Their wellbeing affects our wellbeing: student perspectives of lecturer wellbeing and its consequences for student wellbeing

Katie Rakow; Michael Priestley; Nicola Byrom; Juliet Foster; Eleanor Dommett

doi:10.1007/s10734-024-01365-0

Their wellbeing affects our wellbeing: student perspectives of lecturer wellbeing and its consequences for student wellbeing

Katie Rakow, Michael Priestley, Nicola Byrom, Juliet Foster, Eleanor Dommett

Psychology

Durham University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A “whole university approach” has been recommended for addressing concerns about the wellbeing of UK university lecturers and students. Previously, staff wellbeing has been explored from staff perspectives. Student wellbeing has been explored from the perspectives of both students and staff. However, little research has been conducted on student perspectives on staff wellbeing and its possible impact on students. Addressing this gap, this study explored student perceptions of their lecturers’ wellbeing and ways that it can impact on student wellbeing. Three themes were identified from the thematic analysis of 9 focus groups with 41 undergraduate students. First, students notice their lecturer wellbeing, particularly if they have the opportunity to interact with their lecturers. Second, students perceive that their lecturers’ wellbeing can be affected by university policies and practices, student behaviours, and external factors. Third, lecturer wellbeing and student wellbeing are often reciprocal, emphasising the importance of lecturer-student interactions. These findings have implications for a whole university approach, namely development of university practices that support sufficient time for constructive lecturer-student interactions, such as timetabling, allocation of administrative tasks, class size and staffing levels.

Original language	English
Journal	Higher Education
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01365-0
Publication status	Published - 14 Dec 2024

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abstract = "A “whole university approach” has been recommended for addressing concerns about the wellbeing of UK university lecturers and students. Previously, staff wellbeing has been explored from staff perspectives. Student wellbeing has been explored from the perspectives of both students and staff. However, little research has been conducted on student perspectives on staff wellbeing and its possible impact on students. Addressing this gap, this study explored student perceptions of their lecturers{\textquoteright} wellbeing and ways that it can impact on student wellbeing. Three themes were identified from the thematic analysis of 9 focus groups with 41 undergraduate students. First, students notice their lecturer wellbeing, particularly if they have the opportunity to interact with their lecturers. Second, students perceive that their lecturers{\textquoteright} wellbeing can be affected by university policies and practices, student behaviours, and external factors. Third, lecturer wellbeing and student wellbeing are often reciprocal, emphasising the importance of lecturer-student interactions. These findings have implications for a whole university approach, namely development of university practices that support sufficient time for constructive lecturer-student interactions, such as timetabling, allocation of administrative tasks, class size and staffing levels.",

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Their wellbeing affects our wellbeing: student perspectives of lecturer wellbeing and its consequences for student wellbeing

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