Diverse perceptions among engineering students and staff of the enablers and constraints of academic resilience
Abstract
High dropout rates and a lack of academic resilience continue to plague South African higher education. Often, this is more prevalent in practical disciplines that have been subjected to curriculum changes in recent years, such as engineering. It is challenging to understand academic resilience in university settings due to insufficient research. Therefore, more information is needed on the role of personal characteristics and the socio-ecological university environment in enabling and constraining students’ academic resilience. To assist higher education institutions in theorising academic resilience, this article presents a novel conceptual framework of Ungar’s social-ecological theory, and Ebersöhn’s Flocking theory. As part of this theorisation, this article also provides diverse perspectives on academic resilience from engineering students, lecturers, and support staff through semi-structured interviews. An analysis of this qualitative data was conducted using thematic analysis. A major finding of the study was that enabling factors were principally personal, whereas constraining factors were principally socio-ecological. Findings led to the development of an original framework for conceptualising the enablers and constraints of academic resilience in engineering students. This conceptual framework could guide towards the identification of areas of priority for academic resilience and in doing so contribute to interventions to reduce student dropout.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, N., B. Kloot, and B. I. Collier-Reed. 2015. “Why students leave engineering and built environment programmes when they are academically eligible to continue.” European Journal of Engineering Education 40(2): 128–144.
Ahmed, U., W. A. Umrani, M. A. Qureshi, and A. Samad. 2018. “Examining the links between teachers support, academic efficacy, academic resilience, and student engagement in Bahrain.” International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences 5(9): 39–46.
Bantjes, J., W. Saal, C. Lochner, J. Roos, R. P. Auerbach, P. Mortier, R. Bruffaerts, R. C. Kessler, and D. J. Stein. 2020. “Inequality and mental healthcare utilisation among first-year university students in South Africa.” International Journal of Mental Health Systems 14(5): 1–11.
Bantjes, J., W. Saal, F. Gericke, C. Lochner, J. Roos, R. P. Auerbach, P. Mortier, R. Bruffaerts, R. C. Kessler, and D. Stein. 2021. “Mental health and academic failure among first-year university students in South Africa.” South African Journal of Psychology 51(3): 396–408.
Bengesai, A. V. and J. Pocock. 2021. “Patterns of persistence among engineering students at a South African university: A decision tree analysis.” South African Journal of Science 117(3/4): 1–9.
Borman, G. D. and L. T. Overman. 2004. “Academic resilience in mathematics among poor and minority students.” The Elementary School Journal 104(3): 177–195.
Braun, V. and V. Clarke. 2006. “Using thematic analysis in psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101.
Braun, V. and V. Clarke. 2020. “Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches.” Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 21(1): 37–47.
Burton, L. J. and D. G. Dowling. 2009. “Key factors that influence engineering students’ academic success: A longitudinal study.” In Proceedings of the Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2009, 1–6. Palm Cove, QLD.
Cassidy, S. 2016. “The Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30): A new multidimensional construct measure.” Frontiers in Psychology 7(1787): 1–11.
Cortina, M. A., A. Stein, K. Kahn, T. M. Hlungwani, E. A. Holmes, and M. Fazel. 2016. “Cognitive styles and psychological functioning in rural South African school students: Understanding influences for risk and resilience in the face of chronic adversity.” Journal of Adolescence 49: 38–46.
Dass-Brailsford, P. 2005. “Exploring resiliency: Academic achievement among disadvantaged black youth in South Africa.” South African Journal of Psychology 35(3): 574–591.
Ebersöhn, L. 2019. Flocking together: An indigenous psychology theory of resilience in Southern Africa. Switzerland: Springer.
Gayles, J. 2005. “Playing the game and paying the price: Academic resilience among three high-achieving African American males.” Anthropology and Education Quarterly 36(3): 250–264.
Govender, P. 2018. “Joint effort needed to fix university dropout rate. Engineering students find going toughest of all, with half of them ditching their studies.” Sunday Times May 27. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2018-05-26-joint-effort-needed-to-fix-university-dropout-rate/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1658954642856443&usg=AOvVaw1IjrN-ZHFO0p-1z3DqFTbP.
Holdsworth, S., M. Turner, and C. M. Scott-Young. 2018. “... Not drowning, waving. Resilience and university: A student perspective.” Studies in Higher Education 43(11): 1837–1853.
Kuldas, S., S. Hashim, and H. N. Ismail. 2015. “Malaysian adolescent students’ needs for enhancing thinking skills, counteracting risk factors and demonstrating academic resilience.” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 20(1): 32–47.
Lincoln, Y. and E. G. Guba. 1985. Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
Luthar, S. S., D. Cicchetti, and B. E. Becker. 2000. “The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work.” Child Development 71(3): 543‒562.
Mapaling, C. 2023. “Academic Resilience of Engineering Students: A Case Study.” PhD dissertation, Nelson Mandela University.
Mapaling, C., P. Webb, and B. du Plooy. 2021. “‘Everyone Plays a Key Role’: Students, Lecturers and Support Staff in South Africa Talk about the Academic Resilience of Engineering Students.” In Proceedings of the 14th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 7201‒7207.
Mapaling, C., P. Webb, and B. du Plooy. 2022. “‘I would help the lecturer with marking’: Entrepreneurial education insights on academic resilience from the perspectives of engineering students in South Africa.” In Transforming Entrepreneurship Education: Interdisciplinary Insights on Innovative Methods and Formats, edited by J. Halberstadt, A. A. de Bronstein, J. Greyling, and S. Bisset, 177‒196. Cham: Springer Nature.
Martin, A. J. and H. W. Marsh. 2006. “Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach.” Psychology in the Schools 43: 267–282.
Masten, A. S. 2019. “Resilience from a developmental systems perspective.” World Psychiatry 18(1): 101–102.
Morales, E. E. 2008. “Academic resilience in retrospect: Following up a decade later.” Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 7(3): 228–248.
Nowell, L. S., J. M. Norris, D. E. White, and N. J. Moules. 2017. “Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16(1): 1–13.
Pocock, J. 2012. “Leaving rates and reasons for leaving in an Engineering faculty in South Africa: A case study.” South African Journal of Science 108(3–4): 1–8.
Sheppard, C., R. Pillay, C. Madyosi, L. Lwanga, J. de Jager, C. Mapaling, K. Hurter, D. Gradidge, and M. Neale-Shutte. 2019. “Nelson Mandela University: Piloting of an early warning system and student support interventions.” Panel Presentation at 2019 Siyaphumelela Conference, June 26, 2019. The Wanderers Club, Johannesburg. https://www.siyaphumelela.org.za/conf/2019/#scroll-tab-2.
Talesnik, D. 2021. “Ungar Uncovers How Kids Find Strength in Stressed Environments. The road to resilience.” NIH Record May 28. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2021/05/28/ungar-uncovers-how-kids-find-strength-stressed-environments.
Theron, L. C. 2012. “Resilience research with South African youth: Caveats and ethical complexities.” South African Journal of Psychology 42(3): 333–345.
Theron, L. C. 2019. “Championing the Resilience of Sub-Saharan Adolescents: Pointers for Psychologists.” South African Journal of Psychology 49(3): 325–36.
Ungar, M. 2008. “Resilience across cultures.” The British Journal of Social Work 38(2): 218–235.
Ungar, M. 2011. “The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 81(1): 1–17.
Ungar, M. 2012. “Social ecologies and their contribution to resilience.” In The Social Ecology of Resilience: A Handbook of Theory and Practice, edited by Michael Ungar, 13–31. Switzerland: Springer.
Ungar, M. 2015. “Social ecological complexity and resilience processes.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 38: E124.
Ungar, M. 2018. “Systemic resilience: Principles and processes for a science of change in contexts of adversity.” Ecology and Society 23(4): 1–17.
Ungar, M., M. Brown, L. Liebenberg, R. Othman, W. M. Kwong, M. Armstrong, and J. Gilgun. 2007. “Unique pathways to resilience across cultures.” Adolescence 42(166): 287–310.
Van Breda, A. D. 2018. “A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social work.” Social Work (Maatskaplike Werk) 54(1): 1–18.
Van der Merwe, A. J. and B. T. Maharaj. 2018. “Factors affecting engineering student success: A South African perspective.” In 2018 World Engineering Education Forum – Global Deans Council (WEEF-GEDC), 1–5.
Van Rensburg, A. C., L. C. Theron, and S. Rothmann. 2018. “Adolescent perceptions of resilience promoting resources: The South African Pathways to Resilience Study.” South African Journal of Psychology 48(1): 73–85.
Van Wyk, M., H. D. Mason, B. J. van Wyk, T. K. Phillips, and P. E. van der Walt. 2022. “The relationship between resilience and student success among a sample of South African engineering students.” Cogent Psychology 9(1): 1–18.
Copyright (c) 2023 Curwyn Mapaling, Belinda du Plooy, Paul Webb
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors, copyright holders, may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors' publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: This is an electronic version of an article published in SAJHE, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX “XXX", DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/SAJHE) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
