Mannheim, Germany. - IAEVG Conference 2012

AGAINST ALL ODDS:
RESILIENCE AND
ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN
INDIVIDUALS FROM
DEPRIVED
COMMUNITIES
MARIA DE FÁTIMA VIGÁRIO
PAULO JORGE SANTOS
UNIVERSITY OF PORTO
PORTUGAL
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Public housing
communities
Urban and suburban
ghettos
Unemployment and low
levels of academic and
professional qualifications
Poverty and dependency of
welfare benefits
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Resilienc
e
Dynamic process encompassing
positive adaptation within the
context of significant adversity.
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Risk
factors
Protective
factors
Resilience
Processes
Contextual
framework
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

General purpose of the study
Examine the factors and processes involved in the construction of
resilience
with a group of individuals who lived in social housing neighbourhoods.
Participants
Seven adults, three men and four women, aged between 27 and 51
years,
with a university degree and a relatively successful entry into the labour
market.
Methodology
Life story interviews
Content analysis
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
1. Public housing communities as a risk context
“Looking back, from the colleagues that were with me in
primary school, 15 or 16, maybe 10 have died…almost all
were drug addicts. (…) They died with hepatitis, AIDS.”
“The neighborhood was very poor, very poor indeed (…) in
most houses there was no electricity (…) there was no
support from local authorities, nobody. So, it was a kind of
slum.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
2. Protective factors
2.1. School
“(…) I don’t exactly fit in the context of the neighborhood, in
which most of the kids preferred not to go to school. (…) I’ve
always really liked to learn a lot.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
2. Protective factors
2.2. Parents and education
“My parents, as I told you, only got to the fourth grade, but
(…) they always insisted on my studying and go further.”
“It wasn’t exactly easy, especially in terms of money. The
support that my parents always gave me was… they tried to
give me everything.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
2. Protective factors
2.3. Reference figures
“I loved school; I loved school because of the influence of
that teacher. (…) I loved school, I very much loved to study, I
was a good student… ”
“I had a teacher (…) she always really pushed us to … to
defend culture, to broaden our horizons. (…) She took me to
the theater for first time (…) she allowed me to contact
with… another universe.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
4. Experiences with other contexts
“I had a colleague who grew up thinking she had to go to
college to get a degree. She was born with that goal. I didn’t.
I used to go to their house a lot, and her parents were both
teachers. Where I grew up, going to college wasn’t even a
topic of conversation…and then I met these people, this
couple and even my friend, they encouraged me and
showed me a different world. And from them on, I said “I am
going to college. (…)”. Knowing these persons showed me a
different world and that really helped me.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
5. Perceptions of the individuals on the motives
for their success
5.1. Establishing goals
“My main goal was ‘I want to be different, I don’t want
to follow this pattern, I don’t want to follow this
model’… and that’s why I’ve always wanted
something that helps me to be different, and that’s
why a college degree was fundamental.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Main themes
5. Perceptions of the individuals on the motives
for their success
5.2. Perception of family support
“Because these people’s [the colleagues who didn’t
pursue higher education] parents and relatives don’t
demand absolutely anything of them. (…) If their child
fails in the 5 th grade they go on, if their child fails in
the 6 th grade they go on. If they are expelled from
school, no problem.”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Conclusion
Traditional career interventions, individually and in
group, can be expected to have limited success in
these cases.
Career counsellors should articulate their work with
other professionals, like social workers, teachers,
local authorities and organizations, among others,
developing a systemic approach that should be
implemented during an extensive period of time.
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.

Career
interventions
Families
Schools and
teachers
Experiences outside
the “ghetto culture”
IAEVG International Conference “Career Guidance for Social
Justice, Prosperity, and Sustainable Employment - Challenges for
the 21st Century”
Mannheim, Germany.