Strategies for Developing Mental Toughness in Higher Education and Measuring the Impact

Meggs, Jenny and Sewell, Peter (2022) Strategies for Developing Mental Toughness in Higher Education and Measuring the Impact. In: Innovative Approaches in Pedagogy for Higher Education Classrooms. Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning . Emerald, Bingley, pp. 121-135. ISBN 9781800432574

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness that higher education institutions face significant challenges in managing and supporting students as they transition into university life. If Higher Education institutions struggle to achieve this important aim, this can lead to an increase in student drop-out. This can of course present significant financial implications and challenges and worse still, result in mental health challenges in students. The concept of Mental Toughness has been shown in a substantial number of investigations, to develop our understanding of why some people might be more vulnerable to these pressures than others. Importantly, it provides both a means of identifying those people and insights about ways they can be best supported. This chapter proposes a well-researched Mental Toughness framework to facilitate and support universities with these challenges and highlights three key strategies for managing this successfully.