BUILDING ACADEMIC RESILIENCE OF STUDENTS: THE ROLE OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

INTRODUCTION

There are many difficulties and challenges in today’s world. Students nowadays deal with various obstacles and competition. This is due to several factors, including the subject matter becoming more challenging, the number of assignments increasing, the pressure to perform academically growing, the size of the school, the diversity of students’ socio-economic backgrounds, and living in the information age drowning in too much information as we are surrounded by technology. Students will encounter numerous issues if they do not equip themselves with the required knowledge or competencies. Along with information and skills, students should be encouraged to develop their creative thinking, flexibility, and ability to overcome hardship. Students’ ability to acquire these skills and healthy levels of confidence are crucial since they will not only give them the ability to go through challenging situations but also the chance to use them in the future. The competencies to navigate the competitive world have changed in response to several complicated and unanticipated obstacles. While critical thinking, digital literacy, and communication are still valuable abilities, students must develop their resilience to bounce back from crises and adversities faster. Studies have indicated that when individuals possess confidence, they can overcome challenging circumstances and avoid dwelling on feelings of inadequacy. Self-confidence is the conviction that we can focus our efforts toward the desired result. It is our assurance that we can handle anything that life constructively throws at us.

The person’s ability to adapt to adversity is known as resilience. It allows the individual to face life’s challenges in any situation. Martin & Marsh, “Academic resilience is the ability to effectively deal with setback, stress or pressure in the academic setting.” Academically resilient students can use adversity as motivation by being self-confident, upholding their high standards and objectives, being goal-oriented, possessing effective problem-solving techniques, and being socially competent. Because academic resilience is linked to students’ ideas that they have control over their environment, it also improves student results. Academic resilient students have high levels of autonomy and self-efficacy. They are filled with confidence and have faith that everything will turn out. This sense of agency empowers students to make decisions when presented with challenges and helps mitigate the adverse effects of adversity on well-being.

Review of Related Literature

Cassidy (2015) conducted a study on “Resilience Building in Students: The Role of Academic Self-Efficacy,” aimed to investigate the nature of the association between academic self-efficacy (ASE) and academic resilience in undergraduate students. The participants (N = 435) were exposed to an adverse situation case vignette describing personal or vicarious academic adversity. ASE was measured pre-exposure, and academic resilience was measured post-exposure. The study’s finding revealed that ASE was correlated with, and a significant predictor of, academic resilience, and students exhibited greater academic resilience when responding to vicarious adversity compared to personal adversity. Identifying resilience-related constructs and establishing the precise nature of how such constructs influence academic resilience will assist in developing interventions to promote resilience in students.

Jethwani and Subhashini (2019) investigated a study on “Influence of Resilience and Self-esteem among Undergraduate Students in Chennai, India.” The study aimed to determine the influence of resilience and self-esteem among undergraduate college students (N=110) in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu. An exploratory research design was used among undergraduate students using a purposive random sampling technique, and the tools used for the study were Self-esteem assessed by using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (1965) and Resilience Scale – (RS-14) English version used in the study Wagnild (2010). The study found that correlational and regression analysis shows statistically significant relationships between resilience and self-esteem (r=0.24**, P<0.01). Furthermore, self-esteem can be considered a predictor of resilience, which suggests that resilience-based intervention should be provided for students to improve their self-esteem.

Pai and P (2023), in the study “Academic Resilience and Self-Efficacy Among Young Adults,” the study aimed to examine the correlation between academic resilience and self-efficacy in young adults. It also attempts to determine any significant differences across the various gender types, educational backgrounds, and lines of study. Furthermore, it examines the influence of self-efficacy on young adults. An online survey was used to collect responses from 254 persons who participated in the study. The General Self-Efficacy scale and the ARS-30 were used to collect the data. Statistical techniques used for the study were correlation, linear regression, Mann Whitney U, and the Kruskal Wallis test. The findings revealed substantial differences when comparing academic qualification to academic resilience; however, there were no significant differences when comparing gender and streams of study. Moreover, differences in self-efficacy were not related to gender, educational stream, or academic qualification. Furthermore, the study’s results indicated a moderate negative correlation between the two variables, with self-efficacy accounting for 24.9% of the variation in academic resilience.

Research questions

1) To determine whether students’ self-confidence and academic resilience are significantly correlated.

2) To emphasize the significance of self-confidence in developing students’ academic resilience by synthesizing theories related to the concept.

Methodology

The study’s research approach was a theory synthesis design. This design combines concepts from several studies or theories to present a fresh angle or draw inferences from integration.

In the present study, based on the synthesis findings, the ideas of helping students develop resilience and the significance of self-confidence will be summarized and postulated.

Discussion

In the academic setting, teachers, students, and researchers must navigate various challenges to succeed academically. In today’s competitive environment, students are under immense stress and strain. There has been a rise in student competition due to the increased opportunities. We must also need to increase our resilience to overcome challenges and adversity more quickly. Resilience is a skill that may be developed in this way and is necessary to meet the challenges ahead of us. Academic resilience is the ability to adjust effectively to stress or adversity in the educational setting. It assists learners in guarding off any possible undesirable psychological impacts of difficult circumstances. It entails more than just persevering through hardships; resilient students positively perceive obstacles in their academic or social environments. This could involve striving harder, developing innovative plans, or resolving conflict techniques. According to Pemberton (2015), Resilience is the “capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours when faced life disruption, or extended periods of pressure so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser, and more able.” A crucial psychological element of the academic learning process is self-confidence. Being confident is the key to success. Possessing self-confidence makes one more vital and more capable of accepting failures. A confident person achieves to the best of their abilities. Students’ self-confidence can be defined by their ability to complete various learning activities inside and outside the classroom. It is an essential aspect for someone to develop their potential. If students have good self-confidence, then they can create their potential and achieve their goals. It is one of the internal protective components of resilience that has been extensively researched in adolescent populations. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that self-confidence can be crucial in fostering academic resilience. Through the mediation effects of resilience, self-confidence has a favorable impact on psychological discomfort and life satisfaction. Resilience is promoted by high self-confidence, while high self-confidence has been found to protect resilience. Liu et al. (2021).

Reivich and Shatte (2002) state that self-efficacy is one of the elements that make up resilience. According to Bandura (1997), self-efficacy is the conviction that one can control one’s functioning. The ability to deal with events and situations confidently, perseverance in completing assignments, self-confidence, viewing adversity as a challenge rather than a threat, seeking out new situations, setting challenging goals and increasing a solid commitment to oneself, investing a strong effort in what he does and increasing effort when facing failure, focusing on the task at hand and thinking of strategies to deal with difficulties, and immediately regaining the sense of being able to learn from failure are characteristics of individuals with high self-efficacy. Wulandari (2021) found a significant positive relationship between resilience and self-esteem. The higher the self-esteem is, the higher the resilience will be, and vice versa. Therefore, self-efficacy is a factor from within an individual that is very important to achieve resilience. When intervening in academic resilience in individuals, the most significant internal factor that should be intervened must be student self-efficacy.

Resilience and confidence are two psychological concepts essential to an individual’s success and well-being. These two vital qualities support people in overcoming life’s challenges. Resilient people can withstand difficult circumstances, and confident people are positive in their abilities and self. These attributes work together to create a powerful force to help people live happy, fulfilling lives. Resilience and self-confidence are crucial traits that allow people to thrive. While cultivating these attributes requires effort and time, the rewards are immeasurable. It enables people to face challenges with strength and trust.

Children are not naturally born with resilience; instead, it is a process of development shaped mainly by their experiences and connections. This implies that resilience may be acquired and strengthened, which is significant for educators and caregivers. More resilient students typically have more favourable outcomes and display fewer problematic behaviours. This is because resilient individuals exhibit the courage, self-confidence, and motivation to confront challenges and obstacles honestly and the optimism and self-assurance to bear it through.

Findings

The ability to withstand adversity, grow from it, and emerge stronger is known as resilience. This ability can be used to overcome personal hardships, economic downturns, or natural disasters. Thus, some perspectives on resilience in education are as follows. Resilient and self-confident students are better prepared to meet the demands of today’s classrooms. They can also continue achieving their academic objectives, keep a positive attitude toward learning, and adjust to new obstacles and dissatisfaction. In today’s frequently uncertain and rapidly changing environment, resilience enables people, groups, and entire societies to endure tragedies, recover from disasters, and continue working toward their objectives. According to Benard (2004), each person possesses underlying genetic resilience, naturally manifested by various characteristics in their surroundings. Self-regulation is also required in an educational system where learning is primarily done alone. This includes goal-setting, time management, and maintaining motivation and focus. Learners must be in charge of how quickly and how much they have learned. It also required to be modified to accommodate various learning formats. Being flexible and open to new teaching methods is crucial.

Academic resilience rises when one’s confident and falls with a lack of self-confident. Therefore, one internal component that is crucial for achieving students’ academic resilience is self-confidence. The most important internal component that needs to be addressed when helping individuals develop academic resilience is self-confident. Studies have indicated that self-confidence plays a significant role in developing students’ academic resilience. Resilience positively affects psychological distress and life pleasure through the mediation effects of self-confidence. High levels of self-confidence have been shown to protect resilience and foster academic resilience in today’s competitive educational settings.

Resilience and confidence are, therefore, essential as students pursue their academic objectives while navigating the challenges of today’s demanding environment. Since we may never avoid challenging circumstances in life, resilience is crucial. There will always be obstacles to overcome, but we can deal with them skilfully if we have resilience. Being resilient enables us to overcome barriers and have faith in our ability to succeed. Knowing how to overcome adversity and move on is essential, which is why it is a valuable life skill. When students have confident in their own capabilities, they are more resilient. Self-confidence are excellent traits for students since it increase their resilience and drive for achievement. Even in the face of hardship, resilience can preserve well-being. The implication of the research is to encourage higher education to make policies that can increase students’ academic resilience.

Conclusion

Self-confidence and resilience go hand in hand. By developing these essential qualities, people can enhance their general quality of life, relationships, and mental health. Resilience and confidence are necessary for success, whether pursuing a personal objective or dealing with a challenging circumstance. Their perception of themselves significantly predicts students’ academic resilience. This resource is made up of feelings, attitudes, and self-assurance. It is defined by people who can take responsibility, feel good about themselves, and respect others. Self-confidence is one characteristic that affects students’ academic resilience since it can help someone become more resilience if they have confident about themself.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None.

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