The Impact of the New Learning System on the Mental Health of Grade 12 Students at Bestlink College of the Philippines

Vol.3, No.1D

Abstract

Students' mental health is a critical issue in higher education. It is understood that higher education can act to trigger or exacerbate mental health difficulties. Still, research in this area has focused primarily on campus environments, identifying stressors such as residence halls. Since distance learning students disclose mental health issues at a higher rate than campus students, and completion and progression gaps are on a par with the sector, the barriers and enablers to mental well-being in distance learning must be understood. This paper reports on a qualitative study investigating barriers and enablers to mental health well-being and study success students experienced in distance learning. Sixteen distance learning students and five tutors were interviewed using narrative enquiry; students told their own stories, and tutors told stories of students they had supported. Barriers and enablers were identified across different aspects of the study, skills development and the distance learning environment and are presented in a taxonomy of barriers and enablers that suggest a range of implications for distance learning educators and policy developers.