Factors Affecting Academic Resilience in Middle School Students: A Case Study
Factors Affecting Academic Resilience in Middle School Students: A Case Study
Factors Affecting Academic Resilience in Middle School Students: A Case Study
Abstract
This research was carried out with the purpose of identifying how and which risk and
protective factors affect academic outcomes. The study explored how different family
and individual environmental factors foster academic resilience. The exploratory study
took place with a group of six students from a public school in Bogotá, Colombia.
The school is located in a low-income and marginalized area of the city, where social
problems such as poverty and violence are common. Data collection techniques
included document analysis, as well as interviews with teachers and parents. The
data collection was focused on identifying how academic resiliency skills can be
developed in vulnerable young people. It was found that it is possible to identify and
describe different protective factors from the family, such as family guidance, family
support, and opportunities for meaningful family involvement that explicitly foster
academic resilience in at risk-students. It was also possible to address how individual
characteristics also foster positive outcomes, including optimism, perseverance, or
motivation.
1
Received: July 15, 2015 / Accepted: October 6, 2015
2
[email protected]
Resumen
Resumo
Esta pesquisa se realizou com o propósito de identificar como e que fatores de risco e
de proteção afetam os resultados acadêmicos. O estudo explorou como os diferentes
fatores como a família, ambientais e individuais promovem a resiliência acadêmica.
O estudo exploratório foi realizado com um grupo de seis estudantes de um colégio
público em Bogotá, Colômbia. O colégio está situado em um setor de baixos ingressos
e em uma área marginada da cidade, onde os problemas sociais como a pobreza e a
violência são comuns. As técnicas de coleta de dados incluem a análise de documentos,
bem como entrevistas com os professores e os pais. A coleta de dados se centrou em
identificar como as habilidades de resiliência acadêmica se podem desenvolver nos
jovens vulneráveis. Encontrou-se que é possível identificar e descrever os diferentes
fatores de proteção da família, como a orientação familiar, o apoio da família, e as
oportunidades para a participação familiar significativa que explicitamente fomentam
a resiliência acadêmica em estudantes em risco. Também foi possível abordar como
64 as características individuais também fomentam resultados positivos, entre eles o
otimismo, a perseverança, ou a motivação.
Introduction
R
esilience is the process of adapting in the face of adversity. Research
has shown that this trait is usual, not unusual, as people commonly
demonstrate resilience through life experiences (Chung, 2008). This
is because resilience is not a characteristic that people either have or do not
have. For this reason, resilience involves behaviors and actions that can be
learned and developed in any person. A combination of protective factors and
risk factors affect resilience in individuals. Risk factors are those factors that
increase the likelihood of a future negative outcome. Protective factors refer to
those variables that buffer against the effects of risk factors (Wright & Masten,
2005).
Many studies show that the most important protective factor affecting
resilience is having supportive family relationships. On the other hand, different
risk factors from family also directly affect the development of resilience. Both
of these directly affect children’s academic performance as well. Academic
resilience is defined as the ability to deal with adversity, stress or pressure
in academic settings. Students who are affected academically by family risk
factors may be labeled as non-resilient students. The opposite can be described
as resilient students, students who succeed academically in school despite the
presence of adversity (Grotberg, 2001).
Literature Review
On the other hand, protective factors are concerned with the quality of a
person, context or their interaction that predicts better outcomes, specifically
in situations of risk. Protective factors also moderate the impact of adversity
on adaptation (Wright & Masten, 2005). According to Chung (2008), two
protective factors help individuals reintegrate the disruption with resiliency:
individual personal characteristics and environmental characteristics that the
individual experiences.
Many studies are focused on educational resilience and how to lead advances
in the education of students at risk of academic failure. Studies focus on defining
the differences between resilient students, students who succeed academically in
school despite the presence of adversity, and non-resilient students. Some of the
differences identified include family environment, perceptions of the classroom,
school environment and problems caused by poverty, health and explicit social
conditions. Johnson (1997) proposes that human relationships are the most
critical factor in student resiliency, followed by student characteristics, family
factors, community variables, and school programs.
Methodology
Research Design
The proposed methodology for this research was a case study. The
project sought to understand how risk factors affected academic resilience in
six middle school students, and how protective factors were developed in order
to build academic resilience. The exploratory methodology made it possible
to discover which risk factors were of particular importance in academic
performance or resilience, and how academic resilience, as a result, became a
protective factor that impacted learners’ lives.
In the case of risk factors, family and context, the literature points to
the importance of developing and fostering academic resilience in children.
The literature, however, did not describe which or how risk factors in contexts
similar to this could remove protective factors from families. For this reason,
the data collection proposed sought to identify which risk factors affected skills
to overcome adversity and also describe the role of the family as a potential 67
support strategy as a protective factor to foster academic resilience. Finally,
the data sought to establish which risk factors and protective factors existed in
participants’ contexts.
The context for this study was a public school located in a marginalized,
low-income area of Bogotá. For the purposes of the study, the school has been
given a pseudonym, El Triunfo. At the time of the study, the school was what
is known as a colegio de concesión.3 Colegios de concesión are public schools
that the local school authority temporarily contracts through public tender to
recognized educational institutions and non-profit organizations, which then
operate the schools for an agreed period, with the goal of raising standards of
quality.
In order to gather a wide range of data inputs for the case studies, three
different techniques were used and described: academic records, interviews,
and biographical research.
Interviews. Interviews took place with three teachers, six students, and
parents of three of the students. It was intended that, by carefully choosing the
3
Colegios de concesión can be roughly translated as “outsourced schools.”
The objective of the interview with the teachers was to know their
perceptions or insights about the students’ families in order to identify risk
factors and protective factors. The objective of interviewing parents was to
identify how and which practices promoted academic resilience in their
children, and to analyze how risk factors affected protective factors.
Academic Resilience
Environmental Environmental
Risk Factors protective factors
Poverty Low family stress
Academic Resilience
Individual Factors
Optimism
Empathy
70 Self-steem
Direction or mission
Determination
Perseverance
Motivation
Problem Solving Skills
Crtitical Thinking
Autonomy
Internal locus of control
Sense of purpose
In this case study, content analysis was undertaken after all interviews,
sessions and diaries were conducted and transcribed. First, risk factors and
protective factors were identified. Afterwards, a list of environmental risk and
protective factors that emerged from the data collection was created. Each of
them was interpreted. Finally, a summary of the main features was written
in three individual “stories” from the results of the instruments used in the
research, combining findings from all the data collected (interviews, sessions
and dairies). Significant concepts were identified and highlighted as well as
problems, and areas for additional research.
Results
The case study reveals how different risk factors related to the family
environment and the individual characteristics of three students from El
Triunfo school affect academic resilience in terms of students achieving high
educational outcomes despite adversity, and how specific protective factors as
family guidance, parenting skills and positive role models develop resilience
skills in vulnerable teenage students.
Case 1: Mateo
Mateo was born in 2001 as the first of three children to married parents.
Mateo’s parents both left school at the age of 11. Mateo’s parents work at a
mini-market close to their home. They live in one of the poorest, most violent,
and overcrowded neighborhoods in Bogota.
weekends and how they help their children complete homework. His mother
takes an active interest and involvement in Mateo’s education including career
planning. The mathematics teacher expressed that Mateo is an independent and
autonomous student and that his family has strong and clear agreements about
schoolwork. The teacher reported that she truly believes that Mateo shows
interest for learning.
Case 2: Pablo
Pablo is the youngest of five children was born in 2001. His parents both
have the same level of education, and both completed university studies. At
this moment, his mother is completing a specialist degree in psychology. His
father works as paralegal for the Mayor’s Office of Bogota, and his mother
works in a call center. At age two, Pablo’s family lived in rented, overcrowded
accommodation, but by age nine, they had moved into a new rented home.
They live in a house with a cousin, so there are eight people in the house, as
well as two pets.
His parents are interested in Pablo’s education. His mother reported, “If
he has to make a poster, or model, he calls me at the office, tells what is needed
to be done and I buy the materials if necessary, and I also ask him to make a
draft of the assignment and as soon as I get home. I help him with the project,
which is usually drawing the posters with markers, for him”4 Pablo has not
performed well in all academic tests, and he has shown some behavioral
problems. The high school coordinator has a system to follow up students that
arrive late to class, and Pablo has the worst attendance record of his grade. His
72 teachers rated his performance as “on the average” in all subjects.
4
Original Spanish: Si tiene que hacer una cartelera o una maqueta, me llama a la oficina me
cuenta que hay que hacer yo compro los materiales si es necesario y le pido que haga un
borrador de lo que necesita y cuando yo llegue a la casa le ayudo hacer lo que necesita,
usualmente es pasar a marcador las carteleras.
Based on the results of the five sessions, the diary, and the interviews
with his mother and his teachers, Pablo demonstrates the characteristics of
an individual with factors that increase resilience, namely optimism and
empathy, but shows a lack of determination and perseverance. In terms of the
family environment, his family demonstrates a supportive family environment
evident in the activities they do on weekends. Depending on the situation, the
family organizes a plan to keep family bonds strong. For most of the teachers,
it is difficult to hold a meeting with his mother to talk about Pablo’s difficulties.
She cannot attend these meetings because of her job and studies.
Case 3: Miguel
His parents in 2014 did not show a strong interest in Miguel’s education.
The mathematics teacher reported in the interview that Miguel’s parents were
just in the process of asking what is going on when there is nothing to do
because he has not learned what he needed to learn during the school year.
“This is the typical case in which the parents start showing interest about their
children’s performance around the months of October or November5 when
they are about to fail the school year, I ask myself, every time the parents come
worried running to my door, asking what are assignments they need to turn in
order to pass, where were those parents months ago to show their support their
child needed?”6
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5
The regular school calendar in Colombia goes from February to November.
6
Este es el tipico caso en el que los papás se empiezan a interesar por sus hijos cuando ven que
ya en octubre o noviembre van a perder el año, yo me pregunto siempre que llegan angustiados
a mi puerta a saber que trabajos debe entregar donde estan sus papas hace meses para brindarle
el apoyo que necesitaba.
Miguel has not performed well on any academic test, and he failed the
academic year. He showed some behavior problems, was absent to different
classes, and did not complete homework. His teachers rated his performance
as “below average” in all subjects.
Based on the results of the five sessions, the dairy and the interviews with
his father, his sister and his teachers, Miguel demonstrates the characteristics
of an individual with a lack of optimism, direction or mission, self-esteem,
determination or perseverance.
Conclusions
This case study sought to understand how and which risk factors related
to the family environment affect the academic outcome of six students from
El Triunfo school, and also to explore how and which protective factors
compensate specific risk factors. The findings of this study in general support
the literature reviewed. From the data analyzed from this study, it was possible
to conclude that a powerful predictor of the academic outcome for children is
the quality of the immediate care-giving environment. According to Schoon
(2006), there are two broad sets of variables working as protective factors that
may impede adverse experiences. These factors include characteristics of the
individual and the family environment, also presented in the data analysis and
interpretation. For this reason, in this case study, risk and protective factors are
characteristics of the individual and characteristics of the environment. In the
analysis of information of the six participants, the study can conclude that there
74 are specific family and individual risk factors that affect academic outcomes,
and that protective factors from the family environment that minimize the
effect of different risk factors:
• Caring and support: According to Chung (2008),”Despite the burden of
parental, family discord, or chronic poverty, most children identified as
resilient have had the opportunity to establish a close bond with at least
one person [not necessarily the mother or father] who provided them
with stable care” (p. 46).
• High expectations: Associated with high expectations are different
family characteristics such as structure, discipline, and clear rules and
regulations. Schoon (2006) argues that families that establish high
expectations for their children’s behavior from a nearly age play a role in
developing resiliency.
• Encouragement of children’s participation: Rutter (1993) argues that
families that create environments characterized by the qualities of caring,
high expectations, and opportunities for participation provide support
and opportunities for their children.
• Parenting strategies: One of the factors most consistently associated
with positive academic outcomes is responsive parenting. According to
Masten and Reed (2002), a wide variety of specific parenting practices
are associated with children’s positive adjustment, including consistent
discipline, responsiveness, structure, and monitoring.
• Parent–child relationship quality: The quality of the parent–child
relationship has been examined in relation to positive child academic
outcomes. Luthar (2003) argues that having a good relationship with a
parent prepares the child to engage in healthy productive relationships
with other people in the social environment.
communication, but what made the difference between him and the “average
and above” students was the individual characteristics, Pablo presents a lack of
optimism, perseverance and determination.
Limitations of the study included a lack of data sources and the limited
time available for in-depth interviews, sessions and dairy register. Further
research includes four next steps: 1) design a tool to collect information from
all families students; 2) define clear support strategies for families who do not
show protective factors; 3) create sessions for parents focused on how to foster
academic resilience; and 4) teacher coaching and training.
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References
Author
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