Psychosocial Challenges of Teaching Assistants in Facilitating Sensitive Topics: A Reflexive Study at Durban University of Technology

Abstract

This paper presents a collaborative reflexive autoethnographic study examining the emotional and psychosocial strain experienced by three black African Teaching Assistants (TAs) who facilitate sensitive curricula in the Cornerstone and Equality and Diversity General Education modules at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). These modules, employing transformative learning pedagogies, emphasise self-awareness and social justice, which often expose TAs to complex psychosocial challenges. Using reflective writings as self-as-data and guided by the Rolfe et al. (2001) framework (What? So What? Now What?), the authors analysed their lived experiences of emotional labour, secondary trauma, and navigating institutional expectations. Thematic analysis of these reflections reveals that TAs frequently navigate personal resonance with sensitive content while suppressing emotional responses in the classroom. The findings, presented illustratively, highlight the urgent need for institutional support mechanisms to safeguard TA’s well-being and ensure effective teaching and sustainable mental health. This paper makes an exploratory, illustrative contribution to discussions on transformative pedagogy within the South African higher education context, offering a context-specific autoethnographic account of TA practice at a University of Technology. This study relies on a limited dataset of three reflective pieces; hence, the findings are illustrative rather than generalisable. However, they underscore the need for larger empirical studies on TA well-being in comparable contexts. The paper also calls for further empirical research on this subject that could inform policy and contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning.