Explaining a Multilevel Model of Students’ Academic Resilience in Schools with Emphasis on Emotional Self-Regulation, Teacher Support, and Family Psychological Capital
Keywords:
Academic resilience, emotional self-regulation, teacher support, family psychological capital, schools, qualitative research, studentsAbstract
This study aimed to explain a multilevel model of students’ academic resilience in schools in Tehran, with a particular focus on emotional self-regulation, teacher support, and family psychological capital. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants consisted of 24 students, teachers, and parents from secondary schools in Tehran, selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached; saturation occurred at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm conceptual adequacy. All interviews were conducted after obtaining informed consent, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Trustworthiness was enhanced through member checking, peer review, recoding, prolonged engagement with the data, and maintaining an audit trail. Data analysis led to the identification of five main categories: “emotional self-regulation as the intrapersonal core of resilience,” “teacher support as a relational and instructional buffer,” “family psychological capital as a source of hope, efficacy, and optimism,” “school-family alignment in managing academic pressure,” and “the process of recovery from academic failure and persistence.” The findings indicated that academic resilience is not merely an individual trait but emerges through dynamic interactions among students’ emotion regulation capacities, teacher-student relational quality, and the psychological resources embedded in the family context. The findings suggest that students’ academic resilience should be understood through a multilevel model. School-based interventions are likely to be more effective when they simultaneously target emotional self-regulation skills, teacher support, and family psychological capital.
Downloads
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Cassidy, S. (2016). The Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30): A new multidimensional construct measure. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1787. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01787
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007). Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00083.x
Luthans, F., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2017). Psychological capital: An evidence-based positive approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 339–366. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113324
Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2006). Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach. Psychology in the Schools, 43(3), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20149
Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford Press.
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 365–386). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_17
Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493–529. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311421793
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(4), 571–581. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.85.4.571
Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.90.2.202
Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2