Building Generative Theory from Case Work: The Relationship-Resourced Resilience Model

Abstract

How is resilience manifested and sustained in school settings that are faced with chronic and cumulative adversity and where there is limited availability and access to resources? In this chapter, the authors explains how she built a generative theory on resilience in low-resource education settings based on longitudinal case study research, and specifically, on intervention research. The author posits the relationship-resourced resilience (RRR) model as a generative theory emerging from case study research. When faced with extended hardship, teachers were found to use relationships as a way to offset challenges. Relationships demonstrated to be stockpiles of available resources in decidedly resource-scarce settings. The author found that teachers enabled resilience/or all by navigating towards-and negotiating access to-relationships that host the required resources, as well as by networking to amass resources and nurturing relationships with a variety of relationship skills to sustain resilience. The author emphasize the empirical issues of resilience theory building by explaining how evidence from longitudinal research contradicted a theoretical assumption; namely, that in promoting resilience in low-resource schools, teachers did not mobilize mapped assets. For the sake of thoroughness, the author has structured this chapter around the procedural steps identified by Eisenhardt and Graebner to induct theory using case studies. The author explains the onset of the case studies whereby she induced theory from data, and reflect on the specific cases selected for the intervention study. An overview is provided of the relevant instruments and protocols crafted for the longitudinal case studies, followed by an explanation of how she and her team entered the various sites. The author proceeds by describing how she analyzed data and shaped hypotheses related to the generative theory. The author compares RRR to literature- in particular, to resilience theory from an ecological and process-oriented perspective, as well as social capital and relatedness knowledge bases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)