1. ZIMBABWEAN HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS' PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING DURING COVID-19: A HOLISTIC AND CRITICAL REALIST ANALYSIS.
- Author
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Dzinoreva, Tendayi and Mavunga, George
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic ,CRITICAL realism ,EDUCATION students ,WELL-being ,SCHOOL year - Abstract
Zimbabwean higher education was not spared by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. To avoid on-campus infections, Zimbabwean universities, like their global peers suspended classes and asked resident students to vacate their accommodation. Academics, parents and students alike, expressed concern over the possibility of the 2020 academic year being lost. However very little, if any attention was paid to students' psychological wellbeing despite the huge potential that there was of it being negatively affected by the pandemic. Using the holistic approach to wellbeing, this study investigated Zimbabwean higher education students' psychological wellbeing during COVID-19. A mixed methods approach which employed an online questionnaire was used to gather data from 36 students enrolled at universities both in Zimbabwe and internationally. In the light of the generally negative sentiments expressed against the support which the students received and based on the holistic approach to wellbeing, we argue that the students' psychological wellbeing should have been conceptualised as a function of interrelated dimensions such as the physical, social and spiritual. The paper concludes by suggesting a conceptual framework which would not only have been useful during the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance students' resilience but one from which insights could be drawn in dealing with any future disruptions to higher education in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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