Subjective Well-Being of International Students in the Specific Context of Pandemic (COVID 19)

Abstract

Students’ well-being and life satisfaction have been important trends in research and practice over the last decades. Often students, who come to study to another country encounter several challenges in the process of integration. Within the framework of the current research international students’ subjective well- being was explored, as well as the problems they encountered within the integration in Latvian higher education institutions (HEIs) were examined.

The paper introduces the selected results of the research focusing on support provision to higher education system to foster the integration of international students of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in Latvian higher education space in view of the internationalization of higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly and just within weeks has led to the unprecedented health and socio-economic crisis worldwide. It has obviously impacted the entire higher education sector around the world. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore the strengths and challenges related to the integration of international students of diverse backgrounds in the Latvian setting in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

The research was conducted in the framework of the project "Multilingual and Multicultural University: Preparation Platform for Prospective International Students" (No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/019) co-funded by ERDF.