Resilience in Becoming
Learning from meaningful conversations: a qualitative research on the educational experience of fourteen young adults
Abstract
Young people of today grow up in a time of great challenges. The capacity to re-imagine a future very different from a mere reflection of the past, is an urgent task for humanity and calls on the participation of our youth. Strengthening the capacity of resilience in young people seems to be an urgent matter and an important task for our modern education. In order to support the growth of resilience in young people, this study intended to surface qualities and best practices for education, out of the experience of fourteen young people who attended The International Youth Initiative Program (YIP) in 2019-2020. Prior to their participation in YIP these individuals were asked to imagine their ‘horizon’, describing the world five years into the future. Now, five years later, with futures having become presents, they have looked around in the landscape of their lives right now, to see what ideals and values are alive in the world and how they in their practice of becoming, engage with the world through their life-activities. Special attention was given to what was learned in their educational experience of YIP and what of this learning has remained and supports them in facing adversity and challenges in the world and their personal lives. The learning from these fourteen individuals resulted in suggestions for educational spaces that intend to be of service to the development of resilience in young people of today.
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Janne Bierens, Vorden, Netherlands - Alumni Anthroposophy Studies on Campus, 2023-2024