held from October 6-9 at George Mason University in Arlington, VA, USA. This was the first in-person version of the conference: the first event was held virtually in 2021. The conference builds on a line of workshops on Mechanism Design for Social Good (MD4SG) held previously at the ACM Conference on Economics and Computation, and is affiliated with the broader MD4SG initiative. In both 2022 and 2021, SIGecom was a sponsor of the conference. EAAMO aims to highlight work where techniques from algorithms, optimization, and mechanism design, along with insights from the social sciences and humanistic studies, can help improve equity and access to opportunity for historically disadvantaged and underserved communities. A key goal of the conference is to bridge research and practice in this area. Accordingly, we aimed to foster an interdisciplinary community, including researchers from a computer science, operations research, economics, policy, and more, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in areas related to inequality. The conference featured contributed papers and posters as well invited keynote talks, a panel discussion, a doctoral consortium, and community-building activities and social events.

Coordinating science during an eruption: lessons from the 2020-2021 Kīlauea volcanic eruption.

Data collected during well-observed eruptions can lead to dramatic increases in our understanding of volcanic processes. However, the necessary prioritization of public safety and hazard mitigation during a crisis means that scientific opportunities may be sacrificed. Thus, maximizing the scientific gains from eruptions requires improved planning and coordinating science activities among governmental organizations and academia before and during volcanic eruptions. One tool to facilitate this coordination is a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). In the USA, the Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE) has been developing and testing this concept during workshops and scenario-based activities. The December 2020 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii, provided an opportunity to test and refine this model in real-time and in a real-world setting. We present here the working model of a SAC developed during this eruption. Successes of the Kīlauea SAC (K-SAC) included broadening the pool of scientists involved in eruption response and developing and codifying procedures that may form the basis of operation for future SACs. Challenges encountered by the K-SAC included a process of review and facilitation of research proposals that was too slow to include outside participation in the early parts of the eruption and a decision process that fell on a small number of individuals at the responding volcano observatory. Possible ways to address these challenges include (1) supporting community-building activities between eruptions that make connections among scientists within and outside formal observatories, (2) identifying key science questions and pre-planning science activities, which would facilitate more rapid implementation across a broader scientific group, and (3) continued dialog among observatory scientists, emergency responders, and non-observatory scientists about the role of SACs. The SAC model holds promise to become an integral part of future efforts, leading in the short and longer term to more effective hazard response and greater scientific discovery and understanding.

Bonding and Bridging: Perceptions of Social Capital in Community Music

This case study explores four participants’ experiences with community music (CM) workshops in Austria intended for the university, community, and growing immigrant and refugee populations. The Austrian government encourages cultural integration, potentially furthered through musical activities. Social capital theory, specifically of bonding and bridging, as well as democratic rights of inclusion, enhancement, and participation frame this inquiry. The purpose of this study was to investigate participants’ perceptions of bonding or bridging capital in CM workshops. Research questions included, (a) What are participants’ experiences of bonding or bridging? (b) What are their perceptions and experiences of inclusion, enhancement, or participation? and (c) What role might music play in fostering relationships among diverse participants? Data were collected primarily through interviews and observations and analyzed by coding transcripts for themes that were then compared across participants and with relevant literature. Data suggest community-building activities and purposeful collaborations might create capital, yet bridging capital depends on a confluence of circumstances, including empathetic leadership and activity structures that take virtual needs into account. Implications include the capacity for those with social capital to become bridging people.

Trends in the Provision of Community-Building Activities by Nonprofit Hospitals, 2010-2019.

As part of their annual tax report, nonprofit hospitals are asked to report their community-building activities (CBAs); yet, little is known to date about hospitals' spending on such activities. CBAs are activities that improve community health by addressing the upstream factors and social determinants that impact health. Using data from Internal Revenue Service Form 990 Schedule H, this study used descriptive statistics to examine trends in the provision of CBAs by nonprofit hospitals between 2010 and 2019. While the number of hospitals reporting any CBA spending remained relatively stable at around 60%, the share of total operating expenditures that hospitals contributed to CBAs decreased from 0.04% in 2010 to 0.02% in 2019. Despite the increasing attention paid by policy makers and the public to the contributions that hospitals make to the health of their communities, nonprofit hospitals have not made corresponding efforts to increase their spending on CBAs.

Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Community-Based Art Education among Students in Higher Education

Advocating for the academic value of community-based art education requires empirical evidence that students are not just participating in community-building activities, but also effectively learning content. Unfortunately, little is known about the short- and long-term cognitive outcomes on student participants, particularly in higher education. Based in a phenomenological methodology with a reflective lifeworld research design, this longitudinal study seeks to understand the interwoven cognitive and social outcomes of participating in community-engaged art projects among college students. Informed by a theoretical framework in which CBAE situates learning in authentic social contexts, findings suggest that it may be decisively poised to yield short- and long-term educational benefits in which student learning deepens through the development of social connectedness. These findings expand the possibilities for collaboration as a pedagogical model for inclusive postsecondary education.

Development of an Evidence-Informed Solution to Emotional Distress in Public Safety Personnel and Healthcare Workers: The Social Support, Tracking Distress, Education, and Discussion CommunitY (STEADY) Program.

Public safety personnel (PSP) and healthcare workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to traumatic events and experience an increased rate of adverse mental health outcomes compared to the public. Some organizations have implemented wellness programming to mitigate this issue. To our knowledge, no programs were developed collaboratively by researchers and knowledge users considering knowledge translation and implementation science frameworks to include all evidence-informed elements of posttraumatic stress prevention. The Social Support, Tracking Distress, Education, and Discussion Community (STEADY) Program was developed to fill this gap. It includes (1) peer partnering; (2) distress tracking; (3) psychoeducation; (4) peer support groups and voluntary psychological debriefing following critical incidents; (5) community-building activities. This paper reports on the narrative literature review that framed the development of the STEADY framework and introduces its key elements. If successful, STEADY has the potential to improve the mental well-being of PSP and HCWs across Canada and internationally.

Decolonising learning development through reflective and relational practice

The Decolonising the Curriculum (DtC) movement questions the very values we take for granted as learning developers. If our role is to develop academic literacies and support students to succeed in the curriculum as it is, can we as learning developers be decolonisers? This opinion piece argues that we can and should. It outlines where we can integrate the DtC agenda into our work through reflective and relational practice. The piece stresses the importance of reflection about our role as practitioners within a colonial Higher Education system and of relating to our students as individuals by learning their names and breaking barriers to participation with rapport and community building activities.