Resilience of international students during a global pandemic

An Australian context

Authors

  • Hyacinth Udah James Cook University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2681-5596
  • Kathomi Gatwiri Southern Cross University, Queensland, Australia
  • Abraham Francis James  Cook  University,  Australia

Keywords:

Australia, coping strategies, international students and internationalisation, pandemic, resilience, mental health, and wellbeing

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed additional challenges for international students in Australia, affecting their academic, social, and personal wellbeing. In this article, we examine how international students in North Queensland (NQ) responded to these challenges and their resilience coping mechanisms. Using a mixed methods approach, we collected and analysed data from students who reported significant isolation, loneliness, financial and mental health challenges. Our findings showed that international students utilise different resilience strategies to adapt, cope and survive during times of crisis. In light of the challenges and opportunities that international students face in their academic journey, we argue that higher education institutions have a responsibility to develop and implement effective strategies to foster the resilience of this diverse group of learners. Such a commitment can also contribute to the internationalisation of higher education and international students’ retention, which are important goals for many higher education institutions in the globalised world.

Author Biographies

  • Hyacinth Udah, James Cook University

    Hyacinth Udah is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at James Cook University. His doctoral study explored the African immigrant experiences, and his recent research publications are extending his interests in migrant and refugee experiences, international students’ cross-cultural experiences, coloniality and decoloniality, community development, employment and labour market, mental health and well-being, social work ethics, education, research, and practice.

  • Kathomi Gatwiri , Southern Cross University, Queensland, Australia

    Kathomi Gatwiri is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University, an ARC DECRA Fellow at the Centre for Children & Young People (CCYP), President of the peak body Australian Women & Gender studies Association (AWGSA) and a practicing psychotherapist. Kathomi is one of Australia’s leading Afro-diasporic scholars whose award-winning interdisciplinary research investigates the intersecting topics of racial trauma, belonging, blackness, and migranthood. As a community leader, she is the Founder and Director of Healing Together, a service that provides accessible, culturally sensitive therapeutic support for people impacted by racial trauma.

  • Abraham Francis, James  Cook  University,  Australia

    Abraham P. Francis, PhD,is  an  Associate  Professor,  and  the  Head  of  Academic Group  in  Social  Work  and  Human  Services  at  James  Cook  University,  Australia.  Dr. Francis is a research fellow at the Department of Social Work,  Stellenbosch  University, South  Africa  and  an  Adjunct  Faculty  with  Prasanna  School  of  Public  Health,  MAHE, Manipal, India. In 2018, Dr. Francis received the NAPASWI lifetime achievement for his outstanding contribution to social work education.

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Published

2024-06-25

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 4 (2024): Fall Edition- Journal of International Students

Section

Research Articles (English)

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of International Students

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

How to Cite

Resilience of international students during a global pandemic: An Australian context. (2024). Journal of International Students, 14(4), 821-840. https://www.ojed.org/jis/article/view/6618