Examining the phenomenon of resilience in schools: Development, validation, and application of the school resilience scale

Abstract

School resilience refers to positive adaptation despite experiences of significant school-related stressors. We conducted two studies focusing on the development and validation of a new measure of school resilience – the School Resilience Scale (SRS): Study 1 involved Grade 8 students (n = 1,159) and Study 2 involved Grade 8 and Grade 9 students (n = 190) in Singapore. The results of both studies suggest that the SRS comprised one second-order factor underpinned by four first-order factors, which correspond to resilience in relation to stressors emanating from academics, family, teachers, and peers. This factor structure was found invariant across gender and Socio-Economic Status (SES). The SRS had satisfactory 2-month and 3-month test–retest reliability. In Study 1, school resilience was found to be a significant positive predictor of the adaptive dimensions of academic motivation but did not serve as a significant predictor of amotivation. In Study 2, school resilience was found to be a positive predictor of academic achievement and life satisfaction but a negative predictor of depressive symptoms. These results held even after controlling for students’ gender and SES, as well as general resilience. Our findings demonstrate the potential of SRS as a comprehensive and valid measure of subjective school resilience for adolescents.