t was observed that the resilient students levels of academic success were slightly above average (overall GPAs of 2.75 or greater).
However, what needs to be noted about the bulk of the existing research on resiliency is that it consists primarily of quantitative studies examining for the effectiveness of programs aimed at increasing the resiliency and therefore the academic performance of at-risk students. While this is important, it is the premise of this research that a qualitative examination of the actual perceptions of resilient at-risk students who have already achieved academically will lend greater insight into resiliency in that it will provide data that heretofore has not been much examined, namely the perceptions of the students themselves regarding the factors contributive to their success.
How do academically successful at-risk students with resilient characteristics perceive their own success? Answering this question will be the focus of the proposed research. Specifically, the research will conduct in-depth interviews with academically successful, resilient at-risk students attending middle school in Dougherty County, Georgia. Thematic analysis techniques will then be used to identify themes and patterns of perceptions as they are related to students' attributions of their success. These themes and patterns will be then be discussed as they relate to resilient characteristics.
The primary purpose of the proposed examination of resilient at-risk students is to add to an under-researched area of the resiliency literature. This area consists of research which has conducted qualitative in-depth examinations of the personal perceptions of at-risk resilient students regarding their academic success. Only one previous study has been conducted in this area which consisted of research performed by McMillan and Reed (1993). The proposed research will replicate McMillan and Reed's research in an effort to determine whe...