Supporting Academic Resilience and Non-Cognitive Learning Skills in Contemporary School Systems

There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected student learning across the globe, and we need to carefully examine its short- and long-term impacts on student achievement. Not surprisingly, provincial and international education systems have reported significant learning losses in relation to traditional content areas such as reading, mathematics, and science. Yet, the pandemic also severely impacted non-cognitive skills including those related to students’ socioemotional learning, sense of belonging, growth mindset, and bullying. This presentation addresses this timely and often underemphasized issue – namely, the policies and practices that can support academic resilience in the non-cognitive domain. Findings from a recent analysis of non-cognitive skills deterioration in a sample of approximately 1.5 million students from across Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union will be shared. The discussion offers strategies, based on the available evidence, to support academic resilience in contemporary school systems. Particular attention will be devoted to discussing supports for at-risk student populations.