The Educational Turn, Rethinking Higher Education, 2023
Sustainable and systemic approaches to addressing mental health are critical in higher education,... more Sustainable and systemic approaches to addressing mental health are critical in higher education, as studies consistently show that university students and academic staff have higher rates of psychological distress than the general population. These issues have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing, mandated online learning, fear, and uncertainty around public health have increased feelings of stress, anxiety, and isolation. Therefore, in a COVID impacted world, cultivating wellbeing and connection in both physical and virtual learning spaces has become a social and educational imperative. Recent experiences of the challenges of supporting wellbeing and connection in the online classroom highlight a range of known and emergent risks. However, these experiences also provide opportunities for reimagining how wellbeing and connection are experienced and promoted in that space and for articulating understandings of student care. Thinking beyond highly individualized western conceptualizations, this chapter aims to position wellbeing as a collective concept, where the wellness of the self is inextricably linked to the wellness of the world. In doing so, we interrogate the presumed universality and neutrality of commonly used online learning technologies and work toward developing learning designs with a pedagogical intention of care, inclusivity, relationality, and student voice.
The Educational Turn, Rethinking Higher Education, 2023
Sustainable and systemic approaches to addressing mental health are critical in higher education,... more Sustainable and systemic approaches to addressing mental health are critical in higher education, as studies consistently show that university students and academic staff have higher rates of psychological distress than the general population. These issues have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing, mandated online learning, fear, and uncertainty around public health have increased feelings of stress, anxiety, and isolation. Therefore, in a COVID impacted world, cultivating wellbeing and connection in both physical and virtual learning spaces has become a social and educational imperative. Recent experiences of the challenges of supporting wellbeing and connection in the online classroom highlight a range of known and emergent risks. However, these experiences also provide opportunities for reimagining how wellbeing and connection are experienced and promoted in that space and for articulating understandings of student care. Thinking beyond highly individualized western conceptualizations, this chapter aims to position wellbeing as a collective concept, where the wellness of the self is inextricably linked to the wellness of the world. In doing so, we interrogate the presumed universality and neutrality of commonly used online learning technologies and work toward developing learning designs with a pedagogical intention of care, inclusivity, relationality, and student voice.
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Papers by Rachel Colla