Developing Students’ Well-Being Through Integrative, Experiential Learning Courses

The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Student Well-Being and the Mediating Role of the University Support: Evidence From France, Germany, Russia, and the UK

“…For example, through informal social interactions students explore and relate to individual, group, and even the entire university values, which increases their well-being (Sortheix and Lönnqvist, 2015 ). Mahatmya et al ( 2018 ) describe a set of integrated and interrelated courses that incorporate both traditional and experiential learning activities for undergraduate students. To monitor and manage student well-being outside the classroom, universities provide other services and interventions, including, for example, stress management (Mokgele and Rothman, 2014 ), counseling (Kareem and Bing, 2014 ), inter-faith, and cultural diversity programs (Daddow et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Student well-being has become a concern for many colleges and universities globally as they acknowledge the importance of a balance between psychological, social, emotional, and physical aspects of student lives (e.g., Flinchbaugh et al, 2012;Mahatmya et al, 2018). Student well-being could be understood as "reduction in stress, enhanced experienced meaning and engagement in the classroom, and ultimately, heightened satisfaction with life" (Flinchbaugh et al, 2012, p. 191).…”

“…Student well-being has shown to increase their engagement in learning activities, meaning making, a sense of belonging, positive relationships with others, autonomy, and competencies (Sortheix and Lönnqvist, 2015 ; Baik et al, 2016 ; Cox and Brewster, 2020 ) and reduce their burn-out, stress, frustration, dissatisfaction, and withdrawal from active learning (Flinchbaugh et al, 2012 ; Mokgele and Rothman, 2014 ; Yazici et al, 2016 ). Therefore, well-being not only fosters student academic achievement, but also prepares students for lifelong success (Mahatmya et al, 2018 ). Not surprisingly, many universities across the globe have decided to make well-being their central strategic goal.…”

“…First, colleges and universities across the globe need to identify and adopt strategies and resources to address the impact of COVID-19, which is likely to be long lasting. These strategies would include a revision of the existing practices and interventions at the curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular levels (e.g., Yamada and Victor, 2012 ; Maybury, 2013 ; Kareem and Bing, 2014 ; Mokgele and Rothman, 2014 ) and at the university-wide level (Mahatmya et al, 2018 ). Second, COVID-19 has created much uncertainty about “a new normal” in student learning and university functioning.…”

Dancing for Parkinson’s: A Gateway for Connectedness to Peers and Social Assurance

“…Social connectedness and assurance have been shown to play a role in controlling anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as improving self-esteem and social identity in college students ( Lee and Robbins, 1998 ; Lee et al ., 2002 ; Williams and Galliher, 2006 ). They also have positive relationships with academic performance, well-being, self-efficacy, and retention in undergraduate education ( Yeh and Inose, 2003 ; Pym et al ., 2011 ; Eagan et al ., 2013 ; Wilson et al ., 2015 ; Mahatmya et al ., 2018 ). A sense of belonging has been shown to be important for the retention of women and underrepresented minorities in particular in the STEM fields ( Brainard and Carlin, 1998 ; Cheryan et al ., 2009 ; Good et al ., 2012 ).…”