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9 January
NO 1249
Strengths
In the early twentieth century, pioneers in youth work had a positive outlook on youth. They believed that all young people had potential for greatness, and it was the job of adults to cultivate this youthful spirit. But by mid-century, this optimism faded, and increasingly "professionalized" approaches focused on deficit and deviance. The drumbeat of the media also caused the public to take a very pessimistic view of youth.
Today there are signs that this early spirit of optimism is being revived. Traditional approaches are being transformed by a new positive psychology. The focus is shifting from fixing flaws to building strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Strengths enable one to cope with difficult life challenges, a common definition of resilience. Even the concept of intelligence is being reformatted to a strengths perspective. Abandoning the bell-shaped curve notion of talent, practical intelligence is defined as the ability to meet pro-social goals by developing one's strengths and overcoming limitations (Sternberg,2000). By that definition, every child can be remarkably intelligent and resilient.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back in spite of adversity. The classic resilience studies tracked children on their journey from childhood into adulthood. For example, for ten years British resilience expert Michael Rutter (1987) followed children with disrupted attachments from inner city London and the Isle of Wight. American researchers Werner and Smith (1992) produced an even more expansive multi-decade study of children at risk from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Resilience science addresses the most important research question one can pose: Over the long term, what experiences and pathways lead to positive outcomes?
Initially many researchers thought resilience was a personality trait of a few "invulnerable" super-kids who could leap life's barriers in an effortless bound. Instead, the emerging view is that resilience is programmed into our DNA. We all are descendents of ancestors who overcame every manner of hardship and adversity. Children from terrible backgrounds can develop strengths to alter their life pathways.
In the words of one resilience expert, "Given
sufficient support humans can defy the odds and become agents of
history" (Ramphele, 2002, p.123).
LARRY BRENDTRO, MARTIN BROKENLEG AND STEVE VAN BOCKERN
Brendtro, L.K., Brokenleg, M. and Van Bockern,
S. (2205). The Circle of Courage and Positive Psychology. Reclaining
Children and Youth 14 (3), p.130
REFERENCES
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ramphele, M. (2002). Steering by the stars: Being young in South Africa. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publisher
Werner, E., & Smith, R. M. (1992). Overcoming the
odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press.
