A panel from Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand, will be presenting “Surviving and Thriving in Times of Rapid Change: Multiple Tertiary Teaching Voices from Aotearoa, New Zealand” at The 14th Asian Conference on Education (ACE2022).
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This plenary will also be available for IAFOR Members to view online. To find out more, please visit the IAFOR Membership page.
Overview
Surviving and Thriving in Times of Rapid Change: Multiple Tertiary Teaching Voices from Aotearoa, New Zealand
Mental health issues are common in tertiary education all over the world. Research shows that psycho-emotional well-being of tertiary students have a significant influence on their academic performance. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to respond to constant changes at a rapid rate, have intensified depression, stress and anxiety. Difficulties adjusting to the new COVID-19 tertiary studying environment, a sense of isolation, academic anxiety and the struggles of balancing work-study commitments are cited as common triggers for stress.
Members of this panel will share key findings from three research projects from Auckland, New Zealand, which captured the psycho-emotional health and well-being of tertiary students as they manoeuvred the uncertain landscape of tertiary education influx due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel speakers will discuss the challenges faced by both students and lecturers and how this has impacted on both the students' learning and their mental health and well-being. In addition, they will propose some recommendations for the tertiary learning sector as we move forward and adjust to new COVID-19 landscapes in tertiary education.
Abstracts & Biographies
Recovery-Oriented Practice in Mental Health: Creating Safe Spaces in Practice & Enhancing Learning
This panel speaker will present and discuss the findings of a study aimed to explore the experience and meaning of recovery-oriented practice for 10 nurses working in an acute mental health service. A phenomenological and hermeneutic lens was used to explore the nurses’ experience of working in a recovery-focused manner with service users in the inpatient setting (Solomon, Sutton & McKenna 2021). The findings revealed that recovery-orientated practice is a challenge for nurses working within acute mental health wards. Although the experience and meaning of recovery-focused care varied from nurse to nurse, there were some common elements in the practice accounts. The accounts revealed the nurses’ role in creating different therapeutic spaces to promote safety, relational commitment and healing for service users. However, the nurses faced challenges to recovery-oriented care, within the team culture and the broader service systems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have implications for nursing practice, especially within an education context for novice nurses and the education of student nurses in a tertiary teaching-learning environment.
Bernadette Solomon
School of Nursing and Health, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Bernadette is passionate about recovery in mental health & addictions, improving health outcomes for individuals affected by mental health and eliminating health disparities. She graduated from the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom as a Registered and Psychiatric Nurse. Bernadette is currently a senior lecturer in mental health & addictions, and also is an academic research lead in the school of nursing at Manukau Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Bernadette has extensive experience as a mental health nurse, academic and educator. Bernadette’s specialty practice is criminology & forensic mental health nursing.
Bernadette’s doctoral (DHSc) research focused on mental health recovery. The research explored the experience and meaning of recovery-oriented practice for nurses working in an acute inpatient mental health service, using a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology. She is particularly passionate about the empowering potential of embedding recovery-oriented practice into mental health services and in particular within nurse education. Her other research interests are in nursing education, mental health, and Forensic mental health. Bernadette is currently involved in various research projects both within MIT and in collaboration with other educational nursing schools in NZ.
Restoring Hope – Addressing and Responding to the Mental and Well-being of Tertiary Students in Aotearoa New Zealand
These panel speakers will speak on and discuss the findings of a research project focused on exploring mental health issues of social work degree students. The preliminary findings indicated that many students had experienced mental health issues; they had expressed the expectation that they would be supported in a ‘safe space’ for them to feel they belong and that they can open up about heavy things on their heart/mind. Initial findings suggest that cultural components are missing in mental health conversation. Anxiety from studying can affect students’ mental health and emotional well-being. In addition, many students have other commitments on top of their studies. This along with the pressure of fulfilling their roles in their families and society has created stress and tension. This presentation will discuss some research findings which will inform strategies to address the mental health needs of undergraduate students enrolled in the social work undergraduate programme.
Tino Taliaoa
School of Social Work, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Fuatino Taliaoa Petelo Leafa was born in Samoa, and migrated to New Zealand with her family in 1986 for a better future and education. She has a bachelor’s in Social Work from Manukau Institute of Technology, a postgraduate diploma in Social Work from Auckland University, and a master’s in Indigenous Studies from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, New Zealand. She has been a community social work practitioner for over 20 years and is passionate about working for her community.
She joined the Manukau Institute of Technology in 2018 and is currently with the School of Social Work. She is a Senior Social Work Lecturer and is also the Fieldwork Placement Coordinator.
Fuatino’s passion for social work and community development is reflected in her master’s research, Looking into community engagement space and how culture is embedded and valued in social work practice. She was also part of the Talatalanoa mai; student matters, looking into the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on students’ learning. She will present and talk about the psychological impact of COVID-19 on Pasifika student learning experiences research.
Melanie Wong
School of Social Work, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Dr Melanie Wong is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Work, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand. Mel is also a Counsellor, Dream Therapist and Interactive Drawing Therapist who likes to work with those who connect with the world differently. Mel holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; she has an extensive research interest in supporting individuals' mental and emotional needs using the lens of social constructionism and a holistic approach.
Reflection as a Tool for Improving Online Teaching and Learning Practices
The final panellist will present and discuss the findings of a study aimed at exploring the experience and meaning of recovery-oriented practice for 10 nurses working in an acute mental health service. A phenomenological and hermeneutic lens was used to explore the nurses’ experience of working in a recovery-focused manner with service users in the inpatient setting (Solomon, Sutton & McKenna 2021). The findings revealed that recovery-orientated practice is a challenge for nurses working within acute mental health wards. Although the experience and meaning of recovery-focused care varied from nurse to nurse, there were some common elements in the practice accounts. The accounts revealed the nurses’ role in creating different therapeutic spaces to promote safety, relational commitment and healing for service users. However, the nurses faced challenges to recovery-oriented care, within the team culture and the broader service systems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have implications for nursing practice, especially within an education context for novice nurses and the education of student nurses in a tertiary teaching-learning environment.
Kaberi Rajendra
School of Health and Counselling, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Dr Kaberi Rajendra is Senior Academic Lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology. Currently, she is the Academic Lead – Research and Programme Coordinator of the Level 4- Health and Wellbeing programme in the School of Health and Counselling at Manukau Institute of Technology. She received her PhD degree from Auckland University of Technology in 2019. After undertaking social work training in India, she migrated to New Zealand with her family in 1996. Her social work career of twenty-five years as a clinician in mental health kindled her research interest in culture and mental wellbeing.
