Toward Improving the Mental Well-being of Students in Higher Education: The Pastoral Support Role of Graduate Teaching Assistants.

According to the Student Academic Experience Survey 2024, despite the crucial need for academic excellence, the mental well-being of university students is relatively low compared to that of other young individuals. Consequently, Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) play a unique and invaluable role in supporting students’ well-being, both academically and personally. GTAs are particularly suited to provide pastoral care and support due to their close interactions with students and their first hand experiences of how learning can be inherently challenging and unsettling. This study examines the pastoral support role of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) in promoting students’ well-being through the lens of Social Support Theory, drawing on the lived experiences of three GTAs from two different research centres within the same higher education institution in the United Kingdom. To achieve this, the Five Ways to Wellbeing (FWW) framework- which includes ‘Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Give’-was utilised to reflect on our teaching practices. The outcomes and impacts of adopting this framework on students’ mental well-being and academic performance are also discussed. Overall, the study concludes that by integrating social support into their teaching, GTAs enhance both students’ academic success and well-being.