EADTU-EU Summit 2024

1. Student and staff
mental wellbeing in
online, open and
distance higher
education
Professor Kate Lister
Associate Dean/Director of EDI at Arden University
Visiting Professor at the Open University UK

2. Distance learning student wellbeing

3. 12/05/2024

4. 12/05/2024
Barriers and enablers to wellbeing for
distance learning students
Project in the Open University between 2018 and 2021
aimed to apply a social model approach to mental health.
RQ1: What barriers and enablers to mental wellbeing do
students experience in distance learning?
RQ2: What solutions do students and staff perceive
would reduce these barriers?
RQ3: How can these solutions be embedded in distance
learning?

5. 12/05/2024
Barriers and
enablers to wellbeing
Interviews (N=21) and survey
(N=584) results revealed a
taxonomy of themes.
Most themes appeared as both
barriers and enablers, meaning
that a factor can be a barrier or
an enabler, depending how it is
designed and how the person
experiences it.
Lister et al, 2021

6. 12/05/2024
Suggestions for
solutions from
focus groups
(N=116)

7. Positive Digital
Practices
A two-year £350k collaborative
project, funded by Office for
Students, creating resources for
part-time, distance and commuter
students. Resource hub:
https://positivedigitalpractices.we
ebly.com/resource-hub.html

8. University staff wellbeing

9. Barriers and enablers to
university staff wellbeing
A social media call on university staff
wellbeing in 2022 suggested themes of:
• Academic culture, values and being
valued
• Leadership, working
practices/restrictions and work
environments
• Confidence, self-awareness and trust

10. Barriers to staff wellbeing
o Academic workplace culture
o Competition
o Presenteeism
o Casualisation
o Workload
o Workaholism
o Burnout
o Space Efficiency
o Inequalities and discrimination
o Gender inequality
o Race and ethnicity-related discrimination
o Disability and ableism
o Homophobia and LGBTQ+ discrimination
o Third space, recognition, professional services
o Wellbeing and Mental Health Literacy

11. Barriers to staff wellbeing
“Staff and student wellbeing are not separate
issues but need to be considered as mutually
dependent parts of the same ecosystem. The
literature suggests, and it is the authors’ firm
belief, that working towards an integrated,
holistic approach to staff and student wellbeing
may be beneficial for all.”
“It is essential that universities find ways to
counter the toxic and competitive cultures of
the past and move towards a strategic vision
that supports a culture of compassion,
belonging and equality for staff and students.”

12. Distance learning staff wellbeing

13. Academic development as an enabler

14. Academic development as an enabler

15. Academic development and wellbeing
Significance by demographic
Area Question Ethnicity (not white) Gender (female) Gender (male)
Wellbeing
5.1. APD has had a positive impact on me. X2 (6, N=274) =14.207, p=.027
5.12. After an APD event, I feel good in and of
myself. X2 (6, N=274) =20.217, p=.003 X2 (9, N=274) =32.740, p<.001
5.8. APD has helped me enjoy and feel good in
my practice. X2 (6, N=274) =21.845, p=.001 X2 (9, N=274) =30.407, p<.001
Community
5.9. I've met colleagues I might not have
5.10. APD gives me a sense of community X2 (6, N=274) =12.383, p=.046 X2 (9, N=274) =22.734, p=.007
Confidence
5.2. APD helps me develop my confidence X2 (6, N=274) =14.829, p=.022
5.7. I've gained confidence in my practice. X2 (6, N=274) =24.153, p<.001
Belonging
5.3. APD gives me a sense of belonging X2 (9, N=274) =17.398, p=.043
5.4. APD has made me feel included X2 (6, N=274) =13.454, p=.036
Valued
5.5. APD makes me feel valued
5.11. Arden values and prioritises staff
development X2 (6, N=274) =13.725, p=.033 X2 (9, N=274) =26.517, p=.002

16. Contract type and wellbeing
Contract type made a significant difference to wellbeing (X2 (12, N=274) =55.738, p<.001), (no significant
differences by gender or ethnicity.)
41
87
41
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Associate or zero-hours academic
Permanent academic
Permanent professional services
Contract has positive impact on wellbeing Contract makes no difference to wellbeing Contract has negative impact on wellbeing

17. Workloads, culture, isolation, technology
“It is hard to feel a sense of belonging when
all work is distance. I do not meet colleagues
face to face and as an associate, although
everybody is lovely and will help when I reach
out, it is hard to feel part of the team.”
“I feel a gap between management
and staff... lack of belongingness..”
“The single thing that hinders my day to day is the
huge volume of technology - I struggle to cope with
my tasks because of all the IT aspects that I can't do.”
“Without a clear, strong sense of
development, I feel restless and
unfulfilled. I have recently requested a
mentor, so I hope this helps.”
“[APD is] a fantastic way to meet colleagues that you
wouldn't usually work with. It definitely contributes to
the community. It's just balancing workload to engage
with APD that's the main challenge. From a well-being
perspective, I'd like to engage with APD more, but I
can't due to volume of work - which can create feelings
of stress.”

18. Further work
needed
• Interviews and surveys with distance
learning staff in different institutions
• Establishing a taxonomy of barriers
and enablers for staff
• Trialling and evaluating case studies
of practice to enhance wellbeing, a
‘what works’ approach
• ….Anyone interested in collaborating?

19. Kate Lister - klister@arden.ac.uk - Kate.lister@open.ac.uk - @KateMarburg