STUDENT MENTAL WELL-BEING DURING EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN-CENTRIC HYBRID LEARNING

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic served as an unprecedented “stress test” for higher education, exposing the latent psycho-social vulnerabilities of digitally mediated learning. While institutions successfully maintained instructional continuity, retrospective analysis reveals a critical misalignment between technological resilience and student well-being. This study explores the lived experiences of 75 university students during the transition to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Using inductive thematic analysis, we identify three compounding barriers to sustainable education: Pedagogical Disconnect (the loss of instructional fidelity), Digital Burnout (somatic and cognitive exhaustion), and Emotional Isolation (the erosion of relatedness). The findings argue that these challenges were not merely transient crisis symptoms but are inherent risks in digital education that threaten the realization of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education). Consequently, we propose a “Human-centric Hybrid Learning” framework. We conclude that future post-pandemic curriculum design must shift from techno-centric instrumentalism to integrating “psycho-pedagogical” support systems, ensuring that technological flexibility does not come at the cost of psychological stability. The study provides actionable recommendations for universities to integrate mental health scaffolding into post-pandemic hybrid curriculum design.