# Lived experience inclusion in psychology education: a survey of Australian tertiary institutions

## TL;DR

This study surveys Australian psychology educators about including lived experience in their teaching, finding it's used to enrich learning but faces resource and relevance barriers.

## Contribution

This is the first survey of Australian psychology educators on lived experience inclusion in their curriculum.

## Key findings

- Over 50% of respondents use lived experience in their teaching to enrich learning.
- Barriers include resource constraints, perceived relevance, and work-safety concerns.
- Enablers include resourcing, leadership support, and increased acceptability of lived experience.

## Abstract

To conduct a preliminary survey of staff involved in teaching accredited psychology units at Australian tertiary institutions about their inclusion of lived experience in education.

Academics were informed about the study by Heads of School/Directors of Education. Thirty-two educators across undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses completed an online survey. Content analysis was used to identify recurring themes and patterns in the data.

Over 50% of the respondents were using their own or others’ lived experience in their curriculum, with the primary reason being to enrich learning. The main barriers reported were resource constraints, perceived relevance, and work-safety concerns. Key enablers were identified as resourcing, leadership support, and increasing acceptability of lived experience. Almost two thirds of respondents self-identified as having personal lived experience.

This study provides an initial snapshot of the current state of lived experience inclusion in Australian psychology tertiary education. The findings are of importance for our discipline to maintain consistency with other disciplines and ensure we are preparing graduates to effectively contribute to a workforce which values consumer and community expertise.

What is already known about this topic:
Involvement of people with lived experience has expanded considerably in recent years across education, research, policy, and practice.Many health profession education courses now include lived experience content and expertise, however not much is known about inclusion in psychology education.Competency standards require psychology graduates to work with respect and sensitivity towards people with diverse experiences and perspectives.

Involvement of people with lived experience has expanded considerably in recent years across education, research, policy, and practice.

Many health profession education courses now include lived experience content and expertise, however not much is known about inclusion in psychology education.

Competency standards require psychology graduates to work with respect and sensitivity towards people with diverse experiences and perspectives.

What this topic adds:
This is the first known survey of educators at tertiary institutions offering accredited courses in psychology in Australia about the inclusion of lived experience in teaching/curriculum.Over one-half of survey respondents are using their own or others’ lived experience in their psychology teaching/curriculum, while others would like to but have not yet had the opportunity, seeing it as a way to enrich learning.Barriers to the inclusion of lived experience in Australian tertiary psychology courses included resource constraints such as time and budget, as well as the perceived relevance of lived experience to psychology teaching/curriculum.

This is the first known survey of educators at tertiary institutions offering accredited courses in psychology in Australia about the inclusion of lived experience in teaching/curriculum.

Over one-half of survey respondents are using their own or others’ lived experience in their psychology teaching/curriculum, while others would like to but have not yet had the opportunity, seeing it as a way to enrich learning.

Barriers to the inclusion of lived experience in Australian tertiary psychology courses included resource constraints such as time and budget, as well as the perceived relevance of lived experience to psychology teaching/curriculum.