Evidence-based approach in Erasmus+
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The well-being of international students in the COVID-19 pandemic – a case study of the Jagiellonian University1 By Karolina Czerska-Shaw, Ewa Krzaklewska, Eva Modebadze
1. Introduction As a result of the introduction of the state of epidemiological emergency in March 2020, higher education institutions in Poland, like elsewhere in the world, were closed and all classes moved online, changing the conditions for participation in higher education for the foreseeable future. The present article concentrates on the analysis of challenges faced by international students of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this exploratory study is to take stock of and track the experiences of different types of international students studying at the Jagiellonian University at the time of the first lockdown between March and June 2020, in order to analyse the challenges and opportunities they faced in three dimensions: organisational, educational and psychological well-being. In this period, diverse organisations launched studies to describe and evaluate international student mobility in relation to the crisis (e.g. Erasmus Student Network, 2020; European Commission, 2020; for a systematic review of the studies, see Krzaklewska & Şenyuva, 2020). This study fits into this body of research and may provide insight from a qualitative perspective. Most importantly, the findings of the study constitute a basis for recommendations (listed at the end of this article) to university structures, programme managers and academic teachers, which may in turn serve to strengthen institutional support and channels of communication, as well as improve teaching and learning experiences in an international setting. It is important at the outset to underline the particularity of international students during this pandemic period, who largely define their educational experiences through mobility and social networks formed in transnational
Karolina Czerska-Shaw holds a PhD in sociology and is assistant professor at the Institute of European Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland). Her research interests include migration and integration policies and practices, civic education and citizenship testing schemes as well as issues of belonging in transnational social spaces and international student mobility.
KEYWORDS international student
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This article is a shortened version of the research report entitled “Pandemic im/mobilities. A report on the situation of international students at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków” (Czerska-Shaw, Krzaklewska & Modebadze, 2020). The research was conducted within the project “International student (im)mobility in times of COVID-19” financed by the SocietyNow!#1 competition within the framework of the Excellence Initiative programme at the Jagiellonian University.
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