Can improving the academic 'buoyancy' of secondary school students lead to improved school attendance?
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Education
Abstract
This study will yield greater understanding of the relatively new educational psychology construct of academic buoyancy, which defines students' ability to cope with everyday setbacks at school.
The project will use the National Pupil Database to examine attendance patterns in England and aims to isolate school-related and societal determinants of students' attendance. In the analysis, emphasis will be placed on disadvantaged pupils, such as those eligible for free school meals. This will also provide a sampling frame. In parallel, the project will involve a systematic review of evidence on academic 'buoyancy' and similar constructs, such as 'resilience', to identify the most promising format for an intervention aimed at increasing buoyancy. The ensuing intervention will then be evaluated in practice as part of a pilot randomised control trial with in-depth process evaluation to establish whether it leads to improved attendance rates.
The overarching aim is to determine whether a relationship exists between student academic buoyancy and school attendance. The project may also impact positively on other aspects of students' lives, such as their mental health, wellbeing and attainment potential.
The project will use the National Pupil Database to examine attendance patterns in England and aims to isolate school-related and societal determinants of students' attendance. In the analysis, emphasis will be placed on disadvantaged pupils, such as those eligible for free school meals. This will also provide a sampling frame. In parallel, the project will involve a systematic review of evidence on academic 'buoyancy' and similar constructs, such as 'resilience', to identify the most promising format for an intervention aimed at increasing buoyancy. The ensuing intervention will then be evaluated in practice as part of a pilot randomised control trial with in-depth process evaluation to establish whether it leads to improved attendance rates.
The overarching aim is to determine whether a relationship exists between student academic buoyancy and school attendance. The project may also impact positively on other aspects of students' lives, such as their mental health, wellbeing and attainment potential.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Stephen Gorard (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Sophie Anderson (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000762/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 1887475 | Studentship | ES/P000762/1 | 01/10/2017 | 31/12/2021 | Sophie Anderson |
| Description | Believed to be the first of its kind, a rigorous systematic review of existing research literature on 'academic buoyancy' has been analysed and synthesised to ascertain: what is academic buoyancy? How is it measured? Is it malleable to intervention? What is the most promising intervention for improving academic buoyancy? The very first randomised controlled trials were published at the beginning of 2019 which gave further insight into intervention. The results of the systematic review have revealed that academic buoyancy is widely defined and understood as 'students' ability to successfully deal with academic setbacks and challenges that are typical of the ordinary course of school life (e.g. poor grades, competing deadlines, exam pressure, difficult schoolwork)' and is measured using the Academic Buoyancy Scale (Martin & Marsh, 2008, p.54). There is some research evidence to suggest this construct is malleable to intervention and mindfulness could have the potential to increase levels of academic buoyancy in students. This is one component of the PhD project, further updates on the project's outputs are still in progress. |
| Exploitation Route | To date, the implications of the systematic review will provide: insights for education practitioners interested in assisting students to deal with the everyday ups and downs of school life; a new angle for policy makers to think about types, degrees and kinds of resilience in an academic setting (particularly as they increase the demand to introduce resilience building programmes and character building initiatives into the national curriculum); and an original contribution to the growing body of research around academic buoyancy that still remains in a nascent, but growing, stage of its development. Further information to follow, regarding the outcomes of a data analysis of the National Pupil Database and an intervention delivered in secondary schools in England. |
| Sectors | Education |