SWRK4500 Social Work Research

Introduction

The field of social work is dedicated to maximising individual well-being and addressing the impact of personal and social problems on the lives of individuals, communities, households, and organisations. To do this, social workers, their agencies, and the organisations in whom they collaborate should possess the values, ideas, and characteristics necessary to grasp relevant social problems, most notably in order to effect meaningful social progress and advance social justice. I will detail my observations on the triggers of mental health problems among overseas students as a social work student at DidiBahini Samaj Victoria (DBSV) in this article. Most significantly, this essay would address a few of the social issues raised by DBSV in relation to international students' difficulties, such as structural barriers encountered by international students from Asian countries, including Nepal, when studying in Australia, and also some structural challenges experienced by international students (for example, culture shock, financial difficulty, language problems, and difficulties encountered during the transitional period of studies). It will also discuss the current environment for international students, especially in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic in Australia, the prevalent hypotheses and mechanisms, and the mechanism of action to improve the services provided by DidiBahini Samaj Victoria.

DidiBahini Samaj Victoria was initiated by a community of large, active Nepalese women dedicated to actively promoting gender equality and women empowerment. The organisation is motivated by the ideals of social justice: accessibility, equality, rights, engagement, and respect (DBSV, 2020). During the Covid-19 pandemic, while Victoria was experiencing extreme economic collapse and crisis, an online survey done by DBSV identified foreign students as the most marginalised segment of the Nepalese group in Victoria. Along with financial difficulties, thousands of students have been diagnosed with mental health problems such as fear, anxiety, insomnia, eating disorders, social alienation, and panic attacks (DBSV, 2020 unpublished). Thus, DBSV expanded their service area to include thousands of Nepalese foreign students residing in Melbourne, presenting them with connections to essential necessities and disaster relief. Since then, DBSV has conducted many awareness campaigns using prominent social media platforms to educate and notify foreign students about mental health concerns and accessible resources. Through direct referrals, this organisation collaborates with various Community Law Centers and human service organisations to assist foreign students with legal challenges, housing issues, domestic abuse concerns, mental wellbeing issues, and financial distress, among others.

The "Nepalese International Student Mental Health Research Project" is an action-based research paper that DBSV is conducting to recognise Nepalese students' psychological problems, immediate and lengthy difficulties faced by international students, including the underlying causes and effects on their overall physical, social, psychological, and religious quality of life. As a social work student on placement with DBSV, I assisted with this research project by completing an online literature review, designing a research design and structure, conducting an online survey, collaborating with foreign students, and assessing and evaluating the research findings using traditional social work guidelines, frameworks, and hypotheses. Most specifically, I was tasked to conduct risk assessments and assist reported victims using appropriate social work prevention strategies.

International students in Australia

Australia is a preferred study destination for international students seeking a high-quality education. Per year, thousands of new foreign students enrolled in Australian classes, adding to the country's already sizable international student population.

According to statistical evidence, 799,371 foreign children were selected in education programmes in Australia in 2017. Similarly, foreign student enrollment increased by 11.4 per cent in 2018 and 10% in 2019. In 2019, Australia registered over 758,000 foreign students, rendering it the world's second most prevalent location for international students behind the United States (ICEF, 2021). As per the website "Student in Australia" (2021), the highest share of enrolments in higher education came from China, India, and Nepal, with China leading the way with 231,191 learners, India coming in second with 87,615 students, and Nepal coming in third with 35,423 students inflow in Australia in 2017. Moreover, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of foreign boundaries, Australian universities admitted 210,000 fewer foreign students in 2021 than would have been anticipated. Just 360 foreign students came to Australia in January, compared to 91,250 in January 2020. (ICEF, 2021).

On the other hand, foreign students contribute significantly to Australia's economy. On May 7, 2005, an article in the Australian paper "The Age" claimed that foreign student revenue is vital to the financial survival of a variety of Australian universities (Jopson & Burke, 2005). For the fiscal year 2003-04, the educational system announced an improved economy of AUD 5.622 billion from foreign students (Doria, 2005). Given the foreign student's economic value, their experience can be seen as a matter of consumer loyalty. In this way, foreign students' non-academic activities can also be viewed as having a substantial impact on their assessments of their educational investments. Arambewela (2010, pp. 158-159) discusses this topic in terms of globalisation ideology and higher education's "massification." Universities, in this opinion, are now oriented toward producing students for the global "information economy," as compared to a more conservative approach focused on the social and cultural development of the student and society (Rizvi, 2005). 

The "user" of the knowledge economy belongs to students from developing countries, particularly Asia, whereas those in the West are the "producers" (Arambewela, 2010, p. 160). Additionally, when these students are travelling abroad, they are subjected to a variety of unfamiliar perspectives and are susceptible to a change in self-identity toward a more "mobile identity" (Rizvi, 2005). Biggs (2003) categorises potential difficulties faced by foreign students into three broad categories: sociocultural transition, language (which he mostly ignores), and learning/teaching difficulties related to "history." Asian students at a University in New Zealand represent Campbell and Li's 2005 study by identifying foreign students' issues: language and culture clash that creates language barriers, unknown class behaviour; lack of awareness about academic conventions; insufficient support for learning; difficulties in building friends with local students; and a lack of a sense of belonging (Campbell & Li, 2008; see also Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007). Many studies indicate that both of these risks will adversely affect the mental health and wellbeing of foreign students.

Structural Barriers and its Impact On Mental Health of International students

A new study showed that foreign students are at a greater risk for mental ill-health than domestic students because of their culture, language, financial difficulties and academic obstacles. In 2019, 27 foreign students died from suicide in the state in the period 2009 to 2015 from the Victorian Coroner Prevention Unit. Although it was probably an underestimation, the coroner added. Following the finding by the Victorian Coroner, the state government has assigned Orygen Youth Health to research a system of support for foreign students in mental wellbeing and services (The Conversation, 2020).

Orygen, The National Center of Excellence in Youth Mental Wellbeing, has published a seminal study demonstrating that, while Australia offers world-class schooling and is a global pioneer in youth mental health, university students' mental state has been widely overlooked. Intitled 'By the Radar: Australia students' mental wellbeing, the study argues that the lack of consideration given to government policies and funding to address this problem have had an influence on the ability of the university and the mental health industries to react adequately to this group's needs  (National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 2017). National statistics are not routinely gathered or tracked in Australia for interactions with mental illness (whether identified or not) amongst university students (Orygen, 2017). In the context of a study focusing on University counselling students in the UK, increasing reports of food problems, psychiatric diseases and self-harm were found (Connell et al., 2007). 29 per cent of respondents recorded psychiatric degrees of psychological disorder in an internet study of mental distress in four UK higher education institutions, 8 % mild to serious or severe (Bewick, 2008).

As per Australian national mental wellbeing prevalence records, one in every four young people suffers from mental illness per year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). As a result, it is reasonable to predict that approximately 210,000 Australian college students between 18-25 years will suffer from mental illness this year. According to one report, Australia has higher rates of mental distress among college students (Stallman, 2010, Stallman, 2008, Larcombe, 2014), especially among students of law, psychology, and mechanical faculties (Leahy, 2010), as well as local and remote student populations (Mulder and Cashin, 2015). Additionally, Vivekenanda et al. (2011) discovered that psychiatric depression in the community of Australian university counselling services has risen in complexity and intensity over a five-year span. According to a 2016 Australian study of tertiary education student health undertaken by the National Union of Students (NUS) in collaboration with headspace, 65 per cent of 3300 students, 2636 respondents aged 17-25 years, recorded experiencing severe or extremely severe mental harm on the Kessler 10 scale (NUS and headspace, unpublished).

As a result of DBSV's involvement with this problem and collaboration with several Community Legal Centers, City Councils, and Mental Health-related Non-Profit Organizations, this organization has been assisting foreign students with identified or untreated mental health conditions by counselling, appropriate referrals, campaigning for their reform and public justice, and conducting various awareness campaigns.

DBSV action framework to address the student’s Mental Health Problems

Financial Hardship

Financial stress is a major potential risk for mental disorder in college students, with one research showing that students who experience financial stress are twice as likely to report mental illness as students who do not report financial stress (Stallman, 2010). The majority of university students now live below the poverty line and owe 30% more in 2012 than in 2006. (Universities Australia, 2013b). Numerous students are now juggling jobs and academic obligations. Although the majority (67%) of students were funded by their parents, 17% supported their studies by personal savings (National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 2017). According to the same report, the majority of self-financed learners encountered additional mental and psychological difficulties when studying abroad, and about half of the foreign students who are personal tenants dependent on jobs to cover their rent.

They, like many others, lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are not qualified for JobKeeper pay subsidies. Numerous foreign students studying in Australia are unwilling to travel home. They are often not permitted to terminate their leases early without incurring penalties. Thus, financial stresses on students, especially those who live independently and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, are at an all-time high, inviting extreme mental distress. (2013) (Eisenberg et al. ; Stallman 2010).

The transitional phase of studies

For young adults, ending secondary school and beginning tertiary education is a major change that can be followed by feelings of isolation, self-doubt, anxiety, and strain from academic and familial sources (ReachOut, 2015, Palmer and Puri, 2006). It is also a period when many students may assume responsibility for self-management of their emotional and physical wellbeing for the first time and will try to combine paying employment/family obligations with research. The tension associated with this change to enhanced freedom and financial management can predispose university students to mental illness (Cleary et al., 2011). This can be shown by first-year university students, who experience a substantial rise in tension, depression, and burnout (Hillis et al., 2010). Students whose adjustment to higher education includes a move away from home often experience a reduction in mental health symptoms associated with feelings of isolation, separation, care, anxiety, or depression (King et al., 2011).

Socio-cultural adjustment

It's normal for someone studying in a foreign country to take some time acclimating to the local climate. According to Arambewela and Hall (2007), the foreign student experience is determined not just by their satisfaction with their studies, as well as by their "family life, work, relationships, welfare, and positive community involvement" (p. 12), so this is a significant issue. Hellstén (2002) discovered that, despite their prior knowledge of the Australian way of life, foreign students often experienced extreme cultural shock upon arrival; the primary reason was when their behaviour defied that which was "sanctioned" at home, including apparently innocent behaviours such as speaking in class or interacting with teachers in a common manner. According to Biggs (1996), the culture clash often attributed to Asian foreign students is focused on myths of Confucian rote learning and intellectual idolatry.

Language barriers

Numerous research examines the association between foreign students' English proficiency and academic achievement, course selection, and degree of homesickness. For instance, Gunawardena and Wilson (2012) observe that despite the fact that Australian universities need international students to pass a language assessment to a satisfactory level prior to enrollment––such as the International English Language Teaching System (IELTS)––students sometimes lack trust in fluency, oral class participation, and written expression in 'academic English'. Some may also speculate that low language trust is a factor in foreign students selecting degrees where proficiency in English is less essential, such as information technology, economics, or research (Chan, 1999).

Apart from basic, observable English proficiency, several students struggle to grasp Australian idiom. That was the case for students from a Sydney University who did not learn anything from notes except anecdotal proof of continuing interaction with the facilitator and then used them to prevent isolation (Shea, Fisher, & Turner, 2001). An earlier survey of international students at a UK university discovered that the greatest link between English ability and homesickness was one of the eight statistically important variables underlying their concerns (Li & Kaye, 1998).

Some other potential causes of Mental illness for students

The perceived stigma related to emotional ill-health is one of the major problems for student transparency. 25.3% of participants with mental health problems in one Australian study reported not seeking treatment because they were frightened, nervous, humiliated or ashamed of doing so (Wynaden et al., 2013). In several study articles, more correlations have been made between low assistance, cultural history and gender (again with men who are less inclined to pursue help) (Ang et al., 2004, Nam et al., 2010).

Academic strain is obvious in high-level and standards disciplines or between students with poorer academic achievement histories (Kruisselbrink Flatt, 2013; Deasy et al., 2014). The strain is often increasing because you are afraid to get a new job as soon as you complete your studies. The "Rising Bar" for young people was identified in Bright Futures Megatrends study (VicHealth & CSRISO 2015), which includes "entry on the workplace sector" to remove an increased training and capacity obstacle (p11).

Late-night cramming, use of coffee, drugs and alcohol, electronic use, greater socialisation and balancing, and research obligations have resulted in lack of sleep. Hershner and Chervin 2014. (Thomee et al, 2012, Hershner and Chervin 2015.

Drug and alcohol use (Hallett et al., 2012, Hussain et al., 2013)

Conclusion

DBSV welcomes and allows international students to have chances to express their unique experiences with student life obstacles through the international students help programme. Additionally, to overcome obstacles to mental health challenges, social alienation, cultural integration concerns in Australia, English language assistance, professional learning opportunities for work purposes, and leisure programmes for students' empowerment and general well-being.

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