Factors Associated With Student Resilience: Perspectives of Graduates of Alternative Education Programs

Abstract

Many students with emotional and behavioral disorders placed in alternative education settings lack resilience and are likely to experience failure in school and beyond without carefully designed intervention programs. Although researchers have examined both resilience in children and youth and their placement in alternative education settings, there is little research regarding resilience among students who have graduated from alternative education settings. Using semistructured interviews in the present interpretive and descriptive qualitative study, we sought to explore factors of resilience in individuals who graduated from alternative education settings. Further, we wanted to identify elements specific to alternative education settings that may contribute to resilience in young adulthood and to further our understanding of how alternative education placements have contributed to the participants' current life status. Finally, we discuss the participants' perspectives of their school experiences and the major themes that emerged.

Keywords:

• alternative education
• emotional/behavioral disorders
• protective factors
• resilience
• risk factors