Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Mary Trube
Abstract
Low levels of academic success for primary grade students attending rural schools located in the southern region of the United States may be related to student resilience. Researchers have found that educators can support the development of students’ resilience, which can result in improved academic success, but little is known about how teachers in rural schools promote their students’ academic success by supporting the development of their resilience. Guided by a conceptual framework that combined ecological systems theory with resilience theory, this basic qualitative study explored how rural-school teachers promoted the academic success of primary grade students by supporting the development of resilience in their students at home, school, and in the community; and how these teachers described the influences of educational resilience on their students’ academic success. Twelve educators, who had professional learning opportunities regarding student resilience and three or more years of teaching experience were recruited using snowball sampling through social media and publicly available e-mail addresses. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using an inductive approach to identify codes, patterns, categories, and themes. Five themes emerged: building a community of practice, promoting adaptive systems, creating a safe and enriched environment, implementing a whole child approach, and engaging in reflective practice. Heightened awareness about ways to support the development of resilience in rural primary grade students could lead to positive social change if teachers adopt these practices and students experience academic success.
Recommended Citation
Teston, Miranda Kay, "How Teachers Promote Academic Success of Primary Grade Students in Rural Schools by Supporting Their Resilience" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13826.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13826
