Developing Students Well-Being and Engagement in Higher Education during COVID-19—A Case Study of Web-Based Learning in Finland

Abstract

COVID-19 rapidly and extensively changed the normal everyday practices of societies, and there is no going back to the past. Universities also had to adapt and re-establish their normal routines, from policies to practices. In this article, we explore university students’ experiences of web-based learning, their well-being, and engagement during the pandemic. As a theoretical framework, we use the concept of the university student engagement inventory (USEI), which includes behavioral, cognitive, and emotional dimensions. The data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from university students (N = 35) via an online survey and analyzed using a thematic content analysis. According to the results, university students experienced well-designed and pedagogically implemented web-based learning, teaching and guidance to enhance their own learning, well-being, and engagement in their studies. This suggests that web-based solutions for academic learning are justified but need to consider a range of well-being and engagement factors. What is still needed are innovative solutions that are pedagogically justifiable and consider the digital and human dimensions sustainably.