Building Resilience: Promoting Mental Well-being in Graduate Teaching Assistants Through Structured Institutional Support

Abstract

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) occupy a unique and demanding space within academia, balancing the simultaneous roles of student and instructor. Their dual responsibilities expose them to heightened stress and social isolation, which together compromise their mental health and efficacy as educators. Yet, when institutions adopt a comprehensive, intentional approach that combines structured mentorship, robust pedagogical training, and policy-driven support systems, the narrative can be transformed from one of vulnerability to one of resilience and empowerment. Effective mentorship not only fosters psychological safety and professional identity among GTAs but also cultivates a collegial culture where challenges are shared, feedback is constructive, and personal growth is prioritised. Complementary to this is the role of compulsory and well-tailored teaching development programmes, which provide the emotional and practical tools necessary for confident, reflective teaching. However, support must extend beyond the classroom; equitable policies around workload, leave, and recognition are essential to creating a sustainable academic experience for GTAs, particularly when informed by global best practices. Embedding mental well-being into every facet of institutional support, whether through peer networks, supervisor relationships, or formal training, promotes resilience and prevents burnout. As universities increasingly allow GTAs to deliver core teaching responsibilities, they must commit to providing an ecosystem that values, nurtures, and equips them not only as temporary instructional staff but as future leaders in education. Through a shift from reactive to preventive mental health strategies and from fragmented initiatives to cohesive institutional cultures of care, higher education can unlock the full potential of GTAs while advancing student learning, faculty development, and academic excellence.