Background

Wellbeing became a growing concern for both individuals and communities, especially after COVID-19 hit the world. For international students, they navigate not only pressure from their studies, but also face language and cultural differences, and separation from previous social network. Additionally, the communication and support in tertiary education institutions are often misaligned with their values and needs. Thus, it has become essential to consider how educational institutions can create an accessible and effective supporting environment to contribute to student wellbeing. For this, it is first necessary to understand how students conceptualise wellbeing, what language they use about and for wellbeing, how they experience wellbeing, and what activities they engage in to support wellbeing. But little research exists on international students’ perspectives and their wellbeing from a holistic way. 

Aims

The current study addresses this gap, focusing on Chinese international students’ lay conceptualisation, language, experiences, and pathways toward wellbeing in the Australian higher education context.

Method

123 students completed an online survey and 30 of them conducted semi-structured interviews. A modified prototype analysis, thematic and phenomenographic analysis, and language analysis were used to explore quantitative and qualitative information.

Results

The findings show that Chinese international students’ conceptualizations of wellbeing were prototypically structured with some key components. A snapshot of the words/phrases used around wellbeing was identified, showing different understandings in English and Chinese. And students’ wellbeing experiences were surprisingly mismatched with their wellbeing pathways.

Conclusion

This research project comprehensively explores Chinese international student wellbeing. In particular, the findings broaden the conceptualisations of wellbeing for the lay population of Chinese international students, offer a snapshot of the words/phrases used around wellbeing, identify the experiences and pathways that strengthen their wellbeing, explored key contextual and cultural factors that contribute to wellbeing, and provide new data of population wellbeing through a holistic lens. Implications for interculturally nuanced approaches to understanding and supporting wellbeing are considered.