Lockdown, Edification, and Mental Health: COVID-19 Effects on International Students in China

Abstract

In China, COVID-19 has created severe educational and psychological consequences among international students by the strict lockdown. In the current study, we aim to examine the connotation of the COVID-19 lockdown on the educational performance and psychological health of overseas students. For this purpose, data were collected from 921 foreign students across different universities in Wuhan. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26, and the multiple regression analysis was run to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that the Wuhan lockdown significantly affects the mental well-being and academic performance of international students. Institutional strategies and support mechanisms provided by the Chinese government and universities effectively mitigated the lockdown’s negative impact on the psychological well-being and academic outcomes of students. These results imply how foreign scholars’ academic activities and well-being relieved by providing assistance in the form of management, which has noteworthy implications for educational institutions worldwide. Educational institutions and policymakers can use these findings, with far-reaching implications for higher educational institutions globally.