Assignment 4: Resilience and the Community

Introduction

Now that you have completed the activities and Web online discussion for Module 4, you are ready to do Assignment 4 and email submit it to your Open Learning Faculty Member for evaluation. The assignment consists of six short-answer questions and a short essay.

This assignment is out of 100 marks and is worth 15 per cent of your final course grade.

Instructions

The assignment has two parts:

· Part A: Short- Answer Questions (30 marks)

· Part B: Essay (70 marks)

Details of each section follow.

Part A: Short-Answer Questions (30 marks)

Answer the following six questions that relate to the Module 4 readings, using full sentences and short paragraphs as appropriate. Your responses should be clear and succinct, approximately 75 words in length per question. No single question should exceed 125 words. Each question is worth five (5) marks.

1. With respect to “Big Brothers/Big Sisters Mentoring: The Power of Developmental Relationships,” why do you think minority Little Brothers and Sisters showed a more dramatic lowering effect in their likelihood to use drugs, compared to non-minority Little Brothers and Sisters?

2. With respect to the Criss et al. article, it was found that neither temperament nor social information-processing patterns (encoding skills) influenced the likelihood of having positive peer relationships and friendships. The authors also note that unmeasured factors, such as physical attractiveness, IQ, and athletic ability, could possibly account for the buffering effects of positive peer relationships and friendships. How do you think such factors could influence having positive peer relationships and friendships, which would consequently lead to protection against family risk factors? Feel free to draw on research findings from the earlier modules (such as previous research on IQ and social competence) when giving your answer.

3. According to the Rodgers and Rose study, the most salient finding with respect to the resilience model is that peer support can buffer the effects of low parental support on internalizing behaviours for adolescents from divorced single-parent families. One interpretation of this finding is that more peer support leads to less internalizing behaviour. However, another plausible explanation is that adolescents with internalizing behaviours attract less peer support. Why might that be the case?

4. One core problem with the Cosden et al. study is that many members of the control group actually did attend other forms of homework assistance programs. Can you think of a way to deal with this issue?

5. Consider Michael Chandler’s research and explain how the narrative strategy of self and the oral storytelling traditions of Canadian Aboriginals play a role in maintaining cultural continuity and building resilience in Aboriginal youth. (You may also want to include examples from Rod McCormick’s research in your answer.)

6. Achor suggests that social support speeds the process of recovery. The readings, modules and assignments have continually focused on the many factors associated with resilience. Present an argument to either support or refute Achor’s statement. Feel free to draw on previous readings, modules or assignments to support your answer.

Part B: Essay (70 marks)

Write an essay ( maximum 500 words) (2–3 double-spaced word-processed pages) on one of the following topics. Be sure that you are presenting the concepts in your own words and that you include current information.

Your word-processed assignments should follow APA format for preparing your essay and citing sources.

The following rubric may be helpful in helping you organize your assignment. The rubric will also be used to mark your assignment.

Criteria	Target	Acceptable	Unacceptable
Organization	Information is very organized with well constructed paragraphs (including introduction, body, and conclusion). Assignment within 250 to 400 words.	Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed (introduction, body, and conclusion lacking). Assignment less than 250 words or exceeds 400 words.	The information appears to be disorganized. Little evidence of an introduction, body, and conclusion. Assignment less than 250 words, or exceeds 400 words.
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.	A few grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Critical Thinking	Evidence of critical examination. Thoughts presented are reflective and insightful.	Some evidence of critical thought, although comments are repetitive of those presented in journal articles.	No evidence of critical thought.
Examination of Concepts	Is able to make inferences and comprehends deeper meaning consistently, demonstrating insight and the relevance to resiliency.	Comprehends the surface level meaning and begins to relate issues to those presented in the course/readings.	Is not comprehending or reflecting upon what is read.

If you have any questions about the assignment, consult your course Open Learning Faculty Member. When you have completed the assignment, use the assignment dropbox to submit it for evaluation.

Option 1: Academic Resilience, Continued

Topic 4 introduced you to how academic resilience may be improved for students at risk for not completing their homework assignments. Improvement of academic resilience may also protect students from academic underachievement and/or dropping out of high school. Find two more peer-reviewed journal articles that examine academic resilience in at-risk groups. Summarize your articles, and provide your informed reaction (i.e., your opinion, based on evidence). Compare and contrast the articles (i.e., what similarities did you find? what differences?).

Option 2: Relating Community and Cultural Resilience Research to Individual or Family Resilience Research

Review Module 2 or Module 3 and select a research paper that examined individual or family resilience factors with respect to a particular risk factor (e.g., maternal psychopathology, work/family obligation overload). Find at least one peer-reviewed journal article that discusses a community resilience factor for that same risk factor. Summarize your research paper and provide your informed reaction (i.e., your opinion based on evidence). Compare and contrast your paper with the paper you used from Module 2 or 3 (i.e., what similarities did you find? what differences?).

Note

You may use any of the research papers from Module 2 or Module 3 except “Family Resilience: Israeli Mothers’ Perspectives” and “Family Resilience and Pragmatic Parent Education” in Module 3, because they have already been used as essay options in previous assignments.

Criteria for Evaluating Assignments

Here is a set of criteria that will form the basis for evaluating the essay portion of the written assignments.

Substance (75 per cent)

· The essay provides evidence of critical thinking and analysis as well as synthesis of researched information throughout, and presents a logical and persuasive argument.

· Research sources are relevant, current, and credible. They are clearly documented in the paper.

· The introduction offers a sense of direction for the paper and presents a clear thesis statement to the reader.

· The body develops the necessary aspects of the main idea and provides examples, support, or illustration for each aspect of the main idea.

· The conclusion summarizes the main points and ties them to the thesis; it also presents an impact statement and/or suggests direction for future research.

Writing Style and Format (25 per cent)

· Paragraphs are unified, developed, and coherent, with transitions between ideas.

· Sentences are grammatically correct; words are chosen for accuracy and impact.

· The writing follows the conventions of spelling and mechanics (punctuation, etc.).

· The format follows the APA documentation style accurately and consistently.

Submission Procedures

This is the end of Assignment 4. Submit this via the Assignment dropbox (see instructions in Assignment 1) as soon as conveniently possible so that it can be returned to you before you complete the next assignment.

Completing and Submitting the Project Exam

Now that you have finished Module 4 and Assignment 4, it is time to complete your Project Exam and submit it to your Open Learning Faculty Member. Refer to the Project Exam for details.