The Imperative Need to Explore the Reciprocal Nature Between Student and Faculty Well-Being in Indian Colleges and Universities!

This article establishes the importance of addressing both the faculty and student mental well-being in Indian higher educational institutions. The Indian Universities are yet to realize the reciprocal nature and the importance of both faculty and student well-being. It is important to explore this aspect further and incorporate remedial steps and policies for both students’ and academic staff’ complete mental health. More empirical research needs to be done to address this issue and ensure a flourishing environment for all stakeholders in the Universities.

Complete mental health encompasses various aspects of the emotional, psychological and social well-being of the individual. This creates an impact on how the individual thinks, feels, and acts to the circumstances surrounding them. Complete mental health or well-being is significant to determining the solution made by the individual when faced with adversity. Mental health is often misunderstood with mental health conditions, however complete mental health itself can be considered as a state of well-being of an individual that allows them to deal with various stressful situations that they might experience in day-to-day life.

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Well-being aims at creating environments in which an individual can thrive and reach their optimal potential in any aspect of their life. In this article, we share our opinion on how the well-being of students and the faculty members of any higher educational institution are reciprocal and the universities need to formulate policies ensuring improved mental health and well-being for both. When the attention is directed towards individual well-being, it incorporates the prevention of mental illnesses, improvement and perfection of an individual’s capacity, along with better health-oriented lifestyles that ultimately contribute to the improved functioning of society in the bigger picture (Trolian et al., 2022).

The term well-being used in relation to schools, colleges and other higher educational institutions is commonly understood as the complete mental health of the students. It is important to mention that when the topic of school mental health is discussed, the inclusion of school and college educators, administrators, and mental health workers is also crucial.

The academic staff also experiences enormous levels of stress in the traditional educational institution settings (Lever et al., 2017). The individuals were a part of the academic staff’s experience of stress not only in the workplace but also in their homes.

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The study conducted by the American Psychological Association Annual Stress in America survey indicates that about 60% of the total population residing in the United States experiences stress from their work environment. This statistic is considered to be important as it implicates the work environment of the schools and other work settings. The study provides a surprising insight that the teachers reported being enthusiastic about teaching when they start their careers however while filling out the survey forms only 15% of the total participants reported enthusiasm.

The academic staff has also reported having high rates of stress and burnout in the education field. The main sources of stress for the teachers and the faculty members can be the challenges of student behaviour, inadequate resources provided, paperwork given to the staff, higher responsibility for nurturing students and others, huge class size, inadequate recognition from society, and more.

Teachers who have reported that they have a lack of autonomy or control over their classroom also report having high levels of stress (Lever et al.,, 2017). This indicates how faculty mental health is affected by student behaviour in an educational setting. If the students are not cooperative then it harms the faculty and facilitates the feeling of being overwhelmed or stressed.

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This article establishes the importance of addressing both the faculty and student mental well-being in higher educational institutions. Throwing light on the collaborating influences between an individual and their social context provides a theoretical indication that mental health issues and the relationship between a student and faculty can be reciprocal (Miller-Lewis et al., 2014). A research study done by Miller-Lewis et al. (2014) shows how psychological well-being refers to significant concepts like self-esteem, sense of purpose and autonomy, and quality interaction between peers.

The main argument provided by this research paper is that navigating and carefully monitoring the university environment and the environment in the educational institution can lead to positive outcomes in both student performances and faculty performances (Miller-Lewis et al., 2014). It establishes a relationship between the faculty and student mental health and how significant it is in the environment of an educational institution. The focus of the discussion is to determine if student mental health is affected or influenced by the mental health of faculty and vice versa, the agenda is to establish the importance of faculty-student interaction and how it determines the performances and outputs of both in their environment.

Previous research literature also indicates that students who are involved in poor-quality student-teacher relationships are more likely to show behavioural and mental health problems (Pianta et al.,1995). This also results in poorer prosocial behaviour and other socializing problems among the students.

This indicates that there have been studies conducted that have already established a relationship between the student and faculty from a mental health perspective; however, there is a need to explore if the mental health and well-being of both students and faculty affect each other in a reciprocal way or unidirectionally.

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There is also authentication on how the child may internalize certain traits and behaviouristic characteristics from their interactions with the teacher. This provides the establishment of an influential relationship between the faculty and the student. The student-faculty relationship is significant as it creates an impact that can be followed up throughout a lifetime in the case of the student.

The participants in the latest research study have also reported that the faculty members have started addressing mental well-being frequently compared to the situation three years back. This indicates the influence of faculty members and how their belief regarding mental health and well-being affects the students (Travia et al., 2020). This has contributed to better well-being among the students, especially in their fourth year. The study undoubtedly suggests that the interaction between faculty and students continues to the positive development of students’ self-esteem and other aspects of mental health well-being.

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This enhances their experience in their university stage of life and often results in positive academic outcomes and other social outcomes. The above-mentioned study provides an image of the important role played by the student-faculty relationship in the development of the student’s mental health and overall well-being (Travia et al., 2020). However, there is a need to address the faculty’s well-being too.

Previous literature also provides a deeper understanding of how faculty interaction and the relationship between faculty and students determine the overall mental health of the student. The dismissive attitude of the faculty hurts the students and their academic outcomes (Wasil et al., 2022). If a faculty member is not feeling good themselves, then it will naturally impact their ability to provide a thriving environment to their students and in fact, can lead to negative impacts while interacting with students. Therefore, there is a need to address faculty well-being and focus on their complete mental health too.

The research project published by the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice indicates a strong argument about the role of academic staff in student mental health (Crawford et al., 2018). In this research project, the academic staff has concerns about overall student mental health and does their best to provide them with the utmost care required so that it would not hinder their academic performance. Supporting students in difficult cases or contexts refers to making sure that the students are okay and coming out of character and helping them get the help they require.

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In other words, this support can also be considered emotional support to the students. This could initiate the building of a positive faculty-student relationship and positive outcomes can be expected. The academic staff in the study believed that they held a very important role in their student’s life and it is important for them to make sure that the student is getting help in such a way that it would contribute to their holistic development.

The academic staff also reported during the study that the students were frank and blunt about their non-academic issues which mostly include mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or relationship issues. This provides an understanding of the nature of the relationship that was shared between the students and teachers in this sample of the study. However, the results of this research project are unexpected and surprising. The findings from the majority of interviews suggested that the academic staff who were supporting the students with their non-academic problems felt a negative impact themselves.

They experienced issues like tiredness, sleeping problems, and a feeling of being worried or concerned. They often reported feeling burdened or having a weight of responsibility on their shoulders. The academic staff also reported that they didn’t have proper outlets or help for the institute to cope with these feelings or issues (Crawford et al., 2018). This indicates the need for the right measures and policies being implemented by the institutes to support students, faculty and staff to address issues around mental well-being and cater to building a more thriving environment.

The aforementioned arguments and points discussed in this article indicate the reciprocal relationship between the faculty and students’ well-being. The article shows that the mental health of students is often compromised in their academic life and is often a result of the communication gap between the faculty and the students. The students often find themselves to be hesitant in voicing their issues and problems which leads to stress, anxiety, and depression.

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It has been repeatedly mentioned that mental health holds a vital position in the academic outcomes of students. The aim of this article is to establish the reciprocal and interdependent nature of the mental health and well-being of the students and their professors. The article explores the responsibilities and duties of the academic staff and how they perceive themselves. The academic staff in the studies mentioned above are well aware of their position in their students’ lives and believe that they can’t replace the position of a counsellor.

However, even though that research project was overly insightful it provides the context of the Western countries and fails to give an idea about the Indian context. Further studies need to be conducted to provide a stronger argument based on the relationship between the mental health of the faculty and students and how this relationship varies according to cultural and regional differences. More empirical research studies need to be conducted in the Indian context to gain an understanding of the characteristics of the ever-dynamic and complex relationship between the faculty and student well-being so that remedial measures can be actively taken to ensure a thriving environment for both students and faculty.