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Thinking positive - the importance of resilience and listening to children and young people
Edited by Don Stewart and Jenny McWhirter
This position paper has three fundamental perspectives. First, it outlines the rationale for resilience education in the school curriculum. Second, it presents an original three-dimensional framework for resilience: as a state, a condition and as a practice. Third, it explores some current Australian programs designed to enhance resilience for children and young people. This paper asserts that knowledge of resilience is important for teachers in view of the changing circumstances that have an impact on their work as educators. The framework for resilience proposes a way forward in supporting children and families by fostering coping skills that empower them and become protective resources as they deal with contemporary issues. Resilience is associated with optimism and suggests we can encounter change and adversity but still find hope. The three-dimensional framework for resilience offers a framework for action. The focus of both this framework and this paper are on being proactive. It is about "what can be done" rather than just "what is needed".
It is proposed that teachers who are equipped with knowledge of "resilience" are better able to cater for children and young people's emotional and social needs. Recent neuroscience and brain research in the educational sciences is supporting the importance of the relationships between the emotions and learning and suggests learners who can manage their emotional state will be better able to manage the stresses associated with learning ([24] Greenberg, 2006). Teachers need to develop what [58] Thomsen (2002, p. 11) calls a "resiliency attitude" so that they see children and young people as competent and focus on their strengths rather than deficits. Teachers themselves also require resilience education to cope with the stresses of teaching. If teachers are to create motivating learning environments they need to be motivated and supported themselves.
The construct of resilience
There is no universal definition of resilience. I explored accounts of the concept and identified similarities and differences in an attempt to have a common language with which to work. After examining the literature, I consider that resilience is discussed in the literature as: a state; a condition; and as a practice. I believe the advantage of...