1. Supporting Student Wellbeing: What can teachers do?
Tazin Abdullah & Inah Matsuoka-Yi

2. educational environment
Who are we?
Student Advisors – MQ ELC We see students for various issues – attendance, academic progress, welfare issues etc.
Issues within
educational environment
Wellbeing issues

3. Background
What is wellbeing?

4. Background What is wellbeing?
Wellbeing is not just the absence of disease or illness. It is a complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. In short, wellbeing could be described as how you feel about yourself and your life.(Better Health Channel, 2014)

5. Not a lot of research done in the international student context
Background
Student wellbeing
45% of students surveyed reported emotional stress during their studies (Schweitzer, 1996 quoted in Pejic, 2012). These issues are heightened in the case of International students (Pejic, 2012).
Not a lot of research done in the international student context

6. Background
Some factors contributing to the heightened emotional stress:
Visa conditions
New environment
Language barriers
Cultural differences
Social isolation
Expectation from family
Finances

7. Outline Common student perspectives
Collaborative approach to support students
Strategies and language to use

8. This gap can affect student wellbeing.
Common Student Perspectives
The ‘Gap’
Expectation
This gap can affect student wellbeing.
The gap
Reality

9. Common Student Perspectives
About the teacher

10. Common Student Perspectives
About the teacher
The teacher teaches the class differently to what I’m used to in my country.
The teacher doesn’t give me enough instructions.
The teacher is very abrupt with me.

11. Common Student Perspectives
About the academic and classroom experience

12. Common Student Perspectives
About the academic and classroom experience
I’m failing. Learning English is so much harder than I thought.
There is so much more work to do than I thought.

13. Common Student Perspectives
About expectations of life
I don’t know what to do on the weekend, so I just stay at home
I thought I could make local friends easily, but I can’t
Everything in Australia is so expensive.

14. The Effect on Wellbeing
Issue
Issue
Issue
Issue

16. Collaborative Approach
The importance of collaboration
Paying attention to the needs of international students can have many positive effects for an institution. Developing skills in this area is beneficial for staff, students and the institution (Bradley, 2000 p. 431).

17. Collaborative Approach
Teachers and Student Advisors Working Together
Know the scope of the role
Send a consistent message
Be on the same page

18. What Can Teachers Do? Plan ahead Plan your conversation
Plan the language you will use

19. Plan Ahead Respect the student
Set a ‘learning climate’ (Enhancing Student Wellbeing, 2016)
Lead the student toward autonomy

20. Plan Your Conversation
How am I feeling today? What is my objective in this conversation? How will I begin the conversation?
What makes this important?
What are the benefits of doing this?
What are good ways to do this?

21. Remember to be comfortable with periods of silence.

22. Pay attention to eye contact and body language.

23. “You’ve got a bad attitude.”
Plan Your Language
Avoid the negative + begin with something positive.
For example:
“Try looking at things in a different way.”
“You’ve got a bad attitude.”
“Think about how much money you have invested here.”
“You’re wasting your money.”

24. Role Play
In pairs, we will ask you to do a role play to practise some conversations. One person will be the teacher, and the other will be a student.

25. Conclusion Looking after students’ wellbeing helps in these areas:
Strengthening students’ trust in procedures
Enhancing college and industry reputation
Meeting the best interests of the student
Achieving student satisfaction

26. References
Baik, C, Naylor, R & Arkoudis S 2015, The First Year Experience in Australian Universities: Findings From Two Decades, 1994 – 2014, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, viewed 9 May 2018, < report-FINAL-web.pdf> Better Health Channel 2014, Victoria State Government, VIC, viewed 10 May 2018, < Bradley, G 2000, ‘Responding effectively to the mental health needs of international students’ Higher Education, Volume 39, Issue 4, pp 417–433. Crace, A 2018, Kate Smart, ‘IES Abroad & Jordi Austin, University of Sydney’, The Pie News, 25 January, viewed 8 May 2018, < chat/kate-smart-ies-abroad-jordi-austin-university-of-sydney/> Enhancing Student Wellbeing n.d., How teachers can support student wellbeing, Enhancing Student Wellbeing, viewed 9 May 2018, < Enhancing Student Wellbeing n.d., Interview with Dr Jenny English, Enhancing Student Wellbeing, viewed 9 May 2018, < content/uploads/2016/10/Jenny-English-Interview-4.1.pdf> Pejic, D 2012, International Student Welfare in Australia, International Social Service (ISS) Australia, viewed 7 May 2018, < content/uploads/2012/07/International-Student-Welfare-in-Australia.pdf> Ramia, G 2018, ‘The development of policy on international student welfare and the question of crisis response.’, Aust J Soc Issues., Volume 53, Issue 1, pp Ryan, R, Dowler, B, Bruce, S, Gamage, S & Morris, A 2016, The Wellbeing Of International Students in the City of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney: Institute for Public Policy and Governance, viewed 25 April 2018, < into-the-Wellbeing-of-International-Students-in-the-City-of-Sydney_Final_27-July-2016.pdf> University Centre for the Advancement of Teaching n.d., Having Difficult Conversations with your students, viewed 9 May 2018, < Vogelsang, JD & McGee S 2015, Handbook for Facilitating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom, viewed 9 May 2018, <