Escorting students into responsibility and autonomy (ESRA): A model for supervising degree projects

Abstract

Background: Several models for how to support students and provide them with the skills needed to write their degree projects have been proposed. However, few attempts have been made to present a general model for students’ academic work based on reasoning and communication skills rather than memorizing and mimicking their supervisors during their independent degree project. Objective: In the present paper, we propose a well-structured model that assists supervisors in promoting students’ responsibility and autonomy, while at the same time maintaining a high level of support. Presentation: We present a step-by-step protocol based on a partnership model with a contractual style that focuses on students’ academic work with their own texts through a process of alternating between abstract and concrete writing. This protocol, which is called the ESRA (Escorting the Students into Responsibility and Autonomy) model, can be utilized regardless of the content, specific aim and scope of the individual student’s degree project. Discussion and Conclusions: We argue that this model promotes high levels of engagement and assumption of responsibility among students, while also offering a feasible structure for ensuring the steps to empowerment and autonomy. Use of the ESRA model is suitable when a constructive interaction between students and supervisors is desirable as a tool to achieve the learning outcomes of the degree project. Thus, the proposed model is one step toward giving a new generation of nurses the skills and ability they need to adapt in the changing world of the 21st century and to make promoting health a core mission of their profession.