What Makes a Difference For Resilient Students in Turkey?

Abstract

Problem Statement: Socio-economic background plays an important role in academic achievement, but there is a group of students beating the odds and becoming successful despite the socio-economic background of their families. Purpose of the Study: The study aimed to define how resilient students succeed at school despite their socio-economically disadvantaged background and examine the relationship between academic achievement and other factors related to school. Method: Descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to answer the research questions. The rate of resilient students in Turkey has been analyzed among 15-year-olds taking the PISA 2012 assessment. According to PISA 2012 Mathematics performance, Turkey had 322 resilient students. Of these, 46.9% were female and 53.1% were male. Findings: According to the PISA 2012 mathematics performance, 7% of students in Turkey are considered resilient. Findings indicate that almost all resilient students score 482 and higher. This means that there are no resilient students performing below baseline (level 2) in Turkey. One of the other findings was that resilient students feel connected to school and have positive feelings towards school. Self-belief in achievement, being happy with achievement, greater engagement in academic activities, social skills, feeling a sense of belonging to school, and positive feelings towards school were the traits of the resilient students in Turkey. There is no correlation between resilient students’ sense of belonging to school, attitudes towards school in terms of learning outcomes, and perceived success control, and their mathematics performance on the PISA 2012. Resilient students’ attitudes towards school is a significantly predictor of these students’ mathematics performance. Conclusion and Recommendations: This study demonstrated that schools make a slight difference for resilient students in Turkey. Disadvantaged students managed to be resilient and successful, so the educational administration should make the schooling environment more positive and provide more incentives for disadvantaged students to foster their resiliency and success. Moreover, principals should develop strategies to ensure a meaningful learning process that enables disadvantaged students to become successful and accomplished citizens. A qualitative perspective is suggested to bring a deeper approach to evaluate what factors affect achievement of the resilient students’ success. Longitudinal studies could be done to compare what has changed in their lives and whether the resiliency is still present. Keywords: Resilient students, sense of belonging, attitudes towards school, perceived success control, academic performance.

References

1. Arastaman, G., & Balci, A. (2013). Investigating of high school students’ resiliency
2. perception in terms of some variables. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practices,
3. (2), 922-928.
4. Bartley, M. (2006). Capability and resilience. London: UCL Department of
5. Epidemiology and Public Health.
6. Benard, B. (1991). Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family, school, and
7. community. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
8. Bertschy, K., Cattaneo, M. A., & Wolter, S. C. (2009). PISA and the transition into the

9. labor market. Labour, 23(1), 111-137.
10. Borman, G. D., & Overman, L. T. (2004). Academic resilience in mathematics among
11. poor and minority students. Elementary School Journal, 104(3), 177-195.
12. Borman, G. D., & Rachuba, L. T. (2001). Academic success among poor and minority
13. students: An analysis of competing models of school effects (Report No. 52).
14. Baltimore, MD: Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at
15. Risk (CRESPAR).
16. Brooks, J. E. (2006). Strengthening resilience in children and youth: maximizing
17. opportunities through the school. Children & School, 28(2), 69-76.
18. Cabrera, N. L., & Padilla A. M. (2004). Entering and successing in the “culture of
19. college”: The story of two Mexican heritage students. Hispanic Journal of
20. Behavioral Sciences, 26(2), 153-170.
21. Cavazos, J., Johnson, M. B., Fielding, C., Cavazos, A. G., Castro, V., & Vela, L. (2010).
22. Qualitative study of resilient Latina/o college students. Journal of Latinos and
23. Education, 9(3), 172-188.
24. Clauss-Ehlers, C. S., & Wibrowski, C. R. (2007). Building educational resilience and
25. social support: the effect of the educational opportunity fund program amonf
26. first-and second-generation college students. Journal of College Students
27. Development, 48(5), 574-584.
28. Condly, S.J. (2006). Resilience in children: A review of literature with implications for
29. education. Urban Education, 41(3), 211-236.
30. Dass-Brailsford, P. (2005). Exploring resiliency: Academic achievement among
31. disadvantaged black youth in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology,
32. (3), 574-591.
33. Fallon, C. M. (2010). School factors that promote academic resilience in urban Latino high
34. school students. Doctoral dissertation, Loyalo University of Chicago. Retrieved
35. June 21, 2015, from http://search.proquest.com/index?language=tr#sform.
36. Finn, J. D., & Rock, D. A. (1997). Academic success among students at risk for school
37. failure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 221-234.
38. Frydenberg, E. (2004). Coping competencies: What to teach and when. Theory into
39. Practice, 43(1), 14-22.
40. Gary, M. N. (1999). The measurement of socioeconomic status and social class in the LSAY
41. project (Technical Paper No: 14). Adelaide, SA: National Centre for Vocational
42. Education Research. Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
43. http://research.acer.edu.au/lsay_technical/28.
44. Grassi, J. (2014). The resilient student: a collective case study of four students who have
45. remained successful in literacy. Doctoral dissertation, Binghamton University.
46. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
47. http://search.proquest.com/index?language=tr#sform.
48. Gordon, K. A. (1995). Self-concept and motivational patterns of resilient African
49. American high school students. Journal of Black Psychology, 21(3), 239–255.
50. Hanushek, E. A. (2010). Education production functions: Developed country
51. evidence. In International encyclopedia of education (pp. 401-411). Amsterdam:
52. Elsevier. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://hanushek.stanford.edu
53. Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2010). The economics of international differences in
54. educational achievement. Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic
55. Research.
56. Henderson, N., & Milstein, M. (1996). Resiliency in schools: Making it happen for
57. students and educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
58. Kalender, I. (2015). An analysis of the resilient students’ profile based on PISA 2012.
59. Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, 6(1), 158-172.
60. Lacour, M., & Tissington, L. D. (2011). The effects of poverty on academic
61. achievement. Educational Research and Reviews, 6(7), 522-527.
62. Maughan, B. (1988). School experiences as risk/protective factors. In M. Rutter (Ed.),
63. Studies of psychosocial risk (pp. 200-220). Cambridge: Cambridge University
64. Press.
65. McCoy, L. P. (2005). Effect of demographic and personal variables on achievement in
66. eighth grade algebra. Journal of Educational Research, 98(3), 131-135.
67. OECD. (2010a). PISA 2009 results: Learning trends-changes in student performance since
68. (Volume V). OECD Publishing.
69. OECD. (2010b). PISA 2009 results: Learning to learn-student engagement, strategies and
70. practices (Volume III). OECD Publishing.
71. OECD. (2010c). PISA 2009 results: overcoming social background-equity in learning
72. opportunities and outcomes (Volume III). OECD Publishing.
73. OECD. (2010d). PISA 2009 results: what students know and can do-students performance
74. in reading, mathematics and science (Volume I). OECD Publishing.
75. OECD. (2011). Against the odds: disadvantaged students who succeed in school. Paris:
76. OECD Publishing.
77. OECD. (2013). PISA 2012 results: ready to learn: students’ engagement, drive and selfbeliefs
78. (Volume III), PISA, OECD Publishing.
79. OECD. (2014a). Strengthening resilience through education and skills: PISA results.
80. Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, Paris, 6-7 May, 2014.
81. OECD. (2014b). PISA 2012 results: excellence through equity-giving every students the
82. chance to succeed (Volume II). OECD Publishing.
83. OECD. (2014c). PISA 2012 results: what students know and can do-student performance in
84. mathematics, reading and science (Volume I). OECD Publishing.
85. OECD. (2014d). PISA technical report. Paris: OECD Publishing.
86. Patterson, J. K. (2012). The road to the top: how educationally resilient black students defied
87. the odds and earned admission to a selective university. Unpublished doctoral
88. dissertation, University of California, California. Retrieved February 23, 2015,
89. from http://search.proquest.com/index?language=tr#sform.
90. Pisapia, J., & Westfall, A. (1994). Developing resilient schools and resilient students.
91. Research Brief 19. Richmond, VA; Metropolitan Educational Research
92. Consortium.
93. Rouse, K. A. (2001). Resilient students’ goals and motivation. Journal of Adolescence,
94. , 461-472.
95. Thornton, B., Collins, M., & Daugherty, R. (2006). A study of resiliency of American
96. Indian high school students. Journal of American Indian Education, 45(1), 4-16.
97. UNESCO. (2006). EFA global monitoring report 2007: Strong foundations -early childhood
98. care and education. Paris: UNESCO.
99. Waxman, H. C., Huang, S. Y. L., & Wang, M. C. (1997). Investigating the classroom
100. learning environment of resilient and non-resilient students from inner-city
101. elementary schools. International Journal of Educational Research, 01, 343-353.
102. Waxman, H. C., Gray, J. P., & Padron, Y. N. (2003). Review of research on educational
103. resilience (Research Report No.11.) Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on
104. Education, Diversity & Excellence, University of California.
105. Yilmaz Findik, L., & Kavak, Y. (2013). Turkiye’deki sosyo-ekonomik acidan
106. dezavantajli ogrencilerin PISA 2009 basarilarinin degerlendirilmesi [Assessing
107. the PISA 2009 achievement of disadvantaged students in Turkey]. Kuram ve
108. Uygulamada Egitim Yonetimi [Educational Administration: Theory and Practice],
109. (2), 249-273.