Academic risk and resilience for children and young people in Asia

Abstract

In studies of academic resilience, researchers seek to identify factors that protect against adverse effects caused by risk and stress, and which ultimately assist students to be academically successful. However, because relatively few studies are conducted in Asian settings, Western-based research may have limited application for policy and prevention in the Asian context. It is therefore important to expand the context and culture in which resilience research takes place. This paper highlights academic resilience factors among Asian students that are located in the multiple levels of the social ecology (including individual, peers, family and school). This is consistent with results from the Western context. However, it also reports on some differences in academic resilience factors that are found both within Asian countries and between Asian and Western countries. From these results, we might thus conclude that alongside pan-human factors, Asian students’ academic success can also be considered in part due to uniquely Asian attributes. This reaffirms the importance of considering culture and national context in studies of academic resilience. Taken as a whole, this collection of papers showcases multiple approaches to building academic resilience and empowering students and their educators and caregivers across the Asian region.