A Contextual Understanding of the Process of Educational Resilience: High Achieving Dominican American Students and the “Resilience Cycle”

Abstract

This article explores the lives of academically resilient Dominican American college students at a selective private university in the Northeast. The conceptual framework used to guide the inquiry is based on the assumption that there are certain protective factors that play significant roles in the students' defiance of the odds and their ultimate academic achievement. The findings presented here focus on the emergence of a "resilience cycle" present during these students' academic journeys. The cycle is presented and its practical implications explored.