Integrating Mental Health in Curriculum Design: Reflections from a Case Study in Sport, Exercise, and Health Science

The rise of mental health concerns in today’s Higher Education (HE) students is a growing concern. Integrating mental health principles into curricular design can enhance the student experience and improve outcomes such as continuation, completion, and success. This paper aims to integrate mental health guidance into the design of a revalidated curriculum in sport, exercise, and health sciences. A further aim is to provide recommendations for future mentally healthy curricular design. A case study design exploring how mental health does, and might, feature across curricula was undertaken, employing a qualitative methodology. A range of stakeholders, including students, participated in workshops, interviews, and revalidation events over a 4-month period. The analysis and interpretation of the resulting transcripts proposed two main lines of action; ‘building students’ (centring on helping them navigate the nuances of the academic process and developing confidence in their university self, for example, through systematic scaffolding) and ‘building connections’ (focusing on enhancing social connections and psychological safety, for example learning student names). Recommendations proposed by this research highlight that induction should be primarily social, progressing to more fundamental skills, behaviours, and knowledge. Systematic scaffolding and mapping of relevant skills, behaviours, and knowledge throughout the course are fundamental to building students’ confidence. This could reduce both academic staff and students’ frustrations about a lack of ‘know-how’. Staff–student interactions and a focus on micro-behaviours could further enhance a student’s sense of belonging and desire to engage.