Patterns of Academic Risk and Resilience: Post–High School Educational Pathways in the Context of the 2007 Economic Recession

Abstract

Academic resilience reflects individuals’ high levels of achievement and motivation despite the presence of stressful conditions that place them at risk for reduced performance. To understand what informs resilience, this study used narrative data from 274 Mexican-origin late adolescents/young adults (aged 19-25 years) to understand how a sociohistorical context— the 2007 U.S. economic recession — informed their experiences in college engagement and achievement. An inductive approach was used to identify themes based on youth’s narratives. Four themes emerged within the data: inability to pay for education, changes in educational/career goals, prioritizing of resources, and feelings of hopelessness/helplessness. Next, a person-centered approach was used to identify patterns in youth’s theme endorsement. Five patterns of academic resilience were identified: Resource and Knowledge, Grit and Perseverance, Waning Grit, Disengaged, and Disengaged and Hopeless. The qualitative themes and groups supported current perspectives on academic risk and resilience and showcase the need to create an integrated model of academic resilience in higher education that accounts for sociohistorical context, social and academic integration, coping skills, locus of control, and social contractual expectations. Furthermore, this study provides practical recommendations by identifying groups who are at risk for academic disengagement.

Masculinity and Silence in the Academic Struggles of American Male College Students

“…Now that we have a better understanding of what these forms of male silence look like, future research could also investigate the prevalence of these forms in subsequent contexts and with additional populations. Different cultural and historical experiences of Latino (Perez-Brena et al, 2019), Asian American (Liu, 2010), and African American (Noguera, 2008) male college students may result in differing negotiations of male silence. Moreover, stereotypes of race and gender may affect how African American boys and men negotiate hegemonic masculine expectations (Way et al, 2013) and Asian American men may negotiate private silence based on cultural pressures to maintain social harmony (Lawley et al, 2019).…”

Youth identity and postsecondary decision making in a rural state: evidence of a College for All master narrative

“…Full discussion of these two policy positions is beyond the scope of this review, however the binary way college and work pathways have evolved suggests an undercurrent of zero-sum normative thinking: Anyone who does not participate in higher education in a normatively expectable way is aberrant -defaulting on their obligation to participate adequately in social and technological change or lacking the ambition to realize their economic and moral potential (Kromydas, 2017). Such characterizations are often inferred of youth who direct their own aspirations toward goals not involving a baccalaureate degree or who otherwise complete college at lower rates or in different fashions (Perez-Brena et al, 2019;Missaghian, 2021). College for All is therefore not merely a social policy ideology, it is a normative identity prescription.…”

Mindfulness and Academic Resilience of Suburban High School Students

“…Suburban high school students must demonstrate the ability to reflect, be affectionate, and demonstrate appropriate behavior during the learning process. Suburban high school students are expected to demonstrate academic resilience despite facing unpleasant situations and attempting to embrace them as they are (Brena et al, 2019).…”