Regenerative Student Guidance

As a student advisor in education, you work in a world that is constantly changing. Complex challenges and rapid changes call for an approach to guidance that is not only supportive, but also meaningful. This research emerged from Aniek Draaisma’s own search for ways to help students discover what matters to them, what they want to contribute to and what unique value they can bring in these turbulent times.

She explored a form of guidance that goes beyond the individual: guidance that contributes to caring for ourselves, one another and the world. The research focused on regenerative student guidance, an approach that supports not only personal growth, but also the restoration and strengthening of our shared living environment.

Project Background

The world students live in today is not the same world they will enter after completing their education. Social and ecological challenges are increasing in both severity and scale. At the same time, the mental well-being of many young adults is under pressure. Post-secondary education has a responsibility to support students and their advisors in contributing collectively to restoration and renewal, not only of themselves, but of society as a whole.

Objective

To understand how regenerative student guidance contributes to sustainable and connected learning environments and to broader social and ecological well-being.

Target Group

The results are intended for study advisors, mentors, career advisors, coaches and other education professionals working in MBO, HBO and WO. They are also relevant to anyone who supports students in their personal and professional development while considering the broader context of sustainability and regeneration.

Method

Together with student colleague Ilaria Rossi, Aniek Draaisma explored how regenerative guidance takes shape within Dutch post-secondary education. The practice-oriented research involved 21 conversations with 25 student advisors.

The central question was: how can we, as student advisors, support students in developing their potential so that they can use it collectively to contribute to a sustainable and just society?

Results

Based on 21 conversations with 25 regenerative student advisors, the research shows that regenerative guidance unfolds along three interconnected pathways.

• The inner pathway: The student advisor and student continuously explore their values, motivations and roles. Space is created for self-discovery, vulnerability and the emotional impact of transformative learning.
• The community pathway: Growth takes place in relation to others, within learning communities where connection, co-creation and friction coexist and where nature is also included.
• The system-wide pathway: Student advisors and students learn to navigate the tension between regenerative ambitions and the limitations of the education system, while looking for creative space for change.

The findings examine the forces that influence guidance, including enabling, limiting and connecting factors. The research provides concrete strategies, reflection questions and tools for student advisors.

The research also resulted in the following outputs:

• Regenerative Student Guidance
  The practical guide Regenerative Student Guidance: A Guide for Student Advisors in Post-Secondary Education was published in December 2025. It contains insights, quotes, practical applications and reflection questions structured around the three pathways. The guide is a living document that student advisors are invited to expand based on their own experiences.
• The Regeneration Lab
  A podcast series featuring ten of the conversations with student advisors. Listen to the episodes here.
• International Handbook
  A chapter in the international handbook Regenerative and Restorative Pedagogy (in press).

Impact

The research provides student advisors with practical tools to support students in their personal and professional development while considering sustainability and regeneration. In doing so, regenerative student guidance contributes to connected learning environments in which students and their advisors can work together towards a sustainable and just society.

Duration

September 2024 – 2026

Collaboration

The research builds on insights from the broader regenerative education movement and was made possible through contributions from practitioners, researchers and educators.

Team

Centre of Expertise Mission Zero

• dr Aniek Draaisma, researcher
• Ilaria Rossi, former student assistant

Contact

dr Aniek Draaisma
[email protected]
+31 6 43 29 98 53