Enhancing resilience in youth through a 10-day developmental voyage

The present study sought to examine the potential for resilience to be enhanced in a group of youth participating in a developmental voyage, and to identify the factors that contribute to increased resilience following the voyage. Two studies are reported. Study 1 revealed that voyage participants experienced increased resilience over the course of the voyage. Study 2 sought to replicate and extend these findings by assessing the extent to which increased resilience was maintained five months following the voyage and was associated with other psychosocial variables (i.e. self-esteem, social effectiveness, self-efficacy, belonging, social support and perceived weather). The findings revealed that increased resilience was maintained five months following the voyage. A regression revealed that the predictors explained 37% of the variance in increased resilience. Increased social effectiveness, self-efficacy and less positive perceptions of the weather were the only variables to make unique contributions.     

Enhancing self-efficacy in minority youth: A group technique

This article presents a two-phase group process that can be utilized to develop self-efficacy in minority youth. The process involves helping minority students to develop realistic educational and precareer goals through group supported analysis of individual strengths, weaknesses, resources, and roadblocks to success. Modeling, role playing, and outside activities are the major components of the group process.     

Promoting resilience in schools: a view from occupational health psychology

This paper considers teacher resilience from the viewpoint of a discipline concerned with the interactions between work design, management style and employee health and well-being: occupational health psychology. It will be suggested that there are strong parallels between interventions designed to promote resilience and those designed to reduce work-related stress. The imperative for the latter type of intervention arises from a significant evidence base, summarised in many research studies and reviews of the scientific literature. In making this argument, this paper draws upon four sources of information: (i) the experience of employers outside the education sector in resilience building, (ii) the influence of work design and line manager behaviour on employee well-being, (iii) current British government advice to employers about reducing stress and (iv) an illustrative case study. It is argued that although robust evidence as to the effectiveness of resilience interventions in the education sector is still lacking, experience from other sectors suggest that schools might nurture resilience by improving work design and by providing appropriate training for employees and their line managers.     

Promoting academic satisfaction and performance: Building academic resilience through coping strategies

The aim of this article is twofold: (a) to validate the psychometric properties of the Academic Resilience Scale (AR‐S) in a Spanish university context; and (b) to test a model where different coping strategies are antecedents of AR, and where academic satisfaction and performance are its consequences. The studies were conducted with 185 (study 1) and 780 (study 2) students. In study 1, the construct validity, reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the AR‐S were analyzed. The hypothesized model (study 2) was tested using structural equation modeling. The results confirmed the good psychometric properties of the AR‐S in the Spanish context, providing evidence of its validity. Furthermore, the distinctive role of different coping strategies in resilience was confirmed, as well as the relationship between resilience and academic satisfaction. No direct relationship between resilience and performance was found, highlighting the full mediation of satisfaction.     

Promoting inclusion in school through the arts: a case study

In this article James Wetz describes and reflects on his experience as Principal of a Specialist Performing Arts College and Post‐16 Centre. His account will be of great interest to colleagues in the growing number of such schools. Of particular interest is the pervading clarity of purpose and willingness to accept the challenge presented by the arts and to address the sometimes uncomfortable issues they raise.     

Advocacy for gender minority students: recommendations for school counsellors

Abstract

Research shows that teachers’ and educators’ responses to gender diversity issues in schools either improves or limits the experiences of students. The school counsellor has an important role to play in this process by working closely with other stakeholders to advocate for transgender, intersex and genderqueer (TIG) students. Following a review of recent developments in the USA, recommendations are made and resources identified to assist school counsellors in validating TIG students, and improving school systems in pursuit of their academic, social and emotional success.     

Trauma-informed sexuality education: recognising the rights and resilience of youth

Experiences of maltreatment during childhood and the emergence of sexuality during adolescence are both critical developmental issues that intersect in meaningful ways, yet the two are often isolated from each other in practice. Despite the prevalence of childhood maltreatment, sexuality education does not accommodate young people with trauma histories. This results in curricula and content that ignore the particular needs and experiences of a proportion of students in sexuality education classrooms. Trauma interventions commit a similar oversight by neglecting the prospects for positive, growth-promoting sexual experiences and relationships among young people who have been abused. The failure to account for young people's resilience in the sexual domain results in treatment approaches that emphasise sexual risks (e.g. revictimisation) and problem behaviours to the exclusion of guidance in cultivating positive sexualities. Consequently, many forms of sexuality education and maltreatment interventions may be of limited effectiveness and relevance in promoting the future sexual well-being of young people with histories of trauma. To redress this gap, we advocate for trauma-informed sexuality education, an approach that acknowledges past experiences of abuse, the promise of resilience, and young people's right to positive sexualities.     

Promoting minority success in the sciences: The minority opportunities in research programs at CSULA

Given the large continued investment by the federal government in programs that promote academic success and the pursuit of advanced degrees in the sciences among members groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, there is a strong need for research which provides rigorous investigations of these programs and their impact on the target population. The current study examines programs funded by the National Institutes of Health Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) Division Office intended to address this underrepresentation at a minority serving comprehensive university. Academic outcomes, including college graduation and acceptance into graduate programs, among undergraduate program participants are compared against a propensity score matched comparison group. Results indicate that students supported by the MORE programs had higher GPAs at graduation, took less time to graduate, and were more likely to both graduate with a science degree and enter Master's and doctoral programs in the sciences. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 199–217, 2012     

Relations among school assets,individual resilience,and student engagement for youth grouped by level of family functioning

Given the importance of student engagement for healthy outcomes, research needs to investigate whether school‐based assets promote student engagement beyond individual and family influences. Unfortunately, such research has been limited by a lack of valid instrumentation. After examining the psychometrics of the California Healthy Kids Survey Resilience Youth Development Module, we used this risk and resilience instrument with a randomly selected sample of 10,000 diverse 7th‐, 9th‐, and 11th‐grade students to test a model of relations between school assets, individual resilience, and student engagement for students grouped by level of family assets. Although youth in the low family asset group reported lower student engagement, contrary to hypothesis, multigroup structural equation modeling revealed that school assets did not have a differential relation for low family asset youth compared to their high family asset peers. School assets were associated with student engagement for all groups, even accounting for individual resilience. Implications and future directions are provided. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Interpersonal violence among youth: A challenge for school personnel

Although interpersonal violence in the school setting is not a new phenomenon, the problem has escalated considerably in this last decade. Both urban and rural school systems are being affected. This paper seeks to explore the extent of interpersonal violence and its impact on students and school personnel. The multiple factors that lead to school violence are examined. Select curricula used in school systems to reduce or prevent violence are highlighted. The article emphasizes that student violence is not a problem limited to the school environment, but one that should and must find a solution through cooperation of all the institutions present in the community, family included. Finally, suggestions are presented for developing preventive strategies.     

Promoting early career teacher resilience: a framework for understanding and acting

In this paper, we undertake a brief review of the ‘conventional’ research into the problems of early career teachers to create a juxtaposed position from which to launch an alternative approach based on resilience theory. We outline four reasons why a new contextualised, social theory of resilience has the potential to open up the field of research into the professional lives of teachers and to produce new insights into the social, cultural and political dynamics at work within and beyond schools. We then move from these theoretical considerations to explain how we used them in a recent Australian research project that examined the experiences of 60 graduate teachers during their first year of teaching. This work led to the development of a Framework of Conditions Supporting Early Career Teacher Resilience which we outline, promote and advocate as the basis for action to better sustain our graduate teachers in their first few years of teaching. Finally, we reflect on the value of our work so far and outline our practical plans to ‘mobilise’ this knowledge in ways that will make it available to a variety of audiences concerned with the welfare of this group of teachers.     

The professional student program for educational resilience: Enhancing momentary engagement in classwork

Abstract

The Professional Student Program for Educational Resilience (PROSPER) was designed to increase students’ ability to stay momentarily engaged in classwork, thus promoting educational resilience. Participants (N?=?277, 51% male, 74% Irish) from two low-income schools in Dublin, Ireland (School A n?=?158; School B n?=?119), were assessed using the intervention’s theory of change: (1) change in knowledge of how to stay engaged in classwork, (2) subsequent change in momentary engagement in classwork, and (3) subsequent longer-term change in dispositions for engagement (i.e., tendency to enjoy learning). Qualitative results demonstrated that PROSPER facilitated students’ knowledge, momentary engagement, and teachers’ involvement with students. Quantitative analyses uncovered changes in knowledge and momentary engagement for both the higher and lower ability tracks in School A. The results give refined information on how this universal-school based program increased students’ momentary engagement and supported their educational resilience.     

Relationships and early career teacher resilience: a role for school principals

Given the current climate of high levels of teacher attrition, it is critically important that we understand what keeps early career teachers in the profession. This paper reports early findings from a project addressing the question: ‘What conditions are conducive to promoting teacher resilience and retention in the first two years of teaching?’ The research aims to identify the internal strengths and external strategies that promote resilience in early career teachers. School leaders and first year teachers from 59 schools across two states in Australia contributed to in-depth, open-ended interviews in which they talked about the experiences of beginning teaching. From this data, narrative portraits were developed and emerging themes documented and analysed. A strong emerging theme is how relationships with principals influence teachers’ feelings of personal and professional well-being, with both negative and positive effects reported. This paper uses portraits of two early career teachers to examine this theme. The findings provide important insights for principals who wish to foster resilience in early career teachers.     

以质量促均衡:英国少数民族教育机会均等政策研究

尽管合法进入英国的少数民族儿童都能在公立学校接受正规教育,但是由于大多数少数民族家庭聚居于中心城市,少数民族儿童多集中于中心城市的薄弱学校,同时由于教育制度中存在的对少数民族学生的歧视态度和不能适应少数民族学生特殊需求的制度性问题,低学业成绩和永久开除率高成为与少数民族学生密切相关的问题。20世纪80年代以来,特别是近年来英国政府将推动教育公平的焦点放在改善少数民族学生的学习环境、提高少数民族学生学业成绩上,为此采取了多项措施。     

Academic achievement among a sample of youth in foster care: The role of school connectedness

Research shows that youth in foster care experience poor academic performance and disciplinary actions in school more frequently than do non-foster care youth. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to further examine youth in foster care and the relationship between individual/intrapersonal factors (future orientation and school connectedness) and exosystem factors (number of placement and school moves) and academic performance (grades) and disciplinary referrals among 363 youth (9–11 years of age; males = 52.9%). Controlling for key variables, hierarchical linear regression analysis was utilized to understand how well students' school connectedness, future outlook, number of placement changes, and number of school moves predicted academic and disciplinary outcomes. Beyond the variance explained by control variables, school connectedness made a significant contribution to this model. Results are discussed in the context of implementing interventions that foster school connectedness among this vulnerable population.     

Rethinking science literacy: Enhancing communication and participation in school science through affirmational dialogue journal writing

For many students the study of science can be very disaffirming. This may lead to passivity in class and a lifelong disaffection with science, outcomes which defeat the long‐term purpose of trying to achieve scientific literacy for all students. This article represents a new way of framing scientific literacy with a “science for all” goal, based on a nexus of psychological, sociological, and critical literacy theory. A science education researcher and a science teacher collaborated in trialing the use of affirmational dialogue journal writing with early adolescents in a high school situated in a low socioeconomic status area. The intervention was found to be successful on a number of fronts. An approach which affirms students' experience can lead to a deeper approach to learning for adolescent science students. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 699–717, 1999     

Enhancing school climate through social and emotional learning: effects of RULER in Mexican secondary schools

Learning Environments Research - We investigated the impact of RULER—an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning—on school climate. Students and teachers from 37 Mexican...