Resilience of higher education academics in the time of 21^st century pandemics: a narrative review

When a Pandemic Strikes: Resilience of Swedish Academics in the Face of Coronavirus

“…As our review has revealed and as confirmed by an earlier review [ 9 ], few studies have focused on the resilience of the academic community during COVID-19. However, this may change in the future as COVID-19, compared to earlier pandemics, has meant a substantial disruption of the educational system worldwide [ 39 ].…”

“…However, a contextual explanation may be that academics as a sub-population are highly resilient. Their resilience is assumed to be linked to their qualities of flexibility, adaptability, and emotional resilience, being collaborative, empathetic and open-minded, as well as their willingness to demonstrate collective responsibility and their older age level and better economic situation (in general), reducing their risk of stress [ 9 ]. The same authors have also pointed out the multidimensional and multi-levels of resilience, linking them to the bioecological system approach, which acknowledges the individual nature of resilience and places this within the broader ecological context, i.e., the micro, meso, and macro levels.…”

“…The first part of the introduction presents some studies that are important for framing our theoretical perspective. While some international studies have shown an increase in stress, anxiety and depression among academic staff and students during the lockdown, increased by the lack of physical exercise or no recreational activity [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], others have pointed out a sense of isolation due to teleworking, as well as a lack of separation between home and workplace and a sense of flexibility and autonomy [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. Resilience and mental health were the focus of several studies, and a US study showed that lower scores on resilience (using the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale—CD-RISC) were associated with worse mental health outcomes (depression, suicidal ideation and severe anxiety) as well as an association between lower resilience and greater worry about the effects of COVID-19 [ 5 ].…”

Stress adaptation and resilience of academics in higher education

“…The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought about the rapid transition to online learning, has accelerated change and intensified stress by closing international borders. The travel restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted university finances, resulting in academic redundancies and job losses (Crawford et al, 2020 ; Cohrssen et al, 2022 ; De los Reyes et al, 2021 , 2022 ; Mahat et al, 2022a , 2022b ; Mercado, 2020 ; Mok et al, 2020 ; OCED, 2021 ; Rapanta et al, 2020 ). Even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly regulatory approaches to higher education by government, including systemic assessments of research and reviews of education quality (Locke, 2012 , 2014 ; Teichler et al, 2013 ), resulted in organizational structural reforms.…”

Youth Experiences Through the Journey of Resiliency

“…To cite a recent example, Blackett (2021) placed emphasis on the importance of integrating biofeedback and neurofeedback for effective stress management [13]. His "Stress Resilience Blueprint" is a three-pronged process: (1) Finally, the third point of arrival for youth along the journey of resiliency, involves the right mindset or set of beliefs and attitudes that filter how you perceive, respond, and cope to stressful situations. Depending on the situation, one may overcome stress through a growth mindset (that you can learn and develop), positive mindset (that you can overcome the challenge and not succumb to threat), or willingness to tackle the problem in a piecemeal fashion.…”