STUDENTSKA PERCEPCIJA VRŠNJAČKE PODRŠKE U VISOKOŠKOLSKOM OBRAZOVANJU
STUDENT'S PERCEPTION OF PEER SUPPORT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Summary/Abstract: Peer support in higher education, as a form of mutual assistance of students, is ubiquitous regardless of whether it is institutionally guided or it is implicitly present. It strives to the improvement of students’ educational achievements, but also their general well-being, which can be operationalized through the degree of satisfaction of basic human needs. Explained through the prism of Maslows’ hierarchy of needs, meeting the need of love and belonging is an important step towards educational achievements or self-actualization. In the context of peer support, the assumption is that a student who has more social interactions with peers will have better educational achievements. The paper aims to underline the importance of peer support and its institutionalization in higher education institutions. Presenting the examples of good practice of organized and guided peer support at universities in the region, on the one hand, and the expressed needs of students of the University of Sarajevo, on the other hand, aims to explore the possibility of creating peer support programs to improve students' educational achievements and their general well-being. This area is of particular importance in the post - Covid situation, during which social interactions were reduced, teaching took place in a virtual environment, and peer support was reduced or completely absent. Although we do not have data on students' needs for peer support before the pandemic, which would be a significant comparison given the many challenges posed by the emergency, the paper might be an important starting point for actualization of this phenomena and establishing a peer support system at university level.

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