Teaching Fellows' viewpoint

Support

Prof Kurt Barling, Professor of Journalism (Practice).

Learning in a supportive environment requires us to help students to negotiate the differences they are encountering, often for the first time, at Middlesex. Differences of culture, language and outlook that challenge the way they see the world. But our supportive environment must start with the idea of being open to their perspective and avoid the urge to be too prescriptive about how they should begin to adapt their ways of thinking and learning. Teaching requires being open to those different individual experiences and by accepting the value of those insights we are validating their decision to be at Middlesex. To belong in this community of learning means to feel equally valued in an environment that not only embraces diversity but uses the sources of that diversity to help students grasp the importance of learning, thinking critically and working with a range of people of different abilities and outlooks, but where there is a shared common purpose to improve their opportunities and their chances of making an impact on the world.

Uncertainty in HE or frailty in the system?

Nicky Lambert. Associate Professor, Mental Health

A review of the ‘Not by Degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK’s Universities’ report recently released shows an explosion of need in terms of student mental health, so what’s going on?

• Demographics: As the 3 children in each classroom with a diagnosable mental health condition (Layard 2011) progress through the education system to university, the number of students presenting with mental distress increases. In addition, 75% of people with mental health issues have their first episode before turning 25 years old. It makes sense then that parts of society where this age group dominate should be expecting to face these issues.
• Widening participation: As the student population becomes more diverse it may also be that non-traditional students who are the first in their family to go to university are less prepared and supported. It is also likely that students with established experience of mental distress are accessing higher education in greater numbers than before. 
• Decreasing stigma: There has been a x5 increase in the number of students disclosing mental health issues to universities over the past 10 years. It may be that with decreased stigma people are more comfortable to access the services they are entitled to. A more cynical view is that the Equalities Act (2010) has forced institutions into being ‘slightly less awful’ to people with additional health and learning support needs! 
• University experience: Many people fortunate enough to experience subsidised Higher Education from their youth would not recognise the current situation. Most students are working externally to their academic courses to survive and many are worried by spiralling debt as well as feeling the pressure to get a 2:1 and above for any prospect of a decent job. (It should be noted that carer’s responsibilities also fall within this remit of work external to study and are rarely appropriately waged or valued). 
• Social media: It is impossible to have a list of factors that cause emotional distress without including social media – so here goes! There are suggestions that social media provides a ‘comfort blanket’ to homesick students away from their old social networks for the first time, offering a false sense of connection and discouraging them from braving Freshers week and making new friends. If things get tough, they then have less resource in their everyday lives to call on for practical and emotional support.

In the face of this alarming picture the university sector is offering uneven support:

• Less than a third of HEIs had an explicit mental health and wellbeing strategy and around a quarter of HEIs reported that they do not work well with either NHS mental health services or voluntary organisations.
• Only 43% design course content and delivery so as to support student mental health and wellbeing and 29% do not monitor the attendance of all students. 
• Only 45% have a student medical practice (GP) based on site and 67% do not provide students access to NHS mental health specialists who can deliver interventions on site.

The Report recommendations

• Universities: should focus on student mental health and wellbeing as a priority issue and fund and develop their own ‘whole-university’ approaches, subject to audit and quality assurance, and which draw on best practice.
• The Government: should facilitate greater integration across the services through place-based coalitions, addressing the transition between child and adult services and by introducing a Student Health Fund to pilot mental health services in places with high student populations.
• Recognition of the unique health needs of student populations: GP practices with high proportions of student-patients could be supported by a Student Premium to top-up their funding; as students are likely to be disadvantaged from current funding arrangements. Student mobility could be addressed by a digital NHS Student Health Passport to link health services for students moving between home and university. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) may also be updated to collect data on the prevalence of mental illness among students from 2021. 
• Awareness and action: groups like Student Minds work to empower members of university communities to look after their own mental health, support others and create change. Do follow them on Twitter: @StudentMindsOrg

References:
Thorley C. (2017) Not by Degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK’s Universities, IPPR. http://www.ippr.org/research/publications/not-by-degrees

Belonging…..

Tina Moore, Senior lecturer, Nursing

There is no dispute that students who have a sense of belonging within the classroom (and indeed beyond) are more motivated to participate actively in the life of the classroom than those students who do not have this kind of experience. I believe that the central concept to the sense of belonging is inclusiveness. Here are some ways in which to foster a sense of belonging for students (there are so many that I have only identified a few!)

• Treat everyone as equal and that they belong (work with the assumption that everyone has attended because they want to even if their behaviour contradicts this!). It is useful to revisit the theories of andragogy here.
• Develop and sustain a trusting relationship / learning environment for your students 
• Provide opportunities for ALL students to engage and participate in their own way – use teaching styles/methodologies that will exploit this. 
• Feeling of being valued - know all your students by their name (or preferred name). Use their contributions (no matter how small) to reinforce information. 
• Yourself as a teacher/facilitator – model positive attitudes (should be motivated and enthusiastic – even if your inner self is showing you the opposite) 
• Cultivate respect and tolerance of all within the educational space including diversity

Be aware of those students who are not participating (remember participation is not just verbal it can also be non-verbal) and check directly if they have ideas or would like to be involved. Above all keep evaluating as the students sense of belonging may change from one session to another or even from one learning activity to another.