Pathways to Resilience IV: Global South Perspectives

Symposium Summary
Building Settings that Promote Individual and Collective Resilience
Presenters: Kimberly Kendziora (for David Osher), Liesel Ebersöhn, Ruth Mampane
Schools and community settings can  promote  individual and collective resilience.  This symposium examines this from a Global, South African-wide, and local South African context drawing upon empirical work, the work of a South-African wide research collaborative, and a 10-year study of collective resilience in rural South African Communities. 

Symposium Abstracts 
Creating Conditions for Learning and Resilience in Child and Youth Friendly Settings 
Presenter: Kimberly Kendziora (American Institutes for Research, USA)
Co-Authors: David Osher 
Introduction: Schools support resilience by creating safe, supportive, inclusive, and engaging environments that involve families and students in leadership and build conditions for learning CFL) and support social and emotional learning (SEL). This paper will build on research in 9 Global Southern countries to illustrate the importance of CFL and SEL. 
Methods: • 1-2 day site visits by teams to approximately 25 schools in two regions of each of six countries for a total of 150 schools • students, teachers, and families were randomly selected for interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys, and the classrooms visited were randomly selected • students and teachers were surveyed and school heads interviewed • triangulated quantitative, qualitative, and visual and employed Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to analyze patterns observed in the quantitative and qualitative data  • surveyed students and conducted focus groups with teachers and families in three additional countries • cross sectional, longitudinal, and intervention research on CFL, SEL and child/youth development 
Findings: • harsh discipline and poor conditions for teaching undermines development • child friendly schools (CFS) can produce conditions for learning and development • social and emotional learning can enhance developmental outcomes • family and youth engagement are critical to CFS success • teacher training and support are critical to success  

Building Collective Resilience in High Need Low Resourced Communities
Presenter: Liesel Ebersöhn (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Introduction: Low-resourced communities face adversities that have individual and collective psychological, social, and material consequences. The Relationship-Resourced Resilience (RRR) framework explains how individuals can interact collectively in ecologies of chronic and cumulative adversity to initiate and maintain cooperative support. Solidarity mediates the effects of adversity and supports individual and community flourishing 
Methods: • Qualitative case studies using  participatory collaborative research and reflection in selected schools to establish model • Qualitative longitudinal study in 9 primary and 3 secondary schools in high need communities selective to establish parameters for generalizability 
Findings: In the longitudinal study in high need South African communities, teachers used relationship mapping to access and mobilize resources and for accountability. The models influence included greater teacher agency and sense of community, and the establishment and maintenance of supports for family physical well-being, belonging, and access to services 

A partnership of a drop-in centre and schools which transformed schools as centres of care, support and resiliency  
Presenter: Ruth Mampane (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Introduction: This paper describes the partnership of a drop-in centre and primary schools which enables referral of learners from disadvantaged family backgrounds to access intervention. A family intervention model was used to access families through learners, schools identify learners from disadvantage families and refer them to drop-in centre stationed within schools. 
Methods: Qualitative data collection method was used utilizing  two focus group with 26 drop-in centre staff members and observation of intervention program (homework supervision and assistance, facilitation of life skill program and preparation food and feeding of learners  from the five drop-in centres was used to collect data over a period of 12 months intermittently. 
Findings: When resources are shared between schools and centres, learners and families benefit from psychosocial, economic and educational support. Partnerships forged between schools and drop-in centre lead to collaborative relationships with families leading to multiple model of support for families experiencing adversity with schools serving as centres of care and support.