Abstract:

The mental health and well-being of students in higher education, especially in the post Covid-19 era, has become a major concern. First entry students in particular not only have to make the transition from school to university but also have to cope with the changing teaching and learning landscape post Covid-19 as most contact institutions are now using the hybrid mode of teaching or in some instances teaching and learning is predominantly online. This is in addition to the other stressors that students may encounter both in and out of university. For example, in the South African context, many students experience socio-cultural and economic challenges which may hinder their progress at university. These issues have led to the focus on student well-being and calls for pedagogies of care to enhance student-well being and ultimately student success. As such, in our attempt to assist students with their transition to university studies and enhance their well-being, we revised our first-year Academic Literacy module by adopting a pedagogy of care. In adopting a pedagogy of care, amongst others, we sought to create a more responsive and engaging environment. However, student questionnaire data and student course evaluations at the end of the semester, as well as informal conversations with them during the lectures and tutorials revealed that students still struggled to make the transition to university life. On reflecting on our pedagogy and student responses we found that some factors may have acted as possible impediments to care, thereby impacting negatively on student well-being, ultimately having a negative effect on their academic engagement and overall performance. In discussing these impediments, we argue that they are not ideal conditions for care-giving and care-receiving with reference to the relational nature of care. Some implications for teaching and learning and future research are considered.

Keywords:

Ethics of care, higher education, academic literacy.