Parental support strategies used to enhance the academic resilience of Grade 7 learners

Abstract

Research indicates that the academic resilience of the primary school learner depends on the quality and the nature of support they receive, a good school, family and community partnerships lead to enhanced academic learner achievement, self esteem, school attendance and social behaviour. The purpose of this study was to explore the support strategies used by parents to enhance the academic resilience of their primary school learners (Grade 7 learners), i.e., how parents support their children with their academic work in terms of coordinating their academic activities and realising their academic weaknesses and strengths. The qualitative research method was used to explore and understand the perceptions of the parents on which resilient strategies are key to the academic resilience of their children. The sampling technique chosen in this research study was non-probability intentional sampling. The sample size adopted for the study was 10 parents at the Stanza Bopape Drop-In Centre. A single focus group interview was used to collect data. The theory on the social ecology of resilience by Ungar was used to guide this research study as it looked at the social and physical ecologies that provide protective factors to enhance resilience in learners. The inductive thematic data analysis was the chosen analysis method for this study. The interest in this research study was in exploring the different strategies that parents use to support their young children’s academic work. This was identified as a gap in research, especially in South Africa. In this study it was found that the majority of the parents use the following support strategies: creating a supportive learning environment, monitoring academic work, communication, and motivation. The researcher believes that all these strategies are very significant in the nurturing of primary school learners’ academic resilience and should be researched further to assist the Department of Basic Education to develop interventions that will include enhancing the relationship between the parents and the schoolteachers. Ultimately, this research study hopes to build and contribute to the growing field of parent-school collaboration in enhancing the resilience of primary school learners. The findings of the study will assist in providing the necessary tools required by practitioners (teachers and educational psychologists) to develop appropriate interventions to assist in the academic performance of primary school learners in the basic education system of South Africa. An exploratory study with learners as participants, sharing their experiences of the support they receive from their parents is recommended for future research.

Keywords: Learner; Resilience; Primary school; Academic resilience; Parent