When resilience isn’t enough: natural disaster as an under-researched barrier

Abstract

Natural disasters significantly impact the study plans of higher education students. This study explores the impact of catastrophic floods in the Australian city of Townsville in January 2019 on three enabling students enrolled in Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) at CQUniversity Australia (CQU). STEPS is a foundation course aimed at widening participation in line with the Australian government objectives to have more Australians complete a tertiary qualification. Students who successfully complete STEPS can gain direct entry to most higher education undergraduate courses. The aim of the study was to develop an understanding of the impacts of the Townsville floods on each participant along with an evaluation of the support offered by the University during the disaster. While the participants in this study showed extraordinary resilience and capacity for recovery throughout the disaster, all three participants withdrew from the STEPS course. While some educators may believe that students withdraw due to low resilience, this research suggests that resilience theory may not be a good fit in the context of natural disasters. Instead, a theory that considers the student and their community context is needed, such as the ecological theory by Bronfenbrenner (as cited in Paquette & Ryan, 2001). When extraordinary events occur, specific forms of institutional support are needed, such as Withdrawal Without Academic Penalty (WWAPs) and Leave of Absence with an acknowledgment of assessments passed to maintain enrolment. Such measures are likely to increase retention of students in widening participation initiatives.