A study titled “Healthy Learning Ecosystems in Higher Education Institutions in Portugal,” coordinated by psychologist Tânia Gaspar, reveals that 30% of students involved are “at high clinical risk,” exhibiting three or more symptoms of burnout.
The expert, who consults many young people, stresses the importance of helping them understand and manage emotions as a natural part of life. “There’s a lack of emotional literacy, leading kids to become very worried whenever they feel something intense (…) and they immediately seek a solution.”
Based on the collected data, the study recommends a National Mental Health Plan in Higher Education with guaranteed funding in the area of public policies, as well as mandatory free access to psychological support in all higher educational institutions.
The study also calls for increased support in national programs for tutoring, mentoring, integration, and mobility, alongside greater investment in continuous research and monitoring of well-being in higher education. It advocates for protocols to address “emotional emergencies” or crisis situations, such as grief, extreme burnout, and suicide attempts. Moreover, it urges greater student involvement in designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies that promote well-being.
Forty percent of higher education students use psychotropics, and one in ten takes amphetamines or stimulants, according to a study with over 2,300 students, highlighting high levels of burnout and a lack of psychological support.
Recognizing that faculty members “also face their own challenges,” the study recommends providing them with more tools to support these students. “There is a paradigm shift in universities to become ecosystems promoting well-being, beyond imparting technical skills that (…) people are not yet fully aware of.”
In addition to continuous teacher training on mental health, empathetic communication, and cultural diversity, the study calls for more collaborative pedagogical practices, like debates, and conflict mediation actions among students.
The study suggests reorganizing workload and assessments to be more “equitable and respectful.”
Tânia Gaspar acknowledges that faculty face a heavy burden today: “Our main goal used to be teaching students the curriculum. Today, we need to publish, research, and secure funded projects to support the university itself.”
Moreover, she insists students are now more demanding, seeking teachers who care about their well-being and adapt their approach to the students, their rhythms, and offer flexibility.”
With the “new paradigm” in universities, the researcher suggests “new responses” and highlights Nordic universities’ example, which employ more student-supportive teachers (tutor teachers) whose contracts focus less on research.
“Nowadays, a regular teacher must engage in research, teaching, and community impact management,” she notes, proposing a dual-profile system in Portugal: one focused on research and another on student guidance.
The study involved diverse experts, including Miguel Xavier, from the national coordination of mental health policies, Maria do Céu Machado, a professor at the University of Lisbon and Health and Management specialist, Margarida Gaspar de Matos, a Psychology and Health specialist, and Helena Canhão, a Health expert, former director of NOVA Medical School, and currently Secretary of State for Science and Innovation.
