Students’ development of resilience in adapting to remote learning: the case of a first-year module

Abstract

Through the Resilience Theory view, this study investigated the experiences of students’ developmental resilience in a first-year module while adapting to a remote-learning approach. This theory offers a framework for identifying phenomena that downplay students’ academic success while suggesting coping and supportive mechanisms to foster students' academic success. Through a qualitative research approach, this intrinsic case study research design captured the rich subjective experiences of 12 first-year students as they navigated their academic journey through remote learning (i.e. during a time of a pandemic) in the Faculty of Education (FoE) at the University of the Free State (UFS). Employing a qualitative questionnaire survey, a focus-group discussion, and a reflective drawing exercise as data collection techniques allowed for generating empirical data that amplified the participants' experiences. Findings from the study suggest that the first-year students’ developmental resilience for academic success was shaped through a 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀, 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗺. On the other hand, the students’ developmental resilience to succeed academically also relied on their 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿.