Student wellbeing and assessment in higher education: the balancing act

Abstract

This paper draws on staff and student consultations conducted during the development of Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter to identify five key tensions which can arise in assessment design and strategy when seeking to balance the wellbeing of students with pedagogical, practical and policy considerations. It highlights the need to acknowledge the pressures of assessment on staff wellbeing as well as students. The particular tensions explored include the need to balance challenge against the psychological threats this can entail; the varying impacts of traditional and novel forms of assessment; the differing demands of collaborative and individual work; the tensions between ideal strategies and those which are practically feasible; and the ways in which feedback is given (as a constructive learning tool) and received (often as a psychological threat). These tensions can provide a valuable point of reflection for educators who need to critically and proactively navigate these conflicts within their own assessment design and practices, as part of a wider whole university approach to promoting student wellbeing.

Keywords:

• Assessment
• wellbeing
• mental health
• whole university approach

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Data collection was funded by The UPP Foundation and The Office for Students, through the Charity Student Minds, as part of the development of the University Mental Health Charter.

Notes on contributors

Emma Jones

Emma Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield. Her previous role was Teaching Director at The Open University Law School. She is also a qualified solicitor (non-practising) and teacher. Her research interests focus on the role of emotions and wellbeing in higher education, legal education and the legal profession.

Michael Priestley

Michael Priestley is an ESRC-funded doctoral student at Durham University School of Education. Michael obtained his Bachelor degree in Education Studies/ English Literature (2016) and his Master degree in Education Studies (2017) at Durham University. His research interests focus on education policy and student wellbeing in a whole university approach.

Liz Brewster

Liz Brewster is a senior lecturer in medical education at Lancaster Medical School, Lancaster University. Her research focuses on interventions for mental health and wellbeing in diverse settings including higher education and medical education.

Susan J. Wilbraham

Susan J. Wilbraham is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Psychology at the University of Cumbria, and has been awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017). She completed her PhD on Stress, Emotion and Health in Students, with University of Central Lancashire (2010). Her research interests focus on Stress and Wellbeing in Education.

Gareth Hughes

Gareth Hughes is a psychotherapist and Research Lead – Student Wellbeing at the University of Derby. He also works for Student Minds as a Clinical Advisor and was the Development Lead of the University Mental Health Charter. He is the lead author of The Wellbeing Thesis, an online resource for PGR students and is currently leading an OfS funded project to produce guidance, for academics, on developing curriculum that supports wellbeing and learning. His new book for students, Be Well, Learn Well is due to be published in September 2020 by Macmillan. He is a Principal Fellow of the HEA and a tutor for the Human Givens College.

Leigh Spanner

Leigh Spanner is Sector Improvement Lead at Student Minds, the UK's student mental health charity. She leads the development and implementation of the University Mental Health Charter and the Students Minds Students' Unions programme. Leigh has an MSc in Higher Education from the University of Oxford, where she researched student voice.