Strategies for Supporting and Building Student Resilience in Canadian Secondary and Post-Secondary Educational Institutions
Abstract
Communication, problem-solving skills, emotional intelligence, and mental health and well-being are key characteristics of a resilient student. These skills are also needed to navigate increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century. In addition, resilient students are dedicated to learning, are focused on academic success, and are better equipped to adapt to change and the evolving workplace. An interdisciplinary team from both secondary and post-secondary educational institutions situated at Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Canada have collaborated to develop and implement strategies and curricula to support and enhance student resilience. The Mental Health Commission of Canada recommends “increase collaboration between (these) institutions - sharing best practices and processes for effective strategy development, and implementation” to better support student reliance and the successful transition from secondary to post-secondary education. We present the overall rationale and approach taken to support capacity building for student resilience in post-secondary institutions. As well as highlighting specific curricula and virtual strategies implemented (e.g., Graphic Novel, Mandalas, Resiliency Handbook) to engage students in building and maintaining resilience.
Keywords
References
Glauser, W. (2017). Postsecondary campuses responding to record anxiety and depression levels. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 189(48), E1501–E1502. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5512.
Pascoe, M. C., Hetrick, S. E., & Parker, A. G. (2019). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 104–112. doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823.
Linden, B. (2019). Understanding Post-Secondary Student Stress: A Qualitative Analysis. doi:10.31124/advance.8233562.v1.
Taking on the Completion Challenge. (2010). OECD Education Working Papers. doi:10.1787/5km4m2t59cmr-en.
CN, M., & FM, O. (2015). Relationship between Academic Resilience and Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students in Kiambu County, Kenya. International Journal of School and Cognitive Psychology, 2(s2). doi:10.4172/2469-9837.1000s2003.
Cassidy, S. (2015). Resilience Building in Students: The Role of Academic Self-Efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01781.
Ricketts, S. N., & Chang, M.-L. (2014). Exploring the Relationship between Academic Resilience and Achievement. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e570362014-001.
McCloud, T., & Bann, David. (2018). Financial Stress and Mental Health among Higher Education Students in the United Kingdom up to 2018: a Rapid Review of Evidence. doi:10.31234/osf.io/35djy.
Fleming, J., & Ledogar, R. J. (2008). Resilience, an Evolving Concept: A Review of Literature Relevant to Aboriginal Research. Pimatisiwin, 6(2), 7–23.
Southwick, S. M., Bonanno, G. A., Masten, A. S., Panter-Brick, C., & Yehuda, R. (2014). Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), 25338. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338.
Kim-Cohen, J., & Turkewitz, R. (2012). Resilience and measured gene–environment interactions. Development and Psychopathology, 24(4), 1297–1306. doi:10.1017/s0954579412000715.
Masten, A., and Barnes, A. (2018). Resilience in Children: Developmental Perspectives. Children, 5(7), 98. doi:10.3390/children5070098.
Saleebey, D. (1996). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice: Extensions and Cautions. (1996). Social Work. doi:10.1093/sw/41.3.296.
Baginski, J. (January 22, 2018). Face to Face Interview.
Wong, J. (2018). Systematic review of the literature on empowering students to improve mental health. Oral presentation at the Ontario Tech University Mental Health Round Table, Oshawa, ON.
Kunka, A. J. (2015). The Graphic Novel: An Introduction by Jan Baetens, Hugo Frey. South Central Review, 32(3), 143–145. doi:10.1353/scr.2015.0024.
Saltzman, E. (2017). Novel to Graphic Novel. In S. Tabachnick (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Graphic Novel (Cambridge Companions to Literature, pp. 144-159). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316258316.011.
Baetens, J., & Frey, H. (2015). Introduction: The Graphic Novel, a Special Type of Comics. The Graphic Novel, 1–24. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139177849.001.
Harry van Bommel and Brenda Gamble. (2017) Are you ok? Toronto, Ontario: Resources Supporting Family and Community Legacies.
Mahar, D., Iwasiw, C. & Evans, M. (2012). The Mandala: First-Year Undergraduate Nursing Students' Learning Experiences. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 9(1), pp. -. Retrieved 13 Mar. 2020, from doi:10.1515/1548-923X.2313.
Potash, J. S., Chen, J. Y., & Tsang, J. P. Y. (2015). Medical student mandala making for holistic well-being. Medical Humanities, 42(1), 17–25. doi:10.1136/medhum-2015-010717.
Harry van Bommel and Brenda Gamble. (2018) Resilience 101: Recover Faster, Feel Better and Push Forward. Toronto, Ontario: Resources Supporting Family and Community Legacies.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Susman, J. R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and psychosomatic processes. Social Science & Medicine, 26(3), 327–332. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(88)90397-8.
Frayme website, Funded by the Government of Canada Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program (2020). Available online: https://www.frayme.ca/ (accessed 25 March 2020).
DOI: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2020-0202-4
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2020 Brenda Gamble, Daniel Crouse
