Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs in Faculty-Led Study Abroad Courses

Abstract

The increased enrollment of students with mental health needs in U.S. higher education, paired with increasing emphasis on study abroad participation has led campus mental health professionals to consider how their services might extend to serve students with mental health needs who are studying abroad. When it comes to faculty led courses, instructors can play a key role in providing on-the-ground support for students experiencing mental health challenges. The findings from this study provide key insights that college mental health professionals can use to better understand and support these instructors as they serve on the front lines of addressing students' mental health needs while they are away from campus. In particular, our findings point to key ways that college mental health professionals can partner with education abroad offices to provide effective pre-departure training and in-country support for faculty instructors.

The Psychological Well-Being of Newly-Arrived Indonesian Students in Taiwan

“…Dimensi sosial lainnya berupa diskriminasi struktural terhadap kelompok tertentu yang tidak terwakili di pendidikan tinggi, didasarkan pada latar belakang sosial ekonomi dan latar belakang budaya atau etnis. Dalam dimensi sosial, penyediaan layanan konseling diperlukan mahasiswa selama proses penyelesaian studi di luar negeri (Niehaus, Bryan, Nelson & Briscoe, 2020).…”

Perceived Factors Contributing to the Subjective Wellbeing of Undergraduate Engineering Students: An Exploratory Study

“…Faculty support emerged to be the most important factor to contribute to the SWB of engineering undergraduates. Faculty are identified as the front line of support for students’ mental health and wellbeing needs [ 63 ]. Their role has been identified to be among the most important contributors to the wellbeing of students by multiple studies [ 63 , 64 , 65 ], with the quality of the teacher–student relationship being crucial for a student’s wellbeing [ 64 ].…”

“…Faculty are identified as the front line of support for students’ mental health and wellbeing needs [ 63 ]. Their role has been identified to be among the most important contributors to the wellbeing of students by multiple studies [ 63 , 64 , 65 ], with the quality of the teacher–student relationship being crucial for a student’s wellbeing [ 64 ]. The findings and the corresponding quotes from our research align with the findings from other research, which emphasize the importance of faculty in the wellbeing of undergraduate engineering students.…”

Witnesses to inhumanity on shifting terrain: Embracing an ethic of discomfort for optimal learning in an international field course

“…These courses also involve a different host of ethical dilemmas since the faculty leader carries the enormous responsibility of protecting the physical and mental well-being of students while in the field (Niehaus et al, 2022). While they may be experts in the local culture and language, faculty are unlikely to have adequate preparation and mental health training to respond to some of the distressing situations in which students find themselves (Niehaus et al, 2022). Furthermore, international field courses that go beyond intercultural learning by immersing students in social research with vulnerable populations, involve more ethical complexity because the faculty leader cannot control what research participants divulge or the circumstances in which the research is conducted.…”

“…Nevertheless, international field courses—especially those conducted in the Global South—are more complex and demanding to administer than traditional study abroad and service learning programs (Keese and O’Brien, 2011). These courses also involve a different host of ethical dilemmas since the faculty leader carries the enormous responsibility of protecting the physical and mental well-being of students while in the field (Niehaus et al, 2022). While they may be experts in the local culture and language, faculty are unlikely to have adequate preparation and mental health training to respond to some of the distressing situations in which students find themselves (Niehaus et al, 2022).…”