Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education           ISSN: 1759-667X 

Special Issue 22: Compendium of Innovative Practice                                     October 2021 

 

Editorial: Prioritising wellbeing through community and 

connection 

 

Alicja Syska 
University of Plymouth 
 

 

This section of the Compendium opens with a powerful and moving reminder that the 

Covid-19 pandemic was not just a disruption, an inconvenience, and a challenge, but a 

devastating force that has had a profound impact on individual lives. Our students were 

often affected in unimaginable ways, including losing loved ones, losing their grounding 

and emotional resources, losing their confidence and social connections. Supporting 

students in the midst of all this loss, grief, withdrawal, and a sense of disenfranchisement 

in academia, required a lot of courage and a willingness to get hurt, but in the case of our 

authors, the impact of action and their willingness to give agency to students produced a 

beautiful event that validated grief, brought a sense of connection, and opened up hope. 

 

This theme of uncertainty, anxiety, and disconnection, and the deep need to address it in 

an empathetic, kind, and supportive way permeates all the reflections. Authors of these 

pieces propose solutions such as adopting a pedagogy of kindness by connecting via 

audio and video messaging instead of email; co-constructing modules by listening to the 

student voice; creating compassionate spaces; and normalising learning challenges. Other 

initiatives demonstrate ingenuous attempts to make links between physical and mental 

health by encouraging walking for wellbeing, and efforts to acknowledge students’ social 

needs by creating opportunities for networking and social interaction. 

 

But for staff to be able to support students’ wellbeing, they first had to look after 

themselves and one another. Here, educational developers’ role was critical. In the 

reflections shared in this section, authors report on initiatives such as setting up a weekly 

Teachers’ Lounge, creating targeted wellbeing programmes, and providing a virtual space 

for a ‘free-wheeling’ tea break designed to foster connection while not adding to the 

already very real burden of online meetings. Whether supporting staff or students, these 



Editorial 

Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 22: Compendium                            October 2021 

authors propose thoughtful, caring responses to a crisis they were never trained to deal 

with and which stretched their own resources to the limit before they were able to find a 

productive rhythm in their work and life.