Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club For our June Journal Club, we will meet to discuss:Armstrong N and Byrom, N.C. (2023) ‘The Impact of Mitigating Circumstances Procedures: Student Satisfaction, Wellbeing and Structural Compassion on the Campus.’ Education Sciences, 13, 12, 1230. 'For several decades, universities have sought to promote better mental health amongst students. For example, universities now have formal institutional arrangements to postpone deadlines for students where there are mitigating circumstances, such as ill health. Such provisions might be understood as praiseworthy cases of institutional compassion. But, empirical research is needed to investigate how these measures play out in practice. This paper draws on ethnographic research in several UK universities to explore the experiences of staff responsible for the enactment of mitigating circumstance provisions. We find staff members sympathetic to the aims of the measures but also sceptical, and in some cases angry, because they find that the provisions have unwanted and undesirable effects. This paper uses the wider social science literature on bureaucracy to consider why this might be the case and raises questions about the capacity of institutions to enact ethical ideals.'The paper is available to download here (UoE login required). You will want to set aside about an hour to engage with the paper in advance each time, but if you are running short on time, just read what you can.Kitty will start each Club with a ten-minute overview of the paper, before we open the room up to discussion. The meeting ends at 2pm, but the room is booked until 2.30pm and you are welcome to stay to talk more and connect with each other.To join the mail-list, RSVP and receive the articles by email in advance, please email kitty.wheater@ed.ac.uk.N.B. The Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club is new, so feel free to get in touch if you would prefer a different day or time for future meetings, or if you are a student and you would like a similar club offered for you! Jun 19 2026 13.00 - 14.00 Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club Open to all staff in support, wellbeing, and experience roles, and interested others across UoE. The new Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club meets to discuss recent, qualitative, accessible research that explores the complexities of work on the ground supporting students, whether dealing with mitigating circumstances, homesickness, or social struggles. It is led by Dr Kitty Wheater, Mindfulness Chaplain. We will meet a few times a year in the Chaplaincy, Bristo Square, beginning this summer with meetings on Fridays June 19th and August 21st, 1-2pm. If this is your lunch break you are warmly encouraged to bring your lunch, with a microwave, crockery and cutlery available both downstairs in the Common Room kitchen and upstairs in the staff Team Area, where we’ll meet. Tea and coffee will be provided. Feel free to arrive a little early to get yourself settled for a 1pm start. This summer’s Journal Clubs bring you research by an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a historian… Chaplaincy Centre 1 Bristo Sqaure
Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club For our June Journal Club, we will meet to discuss:Armstrong N and Byrom, N.C. (2023) ‘The Impact of Mitigating Circumstances Procedures: Student Satisfaction, Wellbeing and Structural Compassion on the Campus.’ Education Sciences, 13, 12, 1230. 'For several decades, universities have sought to promote better mental health amongst students. For example, universities now have formal institutional arrangements to postpone deadlines for students where there are mitigating circumstances, such as ill health. Such provisions might be understood as praiseworthy cases of institutional compassion. But, empirical research is needed to investigate how these measures play out in practice. This paper draws on ethnographic research in several UK universities to explore the experiences of staff responsible for the enactment of mitigating circumstance provisions. We find staff members sympathetic to the aims of the measures but also sceptical, and in some cases angry, because they find that the provisions have unwanted and undesirable effects. This paper uses the wider social science literature on bureaucracy to consider why this might be the case and raises questions about the capacity of institutions to enact ethical ideals.'The paper is available to download here (UoE login required). You will want to set aside about an hour to engage with the paper in advance each time, but if you are running short on time, just read what you can.Kitty will start each Club with a ten-minute overview of the paper, before we open the room up to discussion. The meeting ends at 2pm, but the room is booked until 2.30pm and you are welcome to stay to talk more and connect with each other.To join the mail-list, RSVP and receive the articles by email in advance, please email kitty.wheater@ed.ac.uk.N.B. The Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club is new, so feel free to get in touch if you would prefer a different day or time for future meetings, or if you are a student and you would like a similar club offered for you! Jun 19 2026 13.00 - 14.00 Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club Open to all staff in support, wellbeing, and experience roles, and interested others across UoE. The new Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club meets to discuss recent, qualitative, accessible research that explores the complexities of work on the ground supporting students, whether dealing with mitigating circumstances, homesickness, or social struggles. It is led by Dr Kitty Wheater, Mindfulness Chaplain. We will meet a few times a year in the Chaplaincy, Bristo Square, beginning this summer with meetings on Fridays June 19th and August 21st, 1-2pm. If this is your lunch break you are warmly encouraged to bring your lunch, with a microwave, crockery and cutlery available both downstairs in the Common Room kitchen and upstairs in the staff Team Area, where we’ll meet. Tea and coffee will be provided. Feel free to arrive a little early to get yourself settled for a 1pm start. This summer’s Journal Clubs bring you research by an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a historian… Chaplaincy Centre 1 Bristo Sqaure
Jun 19 2026 13.00 - 14.00 Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club Open to all staff in support, wellbeing, and experience roles, and interested others across UoE. The new Student Support & Wellbeing Journal Club meets to discuss recent, qualitative, accessible research that explores the complexities of work on the ground supporting students, whether dealing with mitigating circumstances, homesickness, or social struggles. It is led by Dr Kitty Wheater, Mindfulness Chaplain. We will meet a few times a year in the Chaplaincy, Bristo Square, beginning this summer with meetings on Fridays June 19th and August 21st, 1-2pm. If this is your lunch break you are warmly encouraged to bring your lunch, with a microwave, crockery and cutlery available both downstairs in the Common Room kitchen and upstairs in the staff Team Area, where we’ll meet. Tea and coffee will be provided. Feel free to arrive a little early to get yourself settled for a 1pm start. This summer’s Journal Clubs bring you research by an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a historian…
