FACULTY SOCIAL SUPPORT AND STUDENT WELL-BEING IN BOWEN UNIVERSITY, IWO, NIGERIA
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Abstract
Students’ well-being encompassing physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and academic dimension remains a central concern for higher education institutions, particularly within faith-based universities where faculty roles often extend beyond academics to include emotional and spiritual guidance. Despite this expanded role, there is limited empirical evidence on how faculty contribute to students’ well-being, the effectiveness of such contributions, and the challenges encountered. This study sets out to fill these gaps by investigating the roles, perceived impact, and challenges of faculty members in fostering student well-being at Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted, using a structured instrument titled “Role of Faculty Members in Support Systems for Students Questionnaire” (RFSSSQ). The sample consisted of 400 respondents, including 300 students and 100 faculty members selected through random sampling. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent samples t-test at 5% significance level). Findings indicated that majority of student respondents (60%) were aged 16–19. Faculty participants were predominantly aged 35–44 (40%) and male (60%), with most as Senior Lecturer (35%), Lecturer I/II (30%), and Assistant Lecturer (25%) positions. Key faculty roles identified included demonstrating genuine concern for students’ well-being, being approachable for academic support, fostering spiritual growth, and creating a positive learning environment. As regards impact, faculty support significantly helped students’ to overcome academic challenges, increased spiritual practices, reduced stress, and developed discipline and life purpose. However, faculty reported challenges such as mentoring-related burnout, student resistance, and feeling overwhelmed by increasing student needs. The study concludes that while faculty support is transformative for students’ development, institutional recognition and structured support systems are crucial. It recommends formal mentoring frameworks, integration of emotional and spiritual guidance into staff training, and inclusion of such roles in faculty performance evaluation to improve both students’ outcomes and faculty well-being.
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