ERIC Number: EJ1357712
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0316-1218
EISSN: N/A
Uneven Learning Landscapes Ahead: Instructor Perspectives on Undergraduate Student Mental Health
Parizeau, Kate
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, v52 n2 p67-80 2022
This study investigates instructor perspectives on undergraduate student mental health in a mid-sized comprehensive university in southwestern Ontario. Through a survey (n = 190) and two focus group discussions (n = 8), instructors reported different perspectives toward student mental health (some inclusive, some tolerant, and some discriminatory); changing workloads and pressures associated with addressing student mental health; and a predominant framing of mental health conditions as biomedical concerns. Using the conceptual framework of learning landscapes (Noyes, 2004), I argue that students with mental health concerns experience uneven and sometimes inequitable learning environments across their post-secondary education due to the differing microclimates created by individual instructors. While institutional policies and advocacy efforts to support mental health on campus may help to shift the learning landscape, they are unlikely to change the biases exhibited by some instructors that represent barriers to accessible post-secondary education.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Mental Health, Foreign Countries, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Educational Environment, Bias, Barriers
Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. P.O. Box 34091, RPO Fort Richmond, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5, Canada. Tel: 204-474-6404; Fax: 204-474-7561; e-mail: csshe@cc.umanitoba.ca; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A