Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Schools & Resilience:

Abstract #204
Communities of Practice Supporting Teachers' Resilience? Working With Teachers in a Resilient-Based Systemic Way
Presenter: Wassilis Kassis Co - Presenters: Ulrike Graf, Elias Kourkoutas, Angie Hart
Abstract:
In Osnabrück/Germany with 17, and in Crete/Greece with 45 (pre-)school teachers we created Communities of Practice groups (as two projects within the international Imagine-project coordinated by the University of Brighton, England). These CoPs are shared learning spaces for teachers who work with to students with various and complex needs. Their focus is to strengthen teachers’ resilience. It is hoped that the CoPs will (a) enable all participants to build trusting relationships; (b) support group members to generate new ideas to deal with difficulties. By addressing the school professionals as specialists embedding their new strategies in their practice, we would like to model a resilient way of giving support.
During the CoPs’ one year period, we have administered three times three questionnaires. Starting from Mansfield’s work (2012) we developed a set of questionnaire-questions on teachers’ ability to navigate and negotiate by personal and social resources towards dealing in a resilience oriented way with difficulties at school. Additionally, the teachers completed the burn-out questionnaire by Maslach & Jackson and one inventory exploring the difficulties they face. By combining these three sets of results we identified interesting results on teachers’ personal and social resilience processes over this one year period.

Abstract #210
The Influence of Schooling on the Resilience and Academic Performance of Poverty-Stricken Adolescents in South African Schools
Presenter: Nadine Kuyper
Abstract:
The social and economic environments in which children develop are regarded as important variables which relate to academic performance. In order to support learners in achieving academically, an understanding of the role of these different variables is essential.  The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of additional educational support on the resilient behaviour and subsequent academic performance of adolescents in Grades 9 and 10. A sample of 117 high school adolescents was used. Schools that offer additional educational support tend, on average, to show a healthier teacher-learner relationship, more parental involvement, superior cognitive development and better study orientation. All these factors were also found to contribute to a learner’s potential to demonstrate resilient behaviour. Based on the literature study and the empirical investigation, recommendations to parents, teachers and schools have been made.

Abstract #220
Resilience, Assisted Resilience and Social Inclusion: The Role of School and After School Time Educational Services
Presenter: Elena Malaguti
Abstract:
Introduction:
Both the new international blueprints about the interventions on the juveniles and youths living in vulnerable contexts, the studies about social inclusion, on on the implementation of empowerment, the emergence of new seminal paradigms (resilience, advocacy, assisted resilience) require an inquiry into the perspectives underpinning the construction of inclusive educational contexts, as well as of assisted resilience, in the promotion of resilience processes.
Our research project inquired into the role the adults involved (teachers, social workers, social cares and school managers) have been playing in the management of educational projects concerning groups of youth between 11 and 17 years of age who live under vulnerable conditions and attend either school or the extraschool afternoon educational groups.  
Objectives:
The focus of of our research were the resilience processes among a group of juveniles living under vulnerable conditions (foster children, children with learning difficulties, socio-economic marginality, handicap). Moreover, the project carried out an analysis of the assisted resilience process undertaken by social cares, teachers and managers. Finally, we inquired into the inclusion within the school and extra-school context adolescent hang out with. 
Method:
A theoretical method, relying on a multidimeninsional, multifactorial and ecological approach, was adopted to expose both the educational and the resilience processes. For this purpose, we adopted both qualitative and quantitative analytical tools.