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Abstract
This article presents a comparative case study on the ways in which children’s school ecologies facilitate their adjusting positively to first grade in risk-filled contexts in South Africa and Finland. The insights of two children (one South African, one Finnish) from socio-economically disadvantaged communities, their teachers, parents and significant others constitute the data corpus of this study. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews, ‘Day-in-the-Life’ video-recorded observations, and Draw-and-talk and photo elicitation methods. The data were analysed deductively using the seven, commonly recurring mechanisms of resilience as documented by Ungar (2015). The results demonstrate how resilience processes are co-constructed and gain their meaning within the given social ecology of a child. They underscore the importance of school ecologies being functional enough, in the face of socio-economic adversity, to continue to facilitate everyday resilience-supporting processes for children. The article ends by considering the lessons of this study for school psychologists.
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Author biographies
Kristiina Kumpulainen, PhD, is Professor of Education, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland. She is the Co-principal investigator of SISU. She co-conceptualized this article, led the analyses and writing up of the Finnish data, and co-wrote the first and final drafts.
Linda Theron, DEd, is a Professor, Optentia Research Focus Area, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa. She is the Co-principal investigator of SISU. She co-conceptualized this article, led the analyses and writing up of the South African data, and co-wrote the first and final drafts.
Carlien Kahl, MSc, is a Doctoral candidate, Optentia Research Focus Area, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa. She generated and co-analysed the data relating to Thabo’s case.
Carla Bezuidenhout, MEd, is a Doctoral candidate, Optentia Research Focus Area, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa. She co-analysed the data relating to Thabo’s case.
Anna Mikkola, MSc, is a Doctoral Researcher, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland. She co-generated and co-analysed the data relating to Maria’s case.
Saara Salmi, MSc, is a Doctoral Researcher, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland. She co-generated and co-analysed the data relating to Maria’s case.
Tumi Khumalo, PhD, is an Associate Professor, Optentia Research Focus Area, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa. He is a Collaborator in SISU and contributed to co-analysis of the South African data and writing of this article.
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, PhD, is a Lecturer, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland. She is a Collaborator in SISU and contributed to co-analysis of the Finnish data and writing of this article.
