Enhancing student resilience by targeting staff resilience, attitudes and practices

Resilience is a much-needed capability for both university staff and students in this volatile time. However, conceptualisations of resilience vary widely, with many viewing this as a fixed attribute each individual either has or doesn't have, and the impact of context on resilience is often neglected. This research explores the outcomes of a staff leadership program focused on participants' conceptualisation of resilience and how they can influence student resilience through curricula and/or co-curricula innovation. The program, informed by social cognition and political leadership theory, was delivered to 58 staff from a range of disciplines across three Australian universities. Several program attendees participated in a pre (N = 13) and/or post (N = 10) interview that examined their understanding of resilience and self-identified changes in their teaching practice in relation to resilience. The importance of the social cognition process of sensemaking (establishing a shared, contemporary view of resilience as a dynamic process through an ecological lens) appeared critical. The program's political leadership strategies promoted changes to participants' teaching practices.

Automated summary

This research explores the impact of a staff leadership program on the conceptualisation of resilience and how it can influence student resilience through curricula and/or co-curricula innovation. The study found that the social cognition process of sensemaking is crucial for understanding resilience, and the program's political leadership strategies promoted changes in participants' teaching practices.