Measuring Resilience and Risk Factors for the Psychosocial Well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Boarding School Students: Pilot Baseline Study Results

Michelle Louise Redman-Maclaren,Roxanne Gwendalyn Bainbridge,Katrina Rutherford,Sandra Russo,Janya Mccalman,Mark Wenitong,Helen Klieve

doi:10.3389/feduc.2017.00005

Abstract

Introduction Education provides a key pathway to economic opportunities, health and wellbeing. Yet limited or no locally available secondary schooling in remote Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities requires more than 500 Indigenous students to transition to boarding schools. We report baseline quantitative data from the pilot phase (2016) of a 5-year study to explore a multicomponent mentoring approach to increase resilience and wellbeing for these students. Materials and Methods An interrupted time series design is being applied to evaluate levels of change in students’ resilience and wellbeing. Surveys were collaboratively developed, with questions adapted from the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K5), and questions which identified upstream risk factors for self-harm (De Leo, Sveticic et al. 2011). They were completed by 94 students from five randomly selected schools (2 primary and 3 secondary) and one remote community. Results Pre-transition, most primary school students reported high levels of resilience, but only a third reported moderate - high levels of psychological wellbeing. Secondary students attending a boarding school reported lower scores on resilience and psychosocial wellbeing measures. Students who transitioned back to community after being from boarding school reported a lower sense of connection to peers and family, and they reported even lower resilience and psychosocial wellbeing scores. Learning Outcomes Students have many strengths and can be adaptable, but their levels of resilience and psychosocial wellbeing are affected by the schooling transitions they are required to navigate. The findings are informing the development of intervention strategies to enhance student resilience and wellbeing.

Highlights

In Australia, as in other parts of the world, students from rural and remote communities have lower educational outcomes than their urban counterparts (Lamb et al, 2014)
Student responses are presented to evidence (1) students’ pretransition resilience and risk at primary schools in their home communities; (2) the transition experiences of resilience and risk for secondary school students’ at boarding schools; and (3) students’ transition resilience and risk for those returning to community after they have been excluded from boarding school
The data reported in this paper show that the resilience measures, along with psychological and well-being indicators are affected by the transitions students navigate

Summary

Introduction

In Australia, as in other parts of the world, students from rural and remote communities have lower educational outcomes than their urban counterparts (Lamb et al, 2014). For the almost one quarter of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter respectfully, Indigenous) Queenslanders, who reside in remote or very remote communities (Office of Economic and Statistical Research, 2013), there is limited or no locally available secondary schooling. More than 500 Indigenous students from remote Cape York and Palm Island communities in Queensland, have to leave their community and country to attend boarding school for secondary education (Department of Education and Training, 2016; McCalman et al, 2016). These students are a subset of 4,000 Indigenous adolescents across Australia who attend boarding schools (Pearson, 2011; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013a,b)

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Discussion

Conclusion