How Can Schools Build

Resilience?
Teacher Professional
Development
Building Resilience
in Children and
Young People
How Can Schools Build Resilience?
Building Resilience is based on research which highlights the
importance of taking a multi-dimensional school-wide approach to
building resilience. It assists schools to:

Partner with the school community, including families and local and
community services
Lead activity across the school, orchestrating a comprehensive approach
Teach social and emotional skills to all students across all year levels
Support those young people identified as needing additional assistance
Refer those in need to appropriate services

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
Schools play a key role in promoting resilience
Schools have a significant role to play in promoting the
resilience and positive development of children and young
people
Schools build resilience through programs which:
Establish a safe, supportive and inclusive environment
Build positive social norms
Generate a sense of connectedness to teachers and
peers
Explicitly teach social and emotional skills
Generate commitment to the academic goals of the
school
Clonan et al. 2004; Seligman et al. 2009

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
A Positive School Climate Makes a Difference
A positive school climate is associated with greater
levels of belief amongst students that teachers can
be a useful source of assistance for issues related to
violence or bullying


Eliot, M., Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2010). Supportive school climate and student willingness to seek help for
bullying and threats of violence. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 533-553

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
Group Activity: What do we do? Do we need to
review?

What are we doing to ensure all staff use a
positive approaches to managing student
behaviour?
What strategies do we use to identify and
address bullying?
Where do we teach the skills for positive
relationships?
How do we demonstrate the we have high
expectations for student learning and behaviour?









How Can Schools Build Resilience?
What is Positive Psychology?
A recent branch of psychology
Term coined by Martin Seligman and Mihaly
Csilszentmihalyi
Interest in wellness and optimal functioning
Research into
happiness
optimism
strengths, virtues and values
pleasure
states of flow or heightened engagement or immersion

Seligman, M., Ernst, Randal M., Gillham, Jane, Reivich, Karen, & Linkins, Mark. (2009). Positive education: positive psychology
and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293-311.
How Can Schools Build Resilience?
What is a Strength Based Approach?
Taking a strengths-based approach entails emphasising and building on the
strengths, capabilities and resources of staff and students
Research in the field of positive psychology emphasises the value of building
Social and emotional competency - via explicit teaching of SEL
Positive emotions - by designing policies and programs that encourage a
sense of belonging, school pride, and optimism
Positive relationships - between all teachers and students and amongst
the student cohort
Engagement through strengths - assisting students and staff to know and
use their strengths
Purpose and Optimism - creating opportunities for students to develop a
sense of meaning and purpose through pursuit of civic goals

Alvord & Grados, 2005; Clonan et al., 2004; Masten, 2009; Noble & McGrath, 2008; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi,
2000; Waters, 2011

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
The 24 Character Strengths *

Creativity
Curiosity
Open-mindedness
Love of learning
Perspective
Bravery
Persistence
Integrity
Vitality
Love:
Kindness
Social intelligence

*Based on Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification written by Christopher Peterson and
Martin Seligman; Oxford University Press and the American Psychological Association, 2004
Citizenship
Fairness
Leadership
Forgiveness
Humility
Prudence
Self-regulation
Appreciation of beauty
Gratitude
Hope
Humour
Spirituality

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
Group Activity: The Strengths Debate

Assign each small group one of the 24 character
strengths
Give them time to prepare a case in which they
argue why this character strength is essential to
success in the teaching profession
Invite players from each group to make their
case
After the presentation, discuss strategies to
foster and use these strengths in the staffroom
and the classroom

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
REFLECT

How can I investigate my own character strengths?
Take the strengths registry survey by going to the
authentic happiness website
This is a well-validated tool developed by leading
positive psychologists Martin Seligman and
Christopher Peterson
Have your students take the strengths registry for
children

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
REFLECT

What are my top character
strengths?
How do I use my strengths in
the classroom?
How do I use my strengths
when working with my
colleagues?

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
Useful Links
Principles of Health & Wellbeing (DEECD) guides professional
practice in Department health and wellbeing services, early childhood
services and schools. Building Resilience is particularly relevant to the
social and emotional wellbeing component of these underpinning
principles:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/wellbeing.asp
x
The Achievement Program (DEECD) provides guidance for a whole-
school approach to working towards health priority areas:
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/prevention/achievementprogram.htm
Positive Psychology http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu
Building Resilience online: www.education.vic.gov.au/resilience

How Can Schools Build Resilience?
References
Catalano, Richard F., Haggerty, Kevin P., Oesterle, Sabrina, Fleming, Charles B., &
Hawkins, J. David. (2004). The Importance of Bonding to School for Healthy
Development: Findings from the Social Development Research Group. Journal of School
Health, 74(7), 252-261.
Clonan, Sheila M., Chafouleas, Sandra M., McDougal, James L., & Riley-Tillman, T.
Chris. (2004). Positive psychology goes to school: Are we there yet? Psychology in the
Schools, 41(1), 101-110.
Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D., & Schellinger, K.B. (2011). The
Impact of Enhancing Students Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of
School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432.
Rowe, Fiona, & Stewart, Donald. (2009). Promoting Connectedness through Whole-
School Approaches: A Qualitative Study. Health Education, 109(5), 396-413.
Seligman, M., Ernst, Randal M., Gillham, Jane, Reivich, Karen, & Linkins, Mark. (2009).
Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of
Education, 35(3), 293-311.
WHO. (2014). What is a health promoting school? School and youth health. Retrieved 24
February, 2014, from http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/gshi/hps/en/