Resilience, defined by as a ‘positive adaptation despite the presence of risk’, is a key skill to develop in pupils. Most plainly described as not giving up easily, being able to get back on your feet and staying motivated despite setbacks, resilience is directly related to wellbeing, providing you with the confidence and you need to persevere.
While pupils go through inevitable changes during adolescence, developing their resilience can help them navigate the challenges they want to take on and keep them motivated to continue, despite any difficulties. This can help them to work better under pressure and as a learning opportunity rather than a threat. But creating resilient pupils is easier said than done – so how can the right school environment help?
The actions of teachers
Resilience shouldn’t be regarded as a skill to teach: it is an outcome. This means you cannot teach it in isolation. What you can do, however, is teach the skills that help someone develop their resilience and provide an environment in which it can flourish.
The right level of challenge
by leading resilience researchers highlights that for an environment to facilitate resilience, it needs to be both high in challenge and support. Too much challenge and no support results in excessive stress, burnout and isolation. Too much support but not enough challenge can lead to complacency and boredom.
When pupils are struggling, the temptation is to reduce the level of challenge in the task. However, low expectations often lead to low results. To help develop resilience, instead of reducing the difficulty, consider increasing the individual support.
Research has demonstrated that those who have than those who have been wrapped in cotton wool. But much stress has been shown to have the inverse effect, with chronic stress potentially leading to , increased likelihood of dropping out of school and diminished motivation.
Develop a growth mindset
Additionally, instead of focusing on resilience itself, it can be worth looking at how your school can foster a growth mindset – seeing mistakes and failure as learning opportunities can help pupils have a positive outlook on setbacks and maintain motivation.It is possible to develop a growth mindset in students. Although there are no set ways to do this, there are strategies and resources that may help.
Use the power of praise
The behaviours you choose to praise as a teacher will provide a pupil with a model to follow. However, you have to , because it is a very powerful tool and if used poorly can do more harm than good.
Have high expectations
By having positively high (and realistic) expectations for your pupils, you can encourage them to become more independent, motivated learners. This is called the . No one rises to low expectations. What we permit, we promote. If we lower our standards in terms of behaviour and what is possible, students will automatically and subconsciously follow suit.
Teach different strategies
Simply telling students to ‘try harder’ or ‘put more effort in’ is unlikely to lead to long-term positive behaviour change. Instead, by showing them different ways to solve problems and encouraging them to such as ‘What could I do differently?’ when they get stuck, they will be better equipped to overcome setbacks along the way. that those who ask themselves such questions instead of making statements to themselves about their abilities tend to perform better, thanks to having more motivation to succeed.
Fail better
When pupils face a setback, encourage them to take some time to reflect on what you have learnt. Use this self-reflection to improve in the future. Ask questions such as: ‘Were you still motivated after the setback?’, ‘Was it the right thing to try at the time?’ and ‘Are you clear on what you would do differently next time?’
Let pupils surround themselves with the right people
Allow time for students to form bonds, so they can surround themselves with the right people. The friends that pupils make have a huge impact on their development. Isolation can lead to bad decisions, which increases stress and frustration levels. Research suggests that . And other people can also have an impact on our effort levels. found that if the person next to you is working hard, it increases your own work ethic.
Reframe decisions
Encourage students to view decisions as active choices, not sacrifices. A study on how consistently showed that they viewed commitment as an active choice and not as a sacrifice. This gives a feeling of control and autonomy over the situation.
Be flexible
In challenging situations, being able to adapt quickly is very important. Responding well to surprise will allow your students to keep a strong footing on your goals. After all, as Bruce Lee observed: ‘The stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.’
Getting started
Resilience is a difficult quality to quantify and measure. It is important that pupils can bounce back from adversity, manage pressure and overcome setbacks. This is true both now in school and later in life, and it should be a focus of both the pupil and their school.
It can seem like a lot for a school to implement at first, but finding the balance and making small changes can help schools and educators provide the right environment for resilience to thrive.
Bradley Busch is a chartered psychologist at InnerDrive. He has worked with hundreds of schools on using psychological research to help improve learning, motivation and resilience. You can find out more about the workshops InnerDrive runs for both staff and students at