This study was conceived within the context of increasing incidence of mental health challenges observed among college adolescents in the Philippines. Being an important social institution, the school must be able to create a social environment in order to foster better mental wellbeing and quality of life among its students. This research sought to examine the relationship among student involvement, mental health and quality of life among college students in a Philippine university. This study utilized a quantitative cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design. Survey was administered to 249 students in a private university. Results suggest that involvement in school organizations was correlated to depression levels, general positive affect and life satisfaction. Social interactions with entities in school was also related with quality of life. All subscales of mental health were associated with quality of life among the student respondents.

In order to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic and other eventualities in 2020 has influenced the lives and future perspectives of Filipino college students. I interviewed five students and used narrative analysis to make sense of their stories. The participants reveal various experiences of life interruptions that introduced actual and potential challenges that they had to cope with. They also share positive learnings and hopeful prospects for the future.

The digitalization of everyday life among young people exposed them to knowledge and cultures from societies outside their own. Digital citizenship, characterized by online respect and civic engagement, can facilitate students’ positive interactions within the global community and enhance their global competencies, including self-awareness, intercultural communication, and global knowledge. However, empirical studies linking digital citizenship and global competence are limited. Drawing from an online survey sample of 698 Filipino undergraduate students, this cross-sectional study examines the relationship between digital citizenship and global competence. Findings indicate that online civic engagement and being a working student positively predict all domains of global competence. Online respect positively correlated with intercultural communication. Certain demographic and education-related variables were significant predictors of at least one domain of global competence (p < 0.05). The findings underscore the importance of educational institutions fostering online social participation to cultivate globally competent students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been there for over a year and may substantially negatively impact student’s mental well-being. This study aimed to assess the subjective mental well-being and satisfaction with life of Filipino college students. This cross-sectional study involved the analysis of 1,141 college students in the Philippines. The data were collected using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results indicated that while 52.8% reported high satisfaction with life, 40.2% had poor mental well-being. Self-reported health status (β=1.899, p=.000), age (β=0.179, p=.000), and year level (β=0.306, p=.000) predicted mental well-being. On the other hand, subjective mental well-being (β=0.736, p=.000), self-reported health status (β=0.967, p=.000), and age (β=0.691, p=.025) predicted life satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely affected students’ mental health and well-being. Interventions should be initiated to address the mental health needs of the students during this pandemic and even beyond the health crisis.

Introduction: The ubiquity of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic induced the widespread use of videoconferencing applications. However, the prolonged use of these applications can lead to videoconferencing fatigue. Drawing from an online survey sample of 215 senior high school students from a selected private university in Manila, Philippines, this mixed methods study examines videoconferencing fatigue and its relationship with online student engagement (OSE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods: This study utilized a convergent triangulation research design. The quantitative strand was cross-sectional in nature. The constructs were measured using the Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale and Online Student Engagement Scale. Bivariate and multivariate statistical tests were used to determine the significance of the relationships between variables. The qualitative strand utilized a descriptive design. Narrative data were collected through an open-ended survey question and analyzed using content analysis.Results: Quantitative results indicate moderate to high levels of videoconferencing fatigue among student respondents. Moreover, higher levels of OSE were observed among those who endured higher visual fatigue and attended videoconferences more days a week. Qualitative findings demonstrate various manifestations of videoconferencing fatigue among students and relate it with decreased energy to perform academic tasks and learning absorption. However, the qualitative analysis also reveals students’ perceived need for videoconferencing to learn online.Discussion: The nuanced insights from both strands highlight that despite their perceived negative impacts of videoconferencing, students had to tolerate visual videoconferencing fatigue in order to engage meaningfully in online classes.