(Re) Developing Students’ Resilience

One of the real side effects of the pandemic I hear about from many psychology colleagues is the fundamental change they see in the students in their (mostly now face-to-face) classes at university. These traditional-aged students look the same but their abilities to deal with everyday academic challenges seems to be somewhat less effective than before the Covid-19 pandemic. How can we help them to be more confident when it comes to dealing with academic issues, problems, and responsibilities?

The symptoms are reasonably clear. Instead of searching the college or university website for an answer to a policy or procedure question—something they can usually google—they are more apt to email a faculty member (an instructor, their advisor, even an administrator) for “help.” The instructor is then put in the position of googling for the answer and sending back a link—the same link the student could have found themselves. Some instructors will email back first and say, “Did you look on the department or university website?” while others will just capitulate at the outset and send the link. Still, one of my colleagues who has an administrative role often waits 24 to 48 hours before responding unless the question/issue is truly urgent—often the student has solved the problem by then (i.e., exhibited self-reliance).

While being 'helpful' in this way seems like a nice thing, it has a troubling quality—it makes the students more dependent on others, rather than encouraging them to take initiative themselves. Perhaps this sounds like a minor annoyance for instructors—and it is that—but it also represents a lot of time when several or even many students ask for help regarding academic matters that they could pursue themselves. To be fair, as a colleague from another university pointed out, faculty members are not off the hook, either—they, too, often contact their department chair or some other higher-up before searching for the information themselves. I suspect I am guilty of this form of inaction, too.

We should acknowledge the behavioral variability here—some students legitimately need more scaffolding to get to where they can address unfamiliar problems themselves. The issue, then, becomes determining which students need more scaffolding. Perhaps some first-generation students, who may find navigating the world of university resources already unnecessarily byzantine? Similarly, students whose parents always got (or still get) answers for them may need assistance. The issue isn’t squelching the requests for help but deciding how best to guide students to a place where they are confident finding answers on their own.

What is to be done? Rebuilding or re-establishing resilient attitudes among students must be a commitment accepted by all members of a department or program (or institution for that matter). That means students (and our peers) need to be reminded how and where to look for answers and to refrain from help-seeking until they have tried a few leads on their own. Syllabi for students—which are, admittedly, more like contracts these days—should contain detailed links to various resources (including campus offices) where answers can be found.

Second, as silly as it may seem, psychology departments may want to craft FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) links on their homepages. (My department doesn’t have one—yet—but I’ve seen them at other institutions, and I now think they are a good idea.)

Third, instructors may need to gently but firmly encourage students to search for answers for themselves before sending for help for simple problems. Such issues like self-reliance could and should be tied to self-development in first-year student orientation programs, first-year seminars, introductory psychology courses (really, in any major’s intro course), and any courses designed to help students navigate the psychology major.

Casual observation would suggest that students are likely to take action themselves when they are unwell (i.e., heading to the campus infirmary) or if there is an issue with student loans or bills (they know where the bursar’s office or financial aid is located). We need to (re)inoculate them with the knowledge and wherewithal to address their academic needs themselves first before asking others for aid. Casting this as a necessary part of their education and development as adults might also be a start.