Mental Health and Higher Education in Australia

This book addresses a broad range of issues related to mental health in higher education in Australia, with specific reference to student and staff well-being. It examines the challenges of creating and sustaining more resilient cultures within higher education and the community. Showcasing some of Australia's unique experiences, the authors present a multidisciplinary perspective of mental health supports and services relevant to the higher education landscape. This book examines the different ways Australian higher education institutions responded/are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, with reference to domestic and international students. Through the exploration of practice and research, the authors add to the rich discourses on well-being in the higher education. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Employing Humanistic Teaching Approaches to Promote Student Wellbeing in Higher Education

Given the increasing levels of stress, strain and anxiety brought about by "ongoing challenges of living independently, autonomous learning and peer competition [initially for better grades, and thereafter, for better jobs/careers] [as well as the] … financial challenges established by high tuition and living fees”, tertiary-level students from across the world have sadly been experiencing significant wellbeing issues, including mental health complications. There is therefore an urgent need for educators to employ innovative means of engaging students to neutralise stressful situations that may arise from these global tertiary educational trends, as well as the increasingly demanding pressures generated as a result of needing to adjust to new academic environments and teacher–student relationships in a current COVID-19, as well as a future post-pandemic, world. To that end, this chapter will attempt to put forward the suggestion that humanistic teaching approaches would be ideally suited to address this serious malady inflicting the higher education sector. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Human Well-Being and Pandemic Crisis: Implications for Social Work Practice from Kerala Experience

Nipah virus, the consecutive 2018 and 2019 floods, the internal social, economic and political struggles have had a significant impact on the lives of people in Kerala, India. While the state of Kerala was trying to get back to some form of stability, Covid-19 slams into, in an unprecedented way, drastically disrupting the lives of many. It has shaken the interconnectedness and interdependence of families and placed communities in a state of fear, anxiety and uncertainty. This article is about the vulnerabilities, experiences, voices and untold stories of courage and resilience among people in Kerala. Authors present a reflective analysis of the multidimensional impact of Covid-19 on the ordinary lives of the people of Kerala. The deleterious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the entire humanity reckons the attention of governments, economists, educators, social scientists, medical and allied professionals, including social workers, to make concerted efforts to preserve and promote human well-being. Taking into consideration the structural inequalities in society, the present paper utilises a critical social work theoretical lens to analyse how it has impacted the well-being of people, especially the marginalised and vulnerable communities in Kerala. © 2020 Jacab et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.