Master of Arts (Counselling & Guidance)

This study examines self and social support factors which potentially influence the academic resilience of Singapore secondary school students. Self variables of academic efficacy, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning and academic self-concept, and social support variables of peer and family support for learning are examined for their relationship with academic resilience in a secondary school.

A sample of 166 secondary two school students from a mainstream secondary school in Singapore participated in the study. They were administered a self-report questionnaire that involved rating on a seven-point Likert-type scale, their judgments, perceptions and beliefs about themselves with regards to academic efficacy, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, academic self-concept, and peer and family support for learning.

The findings suggest that as a group, the three self factors had a significant relationship with academic resilience. In addition, the study also surfaced how each factor contributes to academic resilience. Among the self factors, academic efficacy registered the strongest relationship with academic resilience while surprisingly, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning was not found to be associated with academic resilience. Among the social support factors, peer support for learning is more strongly associated with academic resilience compared to family support for learning. Finally, as a single variable, academic efficacy emerged as the strongest predictor of academic resilience.

This study contributes to a growing body of research which highlights the educational and psychological correlates of academic resilience. It provides evidence for the cross-cultural applicability of these self and social support factors to the academic resilience of Singapore students. The implications and limitations of the research findings and recommendations for future research are also discussed.