Educators and educational researchers have found that a chaotic home life, having to miss school to care for younger siblings while parents work, illness, traumatic events and abuse can put a student at risk. As a student falls further behind academically the risk for school failure increases. Risk factors affect each student differently. Some of these students have attributes that carry them through the chaos, and some of the behaviors needed for academic success can be taught. In this way, students at risk can be helped by teachers, parents, counselors and community members to find their way through school.
Resilience is a key factor in success for students at risk, according to researchers James H. McMillan and Daisy F. Reed. Resilient students handle themselves well, and McMillan and Reed tell us these students have “temperaments that that create a cycle of positive reciprocity,” allowing them to expect and get help. To teach students how better to handle themselves, psychologists Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor of the University of California, Los Angeles suggest sending support personnel into the classroom rather than sending students out for counseling or punishment. In their research they found this helped students manage risk behaviors within the context of the class.
A student can be resilient in a personal sense, but if resilience doesn't carry over to school, the student will remain at risk for school failure. Researchers Jeremy D. Finn and Donald A. Rock found that resilient students, even those at risk, exhibit engagement with school. Not all students engage at the same level. The most basic level is attendance -- coming to school, coming to class prepared and attending to instruction. The second level is compliance, in which students more willingly participate in the class and school-wide activities. The third level is active involvement -- asking questions, asking for help and taking more control of their own learning. These researchers also suggest that engagement behaviors can be taught. UniversitySurvival.com suggests one-on-one counseling can help students develop engagement behaviors. An important component of such counseling is to have the student identify action steps. For example, if a student repeatedly fails to complete assignments, a counselor can help the student list the steps to take to complete assignments. This is important because at-risk students often don’t have the organizational framework to make changes on their own.
Adelman's and Taylor's system of learning supports target the psychosocial and educational barriers that put students at risk. Because they feel these factors contribute to school failure for students at risk, they advocate for systems within the school that support students through transitions, connect families to the school and provide a link to community resources and mental health services. Reshaping the school environment to incorporate positive redirection of risk behaviors allows students to develop resilience and see school as a positive part of their lives.