Rising to the challenge: Academic resilience in mathematics and science among disadvantaged students (ARISE)

Education is the gateway to a brighter future. However, for many students, the road to success is anything but easy. Recent challenges, like the pandemic and energy crises, have made the journey even more difficult, especially for students from low-income families. Yet, despite having limited educational resources, some students rise to the challenge and succeed. These students demonstrate remarkable academic resilience. They show what is possible and provide valuable insights into supporting other vulnerable students. But, how and what makes these students perform so well? Why are some students able to succeed against the odds while so many others with similar backgrounds struggle? In a world where the gap between the privileged and the underprivileged is widening, understanding and promoting academic resilience is more crucial than ever. The ARISE project is an endeavour to bridge these educational gaps. We aim to generate new knowledge for developing academic resilience among young learners, with a focus on mathematics and science learning. Our approach is threefold: 1. Develop tools to identify the characteristics of academically resilient students. 2. Examine the strategies they employ for their success. 3. Investigate factors affecting the development of academic resilience. The ARISE project links nationally representative data from assessments and surveys in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2023 and TIMSS Longitudinal with student data from eye-tracking, computer log files, video observations, and interviews. This project offers resources to develop academic resilience and contributes to creating an inclusive and equitable future that leaves no one behind. Poverty does not need to be destiny.

Education holds the key to a bright future, but for many students, the road to success is anything but easy. The pandemic and energy crisis have exposed the glaring inequalities in education, particularly for low-income students who face a greater risk of underachieving and dropping out. Even in the world’s most egalitarian countries like Norway, disadvantaged students are overrepresented among those who perform poorly in mathematics and science. However, despite having limited educational resources, some students rise to the challenge and succeed. These academically resilient students show what is possible and provide valuable insights into supporting other vulnerable students. How and what makes these students perform so well? Why are some students able to succeed against the odds while so many others with similar backgrounds struggle? Education practitioners and policymakers need to know the processes and factors behind academic resilience to support all students to thrive in our rapidly changing world. Given the recent sharp increase in inequality, fostering student resilience has become more urgent than ever before. This project addresses educational inequality by generating new knowledge and recommendations to develop academic resilience in mathematics and science (ARISE) in young children. It uses a longitudinal design at the country level to (1) develop measures for identifying resilient students and their access to support and resources, (2) examine the implementation of resilience strategies, and (3) investigate factors that affect the development of ARISE, including the effects of COVID19-pandemic, and their variations across student backgrounds across Nordic countries. By integrating nationally representative data from student assessments, computer log files, and surveys from large-scale assessments, this project may deepen our understanding of academic resilience and illuminate pathways to enhance educational outcomes. Such insights are crucial for robust educational policy and practice aimed at creating an equitable future that leaves no one behind.