Resilience and school success of young immigrants / Resiliencia y éxito escolar en jóvenes inmigrantes

Abstract

Secondary school is a high-risk academic period for young immigrants from disadvantaged environments. Despite this, some students are successful in their transition to post-16 education. The present study examines the relationship between resilience and completing school in immigrant young people in Spain. A mixed method design was followed. Ninety-four students in their fourth year of compulsory education participated; they included 19 different nationalities. Results of this study suggest that students who continue their studies beyond obligatory education have higher levels of resilience. The findings also suggest the activation of the relational dimension of 'social capital' in young people. Factors such as academic self-concept, the presence of peers as models of school success and the social capital available in their networks are also relevant.

Improving the perception of intelligence: a short intervention for Secondary School Students.

“…This idea stems from by Davis, Burnette, Allison and Stone (2010) who observed that a growth mindset was key when students, in a mathematical competition, believed that they were less capable than the rest of their peers. Also, Chen and Pajares (2010) point out that a growth mindset is important when students begin to lower their performance, so future research could analyze whether this intervention would be more effective in students who have seen their Academic performance or with immigrant students since the risk of school failure is higher (Sandín-Esteban and Sánchez-Martí, 2015). Fourth, it should be noted that in this study we used a selection of items from the instrument to evaluate the perception about intelligence, although we provide evidence of reliability and, we Improving the perception of intelligence: a short intervention for Secondary School Students consider that the items adequately represent the construct to be evaluated, it could be that the results with other items were somewhat different.…”

Schooling despite all odds

“…Being in such a space could have been a motivating factor for the child carers to continue attending school. This finding reinforces the literature that advanced the concept of a special individual having a key role in promoting resiliency among at-risk children in the school setting (Christiansen et al, 1997;Condly, 2006;Cooklin, 2009;Katz, 1997;Sandin-Esteban & Sanchez-Marti, 2015).…”

“…The study findings confirmed literature which advanced the view that school personnel, including teachers and administrative staff, play a critical role in supporting child carers to continue attending school (Bhana et al, 2006;Christiansen et al, 1997;McMillan & Reed, 1994;Sandin-Esteban & Sanchez-Marti, 2015).…”

“…Educational resilience literature further highlights the unique position and the significant role that teachers and other school staff play in providing support for children who are at risk (Christiansen et al, 1997;McMillan & Reed, 1994;Sandin-Esteban & Sanchez-Marti, 2015). One critical role that teachers play is that of being a special person providing positive supportive human interactions and relationships essential to protect or compensate for children's adversities (Christiansen et al, 1997).…”

“…Within the school setting, teachers provided special support and encouraged students facing adversities to aspire for more than what they believed they could achieve (Waxman et al, 2003). Such outstanding teachers were considered to go beyond their call of duty to play the additional role of being the confidant and positive role model (Benard, 1991), and demonstrated that they had high expectations for students to achieve positive outcomes (Katz, 1997;Sandin-Esteban & Sanchez-Marti, 2015). Resiliency scholars further described a supportive teacher as one who shows kindness and compassion, provides mentorship to at-risk students, and conveys genuine support to students by listening to them and validating their feelings (Waxman et al, 2003).…”