Exploring the lived experiences of international graduate students in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative study

• Main Author: PhanThiHongNgoc, _
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Graduate students, Foreign > Philippines; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- > Philippines; Experiential learning; Stress (Psychology); Adult and Continuing Education; International and Comparative Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_counseling/13; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_counseling/article/1013/viewcontent/Exploring_the_lived_experiences_of_international_graduate_student_Redacted.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges for international graduate students in foreign countries, but research on their experiences remains limited. To fill this gap, a qualitative descriptive approach was adopted to explore the lived experiences of international graduate students in the Philippines during the pandemic. Thematic analysis of interviews with ten students revealed stressors related to family concerns, online learning, travel restrictions, and fear of COVID-19, affecting their physical, mental, and academic well-being. The study employed the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC) as the theoretical framework and identified four main themes related to stressors, appraisals, coping strategies, and outcomes. Both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies yielded positive results in terms of academic performance, mental health, safety, and spiritual fulfillment. However, the unregulated use of distractions to cope with online learning apprehensions led to increased diversion and reduced task focus, counterintuitively resulting in heightened anxiety due to time mismanagement and growing obligations. The study concluded with a summary, conclusions, limitations, and recommendations for future research. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, international graduate students, experience, stressors, appraisals, coping strategies, outcomes