Building Resilience in School - Literature review Example

Introduction In this dynamic social world, resilience is a highly indispensable aspect of every individual. This is more so important in a school setting where young people go through a myriad of life challenges. Resilience refers to one’s ability to bounce back from a difficulty or misfortune. In schools, students handle life problems differently, with some bouncing back from them easily and others failing to do so. The ability to cope with an adverse issue and function well is known as resilience. This paper intends to discuss some of the ways in which schools can use to build resilience among young people in a school environment. Building resilience in school Improving achievements Ensuring that students get positive achievements is one sure way of building resilience among young people in school. This does not only relate to academic performance but also to the time the students spend in school; positive experiences in school including participation, enjoyment, and success in arts, music, and sports. By recognizing and boosting participation and confidence among young people, schools can enhance resilience among them (Day & Gu, 2013). Guaranteeing Smooth transition Students are always affected negatively by sudden changes in their lives, such as, shifting schools, moving to other residential areas, parents’ job transfer and change of teachers among others. This can greatly affects a student’s learning especially if they were so much attached to the old routine. To help the young people cope with the changes, it is critical for the local authorities and schools to ensure that the transition does not enhance vulnerability of the students so as to maintain resilience (Goldstein & Brooks, 2012). Promoting good behaviors When young people are allowed to engage in unhealthy behaviors including smoking, drinking alcohol, drug abuse, sexual activities, lack of exercise and unhealthy eating makes them vulnerable and diminishes resilience. Schools are known to affect behavior of students positively by employing proper measures to discourage unhealthy behaviors. Rewarding, recognizing and emphasizing healthy behavior among students enhances resilience. Additionally, punishing unhealthy behavior among young people in school helps to reduce risks and build resilience (Prince-Embury & Saklofske, 2014). Supporting care-givers and parents It is possible to build resilience among young people in school by providing support, showing love, and maintaining positive relationships with their care-givers and parents. This is imperative for between children and their care givers, and schools can participate in building strong connections between school and home that aid families, enhancing parental engagement and confidence, as well as perpetuating proper parental practices. This initiative ensures that increased education involvement, reduced child difficulties, and improved academic performances among students (Day & Gu, 2013). Employing a whole-school method This approach entails a concern for the whole school life, well-being and health of students, parents, staff, and community. This method of building resilience is effective in reinforcing mental health among young people in school. Schools that promote good health among their stakeholders employ a whole-school strategy and enjoy its positive effects on resilience (Prince-Embury & Saklofske, 2014). Boosting healthy relationships with their peers As Goldstein and Brooks (2012) argue, the nature of relationships that young people are involved in greatly impact their performance in life. Students tend to look up to their peers for advice and support in most of their life and academic experiences. Thus, it is crucial for a school to develop a good relationship between the students. Promotion and facilitation of supportive friendships among peers by schools enhance protective factors for the young people and children. For example, initiating mentoring schemes are known to be effective in fostering emotional, social and academic development in mentees and mentors. It is also of essence to encourage each student to maintain positive relationships with each other in school. Creating time for every student to be recognized and celebrated for their abilities and appreciated for their diversity in terms of social, ethno-cultural, and gender difference is vital for the relationships. Bulletin boards that feature interesting facts regarding students’ abilities may help in achieving the community connection and fostering a sense of belonging among them (Prince-Embury & Saklofske, 2014). Ensuring supportive staff in school Day and Gu (2013) also say that the type of staff that the school employs determines the overall performance of the school in terms of relationships existing among students. Schools should ensure that they support students by building positive relationships between both subordinate staff and teachers, who provide guidance and support. This could be specifically vital for those who suffer from poor relationships with their families. This is critical in helping such students from developing resilience. Making a school a community hub According to Prince-Embury and Saklofske (2014), the social and physical places that young people live in are crucial in determining their mental wellbeing. Schools may contribute to their community and individual resilience by operating as a community hub. This is also possible through engaging local community and promoting community networks. Resilience may also be built by acting as a base for a variety of services and all-age communal activities. This initiative is known to promote a positive effect on students’ attainment especially for the ones going through tough times. It also improves commitment to learning, improved life chances, and family stability. Further, this is known to create stable homes for the young people, as well as reinforcing high qualifications and employability among community members. It also reduces disorder and crime among youth in the community. In addition, this promotes social skills and self-confidence among students in the school. Understanding one’s strengths It is crucial for teachers to address the attitude that enables them to look out and try to adjust students’ deficiencies. Instead, it is vital for them to accept that every student in school has a unique knowledge, understandings, and awareness. This is aimed at encouraging them to appreciate the students’ strengths. With young people who are at high risk, this can be challenging. Nevertheless, resilience is developed from current strengths; hence the importance of the initiative. It is imperative to keep a log of students’ impressive activities as they are helpful during conflicts (Goldstein & Brooks, 2012). Setting high expectations As Prince-Embury and Saklofske (2014) note, this is possible by cooperatively building parameters of effective learning environment. Focusing on resilience implies using the present strengths of the students to handle their weaknesses. It is important for teachers to acknowledge the issues that their students face, at the same time holding them with high expectations. Cooperation with students can enable teachers to establish high expectations with clear boundaries. It is critical to take into consideration the development of boundaries in conjunction with students as one of the initial activities of a new-year school calendar. This helps in ensuring that the students hold an operational understanding of policies and rules. Usually, the top-down method to classroom management implies that rules are precise to the teachers could not be clear to the students. Setting realistic goals It is also necessary to collaboratively set realistic goals with every student. Setting sensible goals implies that students have something to look forward to and celebrate throughout their academic year. The goals should be student-focused, personalized, student-driven, and well documented. It is also significant for teachers to be engaged in acknowledging milestones. This celebration is systematic element of learning environment where personal growth is praised in one’s social setting. Teachers may foster deeper learning by using opportunities for reflection with students, employing strategies, which include student-driven interviews (Prince-Embury & Saklofske, 2014). Ensuring opportunities for realistic participation According to Goldstein and Brooks (2012), an environment rich in resilience allows for development of attitudes and skills that have originated from other learning settings. In a school setting, teachers are helpful in the development of crucial life skills, which include problem solving, conflict resolution, as well as stress management. Opportunities for meaningful engagement imply that young people are encouraged to take realistic risks, to make a testing place for establishing the transformations of their positive activities. Service learning entails one of the excellent ways for students to exercise their newly-acquired life skills. For instance, a community cleanup activity or initiating a school-based program may illustrate to wayward students that their activities may facilitate the creation of positive environments, which in turn strengthen others. Living development of resilience as a process It is essential to note that building of resilience is a process. Young people have many complexities in life that seem to suggest the impossibility of handling their challenges. The systematic employment of resilience principles in school and classroom environment can provide young people with the best and only setting to develop positive coping mechanisms. This is a worthwhile process of building resilience (Day & Gu, 2013). Conclusion Without doubt, resilience is a vital aspect of young people’s mental health, especially in a school environment. Building resilience in a school environment is a critical in fostering mental health among the students. Therefore, schools should strive to develop initiatives that ensure effective resilience development among students. Since it is a process, resilience building involve numerous strategies including improving achievements; guaranteeing smooth transitions; ensuring positive relationship with peers; supporting care-givers and parents; ensuring supportive staff; promoting good behaviors; employing a whole-school strategy; fostering positive environment; making a school a community hub; maintaining high expectations; setting meaningful goals; recognizing one’s strengths and realizing the fact that resilience building is a process. These strategies ensure that students go through their life and academic experiences effectively with an ability to cope with challenges Poster BUILDING RESILIENCE AMONG STUDENTS IN SCHOOL: Improve achievements Guarantee smooth transitions Ensure positive relationship with peers Support care-givers and parents Ensure supportive staff Promote good behaviors Employ a whole-school strategy Foster positive environment Make a school a community hub Maintain high expectations Set meaningful goals Recognize one’s strengths Realize that resilience building is a process. References Day, C. & Gu, Q. (2013). Resilient Teachers, Resilient Schools: Building and Sustaining Quality in Testing Times. New York, NY: Routledge. Pp. Goldstein, S. & Brooks, R.B. (2012). Handbook of Resilience in Children. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media. Pp. 349-360. Prince-Embury, S. & Saklofske, D.H (2014). Resilience Interventions for Youth in Diverse Populations. New York, NY: Springer. Pp. 249-260. 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