Academic Resilience of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Students After the Earthquake in Turkey

Abstract

Academic resilience is the ability of students to effectively manage academic difficulties, anxiety, and academic pressure. This study intends to examine the academic resilience of second-year physical therapy and rehabilitation students who started their undergraduate education after the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. A phenomenological approach, in particular, was used to learn about the students' first-hand experiences. This study was conducted with second-year students studying at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation and taking the Vocational English course in the spring semester of 2024-2025 academic year. Participants were selected using the convenience sampling method according to their readiness and reachability in the class. In this study, the data obtained through semi-structured interviews were analysed using the thematic analysis method emphasized by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings were examined under three themes: the difficulties students face in their academic lives, strategies to cope with them, and the support needed to improve their academic resilience. As a result of the findings, many factors affecting student resilience and strategies developed to cope with these factors have emerged.

Keywords

• Academic resilience
• coping strategies
• higher education
• earthquake

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