Abi Jumaa Jinan, Catena Rodolfo, Brown Elliot, Sanyang Saikou, Tridico Alessandro, Weaver Dawn
School of Health and Care Management, Arden University, Dessauer Str. 3-5, 10963 Berlin, Germany.
UCL Global Business School for Health, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT UK.
Discov Health Syst. 2023;2(1):9. doi: 10.1007/s44250-023-00024-y. Epub 2023 Mar 2.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a marked impact on educational disruption and progression of students. Linked to this, studies have demonstrated increases in depression, anxiety, and stress, with long-term outcomes yet to be understood. Students in Higher Education (HE) were at particular risk due to circumstances such as financial stress from job loss, shifting to online learning and uncertainties about the future, with many international students isolated from social support networks. This study explored lived experiences of determinants for academic disruption in HE students during the COVID-19 pandemic across Germany and the UK.
The study used qualitative secondary data collected from extension and mitigation claim forms from 2019 until 2021 from a university with campuses in the UK and Germany. A phenomenological perspective was utilised to draw out experiences and insights into determinants for mitigation from students to enhance our understanding of real problems encountered during a period of crisis. Thematic data analysis was used to create themes of influence for mitigation of assessments.
Themes identified pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic included; pre-COVID: work-related commitments; bereavement; illness of a family member; mental and physical health issues; natural disasters, during 2020/21, themes created were; COVID-19 social impacts; workplace and financial demands; psychological distress; physical illness, with subthemes evolving such as family responsibilities; and caring for others; furlough and its financial impacts; heavy workload for frontline health care workers; mental health impacts; physical abuse and crime, COVID-19 physical symptoms.
We suggest an Integrated 'Determinants of Wellbeing Framework' for supporting HE students during critical times such as a pandemic. Our suggested framework was adapted from determining health inequalities and the concept of the 'flourishing student' that maps the relationship between the student, their environment and well-being. It is hoped the framework will serve to inform future theories around disruption to student progression and to explore the relevant impact on educational outcomes in HE thus assisting in appropriate support planning.
新冠疫情对教育造成了严重干扰，影响了学生的学业进展。与此相关的是，研究表明抑郁、焦虑和压力有所增加，其长期影响尚待了解。高等教育（HE）学生面临特殊风险，原因包括失业带来的经济压力、转向在线学习以及对未来的不确定性，许多国际学生还与社会支持网络隔绝。本研究探讨了德国和英国新冠疫情期间高等教育学生学业中断决定因素的实际经历。
该研究使用了从2019年至2021年从一所在英国和德国设有校区的大学的延期和缓解申请表格中收集的定性二手数据。采用现象学视角来提取学生对缓解决定因素的经历和见解，以加深我们对危机期间遇到的实际问题的理解。采用主题数据分析来创建评估缓解影响的主题。
在新冠疫情之前和期间确定的主题包括：疫情前：与工作相关的事务；丧亲之痛；家庭成员患病；身心健康问题；自然灾害；在2020/21年期间，创建的主题有：新冠疫情的社会影响；工作场所和财务需求；心理困扰；身体疾病，其衍生出的子主题包括家庭责任；照顾他人；休假及其财务影响；一线医护人员的繁重工作量；心理健康影响；身体虐待和犯罪；新冠疫情的身体症状。
我们建议在疫情等关键时期为支持高等教育学生建立一个综合的“幸福决定因素框架”。我们建议的框架改编自确定健康不平等和“蓬勃发展的学生”概念，该概念描绘了学生、其环境与幸福之间的关系。希望该框架将为未来关于学生学业进展中断的理论提供参考，并探索对高等教育教育成果的相关影响，从而有助于进行适当的支持规划。
