Building social–emotional resilience in schools

Abstract

Interest in resilience in relation to educational performance and social, emotional and behavioural functioning in schools has begun to play an increasingly prominent role in discussions of how to improve the quality of student engagement in schools. This is a key theme in Maurice Galton’s co-authored book on motivating secondary students (Galton M, Steward S, Hargreaves L, Page C, Pell A, Motivating your secondary class. Sage, London, 2009). This chapter considers the nature of resilience and its evolution within the educational context. Central to the arguments in this chapter is a recognition of the school’s major role in meeting students’ developmental needs and the significance of a skills approach to social–emotional development. The chapter considers a range of evidence-based measures that can be taken in schools to support healthy social–emotional functioning. Finally, the chapter considers some of the ongoing challenges faced by schools that are working towards improving student resilience.