How can we support international students well-being?

One of strengths of Swedish universities is attracting and supporting international students. Students from different cultural backgrounds can add a richness to our courses, and to the broader university context, that can improve the learning experience for other students and even instructors. From limited interactions in the classroom we might assume that international students are happy and having a positive experience, but research increasingly suggests that the picture may be more complex. A recent study in Studies in Higher Education examined the factors that contribute to well-being in a sample of international students in Australia. Consistent with previous research, two main factors were connections with others in the university context and the role of language. The third factor was the role of the broader community and students’ everyday interactions beyond the university context, which is in line with several recent studies highlighting the need to consider support from local communities beyond the university in research on international student well-being. To this end, the authors propose the concept of “community-grounded” well-being, where international students gain a sense of fulfilment through engaging with local community members in their everyday living, studying, or working.

While living and studying in a foreign country can be rewarding for students in ways that change their lives forever, it can also be a challenge. Navigating a new country and a new academic system is not easy, and can be particularly difficult for students who are doing so in their second language. The well-being of these students is thus an important concern for instructors who value what international students add to the classroom environment. This concern has risen recently in part due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as increasing attention to the mental health of university students broadly. Not surprisingly, this research has shown that student well-being is related to learning in both local and international students.

Two common risks to international student well-being are language barriers and weak social connections. Recently research has expanded the scope of these social connections to include support from the local community outside of the university, such as religious organizations. This community engagement is largely considered a resource that can improve well-being, but can also create conflict. This study was motivated by the need to better understand these complex relationships so that universities that welcome international students can better support their well-being.

The study was conducted in Australia with a diverse group of 1,372 students from 142 different countries, studying in 27 different disciplines at 27 different higher education institutions. Questionnaires were used with the larger sample, and a smaller group of 16 students took part in focus groups and interviews. Questionnaire results showed that engagement with local community members and English language skills both contributed to well-being, and interview results provided more depth by identifying three key themes.

Engaging with university staff and students was one theme, as students emphasized the importance of building these connections and the ways that university support systems can make this possible. However, students also noted factors that can make this engagement more difficult, such as cultural differences and structural constraints like high course workloads. The second theme, English language skills, highlighted the crucial role of language in shaping these interactions. For example, self-consciousness about how their English skills were perceived was identified as a limitation for many students. The final theme emphasized the importance of the broader community context and everyday “organic” interactions in different contexts. Students discussed how the social dynamics of these encounters could enhance well-being, for example by increasing a sense of belonging. However, these encounters could also inhibit well-being when students chose to exclude themselves from certain social situations after frustrating or hurtful experiences, such as struggling to communicate in a local store.

Comment: This study will positively affect how I interact with the international students in my courses. I teach psychology courses where different cultural perspectives are important, and international students add a lot to these courses. For example, in a course on adult development we emphasize how social and cultural factors can shape development across the lifespan in many areas. We are fortunate that the course is open to international students because we do a lot of discussion, both in lectures and seminars. Every term we have taught the course, we as instructors have learned something interesting and insightful from something shared by a student with a different cultural background and perspective than the majority of the students in the class. For example, we discuss how cultural factors can influence the narratives we tell about our identities. Contributions from students from many different countries and cultural backgrounds have been valuable, both by providing a different perspective that enriched the discussions for me and other students, and also by helping me improve my teaching about relationships between cultural background and identity. As an immigrant myself, it is interesting for me to ask these students about their experience in Sweden, and this often includes an informal discussion of their adjustment and well-being. This study has made me realize that I should perhaps be more aware of these students’ well-being, and of these specific factors. We talk explicitly about the difficulties of communicating in a second language, in the context of discussions about identity in different cultural contexts (with the most common observation being the difficulty of showing one’s sense of humor in a non-native language, one which I share), and I praise students who may be having difficulty communicating in English for taking on the challenge. Thanks to this study I am now more aware that students who are struggling with English may also be struggling with aspects of well-being. We also discuss some common cultural differences in Stockholm, such as small talk with strangers in broader community settings, and I have now become more aware that a student who talks wistfully about how she misses the friendly small talk with strangers in Italy may be struggling with more than homesickness. After reading this study, I now hope to be better prepared to check in on her well-being by asking more about potential difficulties with language and interactions in the broader community and having information about mental health support for students.

Text: Eric Pakulak, Department of Psychology

The study
Soong, H., & Mu, G. M. (2026). International student wellbeing and everyday community engagement experiences: An Australian study. Studies in Higher Education, 51(1), 39-53.

Keywords: International student, wellbeing, community engagement, symbolic interactionism, everyday experiences