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Article
Publication date: 15 November 2021

Afsaneh Ghanizadeh

The major purpose of the present study is to investigate the contribution of academic resilience in accounting for two motivational and attitudinal constructs ? Grit and positive…

Abstract

Purpose

The major purpose of the present study is to investigate the contribution of academic resilience in accounting for two motivational and attitudinal constructs ? Grit and positive orientation and also probe the predictive power of all these constructs in academic achievement of university students in the midst of the pandemic COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

521 university students participated in an online survey. To measure academic resilience, a scale designed and validated by Kim and Kim (2016) comprising 26 items was employed. The scale contains five sub-factors: perceived happiness, empathy, sociability, persistence and self-regulation. Grit was assessed via an 8-item scale comprising two facets: perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI). It was designed by Duckworth and Gross (2014). Positive orientation was determined through positivity scale developed by Caprara et al. (2010), consisting of eight items.

Findings

The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that resilience positively and significantly predicted both grit (β = 0.56, t = 6.41) and positive orientation (β = 0.54, t = 6.35). Resilience also predicted academic achievement directly (β = 0.71, t = 9.12) and indirectly via its impact on grit and positive orientation. It was also found that positive orientation and grit are positively and highly associated (β = 0.77, t = 9.28).

Originality/value

The pandemic COVID-19 brought about substantial changes in university students' education and their overall life style. Many university students around the globe experienced virtual education. Balancing personal and academic roles in these unprecedented conditions seems to be a tough challenge for every university student.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2017

Anja Johnsen, Gaby Ortiz-Barreda, Guro Rekkedal and Anette Christine Iversen

The purpose of this paper is to summarise and analyse empirical research on protective factors that promote academic resilience in ethnic minority children mainly aged between 13…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to summarise and analyse empirical research on protective factors that promote academic resilience in ethnic minority children mainly aged between 13 and 18 years attending schools in the Nordic countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper was opted for a literature review of 23 peer-reviewed quantitative articles published between 1999 and 2014. The analysis entailed protective factors at both the personal and environmental levels in ethnic minority children.

Findings

Some minority children’s school performance may be just as good if not better than majority children when having similar or even lower socioeconomic status than majority children. Protective factors at the personal level included working hard, having a positive attitude towards school, and having high educational aspirations. Protective factors at the environmental level included supportive school systems, supportive schools, and supportive networks including parental qualities and support. The findings are comparable to the findings outside the Nordic countries with one exception; minority children in the Nordic countries performed better than expected despite socioeconomic disadvantages.

Research limitations/implications

Protective factors affecting academic resilience need further attention in a time with an increased global migration. Research implications may be related to how schools and policy makers develop supportive school systems, supportive schools, and supportive networks to contribute to making a difference for minority children’s educational opportunities in the Nordic countries.

Originality/value

Academic resilience is a relatively new research field in the Nordic countries. This review is the first review which has summarised and analysed existing findings on academic resilience in the Nordic countries in minority children.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 February 2020

Mohamed Mousa, Hala A. Abdelgaffar, Walid Chaouali and Mohammed Aboramadan

This paper aims to focus on academics in three private foreign universities located in Cairo (Egypt) to explore the influence of organizational learning (OL) on the level of…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on academics in three private foreign universities located in Cairo (Egypt) to explore the influence of organizational learning (OL) on the level of organizational resilience of academics with and without the mediating effect of a multi-stakeholder network.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a comprehensive count sampling in which every academic was handed a questionnaire form to fill. This led to a decrease in the likelihood of research bias. In total, the authors distributed 960 questionnaire forms and collected 576 completed questionnaires, which is almost more than 60% of the total population. The authors used structural equation to determine the effect of OL on academics’ level of organizational resilience. The same equation was later used to assess the mediating role of the multi-stakeholder network on the aforementioned relationship.

Findings

The findings highlight a statistically significant influence of OL on academics’ level of organizational resilience. Moreover, the results revealed the significant role of the multi-stakeholder network in mediating the relationship between OL and organizational resilience.

Originality/value

This paper contributes by filling a gap in human resource management and organization literature in the higher education sector, in which empirical studies on the relationship between OL, multi-stakeholder networks and organizational resilience have been limited until now.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2023

Patricia Gooding, Rebecca Crook, Melissa Westwood, Claire Faichnie and Sarah Peters

This study aims to examine the following across a six-month period in post-graduate research (PGR) students: mental health and well-being; the effect of academic pressures on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the following across a six-month period in post-graduate research (PGR) students: mental health and well-being; the effect of academic pressures on depression, anxiety and well-being; and the extent to which psychological resilience buffered against academic pressures.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a longitudinal questionnaire study with predictor variables of six types of academic pressure, outcome variables of depression, anxiety and well-being, and a moderator of resilience.

Findings

Well-being significantly worsened across the six-month timeframe, but levels of depression and anxiety remained relatively stable. Negative perceptions of academic challenges at baseline significantly predicted anxiety, but not depression or well-being, six months later. Negative appraisals of relationships with supervisors, other university staff and work peers were not predictors of anxiety. Social support resilience which was present at baseline buffered the relationship between perceived academic challenges and anxiety.

Practical implications

Higher education institutions have a duty of care towards PGR students, many of whom struggle with the escalating interactions between mental health problems and academic pressures. Actively nurturing psychological resilience related to social support is key at the level of individual students and the PGR community but more broadly at an institutional level.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of negative perceptions of multiple facets of academic life on depression, anxiety and well-being longitudinally. Additionally, it is the first study to investigate, and demonstrate, the extent to which psychological resilience can lessen the relationship between academic challenges and anxiety over time.

Details

Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4686

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 August 2023

Franca Cantoni, Silvia Platoni and Roberta Virtuani

Frequently the universities' Placement Service is based on the student's hard profile at the expense of soft traits. On the other side, the “person–organization fit” axiom…

Abstract

Purpose

Frequently the universities' Placement Service is based on the student's hard profile at the expense of soft traits. On the other side, the “person–organization fit” axiom suggests firms are looking for profiles with specific soft skills to face the increasing level of environmental turbulence. This research aims to understand if high-resilience students also have high academic achievements and how the three components of resilience (emotional intelligence, positive thinking, planfulness) can have different impact on individual performances.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted on students enrolled on different courses of studies and years in an Economics and Law faculty. A questionnaire was administered during the first exam session (ante-Covid) and the second and third exam sessions (post-Covid). This questionnaire consists of 84 questions related to planfulness, emotional intelligence and positive thinking, whose combination can be considered a measure of resilience. In fact, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried to identify these three new variables (the components) based on the 84 initial ones. Finally, an ordered logit model was implemented to verify whether, and in what direction, planfulness, emotional intelligence, positive thinking and Covid 19 (the independent variables) affected the students' performance (the dependent one).

Findings

While planfulness positively affected academic performance, emotional intelligence affected it negatively. The impact of positive thinking and Covid was not significant, and thus what emerged from the preliminary analysis of the grades is not confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

This is a case study of a university experience that is paying great care in preparing students to satisfy the firms' work demands. To confirm and refine results the sample will be expanded to other faculties and other life/soft skills will be investigated.

Practical implications

This soft trait approach—that studies how various measures of soft skills are related to course grades—has a two-fold significance by crafting universities' placement activities and facilitating firms' onboarding.

Social implications

This is a case study of a university experience; a university that is paying great attention to preparing students ready to satisfy the firms' work demands but also citizens capable of supporting the growth of their nation and society in general.

Originality/value

The research can be considered a first step towards the inclusion of the formal evaluation of the students' life skills in their academic path, creating a link with their achievements.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 65 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 February 2019

Safoura Jahedizadeh, Behzad Ghonsooly and Afsaneh Ghanizadeh

The purpose of this paper is to design a new instrument toward assessing English as foreign language students’ academic buoyancy and to investigate the association between…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a new instrument toward assessing English as foreign language students’ academic buoyancy and to investigate the association between academic buoyancy and three demographic variables of GPA, gender and educational level using the newly-designed questionnaire.

Design/methodology/approach

To do so, a new questionnaire consisting of 27 items was designed which measures four aspects of L2 buoyancy, namely, sustainability, regularity adaptation, positive personal eligibility and positive acceptance of academic life. The scale was then translated into Persian and its validity (computed via confirmatory factor analysis estimates) and reliability (computed via Cronbach’s α) were substantiated.

Findings

All the items were found to have accepted factor loading. The results regarding the association between academic buoyancy and demographic variables along with the relevant discussion are presented.

Originality/value

Though over the years, researchers have used a variety of methods and scales to measure buoyancy, all of the instruments have been consisted of few items (usually four) which do not include the many aspects related to student buoyancy as one of the tenets of individual differences in positive psychology. Moreover, the same materials were used for distinctive settings of school and workplace in which the individuals adapt different goal orientations and perspectives. Consequently, the need for designing a comprehensive and specific instrument which includes all the aspects of academic buoyancy focusing on EFL students in higher education is manifested.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2022

Anusha Ramgoolam-Atchiamith, Aila Khan, Cristina Rodrigues and Karina Michelle Wardle

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of hospitality curriculums in Australia. Experiencing stress during WIL is expected, as students try to balance work and other…

Abstract

Purpose

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of hospitality curriculums in Australia. Experiencing stress during WIL is expected, as students try to balance work and other responsibilities. Previous studies have usually examined the negative impact of stress on individuals. By referring to relevant theories, this paper argues the positive impact of stress and reports on a study which aimed to investigate whether stress – experienced by students during WIL – leads to resilience and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

Hospitality students from different backgrounds enrolled at a tertiary institution completed an online survey. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM), to test the proposed links between stress, resilience and well-being.

Findings

The study results show that “academic pressure” (mean score = 3.57) is the most common stressor identified by hospitality students. This was followed by stress caused by “time pressure” (mean score = 3.01). Model testing reveals that experiencing “career development concerns” has a statistically significant association with resilience. Moreover, there is a strong link (β = 0.624) between resilience and well-being.

Originality/value

This study makes a contribution by proposing positive outcomes related to stress during WIL. A handful of studies have looked at similar concepts. However, this paper uses statistical techniques to measure and analyse relationships between different variables. By running an SEM, the authors were able to test a linear causal relationship which identifies stressors leading to a significant impact on resilience. Similarly, the strength of relationship between resilience and well-being is also empirically tested.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 December 2022

Rob Glew, Carl-Magnus von Behr, Kaya Dreesbeimdiek, Emma Houiellebecq, Roman Schumacher, Sudhir Rama Murthy and Mukesh Kumar

This paper is motivated by the gap between the extensive academic discussion of industrial resilience and the limited resilience observed in response to large disruptions. Its…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper is motivated by the gap between the extensive academic discussion of industrial resilience and the limited resilience observed in response to large disruptions. Its purpose is to investigate the relationship between the industrial resilience of manufacturing and service operations and the resilience of the supporting financial, legal and political systems. This research identifies the impact of high or low levels of resilience in these supporting systems on the ability of industrial operations to perform as required in disrupted environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors combine a multi-disciplinary literature review with empirical data from four exploratory case studies. First, the authors review the literature on resilience in the fields of operations management, finance, law and political science to bring the terminology and concepts of these fields closer together. This review also defines the independent variables of the study: financial, legal and political resilience. Second, the authors use the framework from the literature to analyse data from four case studies of operations in difference contexts and sectors.

Findings

Industrial resilience is interdisciplinary, nuanced and complex. High levels of industrial resilience require high levels of financial, legal and political resilience. However, the activities required to improve the resilience of these supporting systems are often outside the locus of control of operations managers. Multiple perspectives on resilience must be coordinated to strengthen the response of industrial operations to large disruptions.

Research limitations/implications

As a conceptual and exploratory study, this paper does not utilise quantitative data or in-depth case studies. The authors demonstrate the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective on industrial resilience and provide a theoretical framework that can serve as a foundation to further studies of resilience. The review of the literature provides a glossary of definitions of resilience that improves clarity in this disparate field.

Practical implications

Managers can apply the findings of this work to start cross-functional discussions in their firms that recognise the multiple dimensions of industrial resilience and improve the resilience of the supporting systems. The exploratory case studies provide concrete guidance for how managers in the fields of humanitarian and development operations, healthcare and manufacturing can improve industrial resilience by considering the interaction with the supporting financial, legal and political systems.

Originality/value

This study is the first to provide detailed conceptual discussion and empirical evidence for the interdisciplinary nature of industrial resilience in the context of public sector and non-governmental organisations. Combining evidence from different contexts and sectors demonstrates the broad industrial value of this work.

Details

Continuity & Resilience Review, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7502

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2023

Moon Fai Chan, Tamadhir Al-Mahrouqi, Salim Al-Huseini, Maryam Al-Mukhaini, Manar Al Shehi, Firdous Jahan and Mohammed Al-Alawi

This cross-sectional online survey in Oman in April 2021 aimed to assess university students' resilience, stress levels and meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify…

Abstract

Purpose

This cross-sectional online survey in Oman in April 2021 aimed to assess university students' resilience, stress levels and meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify characteristic profiles.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from full-time students at one University in Oman. Outcomes included sociodemographic information, the brief resilience scale, the perceived stress scale-4 and the meaning in life questionnaire to explore the students' profiles.

Findings

A total of 964 students participated (response rate = 34.8%), of which 35% had low resilience scores. The average perceived stress, presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life scores were 7.9 ± 2.3, 24.2 ± 6.9 and 24.9 ± 7.7, respectively. Cluster analysis identified three groups: low-risk and fewer impacts (cluster A, n = 503, 523%), moderate-risk and moderate impacts (cluster B, n = 160, 16.6%) and high-risk and more impacts (cluster C, n = 301, 31.2%). Cluster C students experienced more psychological problems and were at high risk during the pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The respondents' honesty is a possible error that could influence the results. Low response rates limit its generalizability, and cause-effect relationships among mental health outcomes cannot be discerned.

Practical implications

This study identified three distinct groups of students, each with different levels of severity in their health problems. There is an increased need for education and counseling to support students during this period, and university management should focus on implementing personal precautionary measures and providing high-tech, user-friendly platforms for students to enhance their learning.

Originality/value

These findings suggest that tailored strategies should be developed to address the unique psychological needs of each group. The study provides important information for university management to understand the pandemic's psychological impact on students and develop effective interventions to support their well-being.

Details

Health Education, vol. 123 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Jan Bamford, Yaz Djebbour and Lucie Pollard

– The purpose of the paper was to explore students’ learning experiences in culturally diverse urban higher education environments.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper was to explore students’ learning experiences in culturally diverse urban higher education environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The project used an action research method approach with a mixed-method collection of data. The data consist of a survey of undergraduate students from the two different faculties, business and science, in two London institutions (n = 393) and ten focus groups (consisting of 92 students) as well as participant observations. The survey was based on an adapted version of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) developed in the USA. The authors also piloted the use of Facebook as a learning tool and monitored the effects on communication between students and between lecturers.

Findings

The authors identified statistical significance in the items that addressed the development of students’ relationships with others and found that there was a link with specific students’ profiles, that is those students who were non-native speakers of English who were less likely to engage with “others” and the learning environment. Focus groups highlighted the importance of communities of practice and that these communities aided students in developing what can be seen as resilience outcomes.

Originality/value

The findings from the research indicated that resilience can be seen as key to increasing engagement and communication for students. The piloting of social media across a module at each research site indicated that such a tool can be useful in addressing issues of communication, but the introduction of such tools needs to be generated through the students.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

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