Deconstructing the Mental Health Challenges of Adult Education Migrants on the Margins: Promoting Pedagogies of Mental Health Selfcare

Resumen de los autores

International students--understood in this study as "education migrants"--experience complex mental health challenges shaped by cultural, social, and institutional factors. These challenges are intensified for those with dependents and are often compounded by limited access to culturally responsive supports. This paper presents findings from a mixed-methods study involving over 600 students and alumni at a large Canadian community college, examining how they understand, navigate, and respond to mental health concerns within the broader education-migration system. The analysis explores the distinct mental health challenges faced by both single students and those with families, shedding light on how these experiences shape their settlement and integration journeys in Canada. It also compares international students' attitudes toward mental health, their help-seeking behaviours, and the coping strategies they adopt--or avoid--when confronting adverse outcomes. Further, the study assesses institutional readiness, highlighting gaps and successes in addressing diverse learners' mental health needs. Our actionable recommendations include strategies for fostering culturally responsive mental health practices that centre the voices and lived experiences of education migrants--international students (and, in some cases, their dependent partners or children)--who are often positioned at the "margins of internationalization": participating in global education without fully accessing inclusion, representation, or well-being. Situated within the broader education-migration system (Brunner, 2022; Taborda, 2017), the article proposes a "pedagogy of mental health self-care" that empowers students, staff, and institutions to cultivate agency, equity, and resilience. Ultimately, it reframes self-care from an individual coping mechanism into a shared culture of belonging and transformative well-being across higher education. [For the full proceedings, see ED680796.]

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Denga, B. T., Airi, N., & Cruz, V. V. (2025). Deconstructing the Mental Health Challenges of Adult Education Migrants on the Margins: Promoting Pedagogies of Mental Health Selfcare. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED680876