Higher education institutional student wellness support practices during COVID-19 in developing countries: A scoping review

Lucky Sibanda, Tichaona Buzy Musikavanhu and Tendai Makwara
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Lucky Sibanda: PhD Candidate, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship University of the Western Cape, Western Cape, South Africa
Tichaona Buzy Musikavanhu: Lecturer, Boston City Campus, Stellenbosch Western Cape, South Africa & Research Associate, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Tendai Makwara: Lecturer, Boston City Campus, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 341-353

Abstract: COVID-19 forced many higher education institutions (HEIs) into a reactive shift in their teaching and learning modes. Along with such changes, the need to develop and implement appropriate institutional student wellness support practices in developing countries became critical. This study aims to map the higher education institutional student wellness support practices during COVID-19 in developing countries. The study employed a scoping review approach and searched papers from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Relevant articles were screened and assessed to ensure eligibility, resulting in a sample of 45 papers for analysis. Results reveal HEIs prioritized intellectual wellness support while revealing significant gaps in addressing other critical dimensions of student wellness, including physical, emotional, social, vocational, environmental, financial, and spiritual dimensions. Results call for a more comprehensive approach to student well-being, requiring consideration of diverse Wellness Model dimensions and cross-country collaborations to share best practices in developing countries.

Keywords: Student support services; Scoping review; Developing countries; COVID-19; Higher education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:edt:jsserr:v:12:y:2025:i:1:p:341-353

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15804572

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