How are the dynamic and interactive elements of resilience reflected in higher education literature? : A critical narrative review.

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McCool, Susan and Carlysle-Davies, Felicity and Cochrane, Neil and McCrorie, Kathryn (2026) How are the dynamic and interactive elements of resilience reflected in higher education literature? : A critical narrative review. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 18 (4). 1886. (https://doi.org/10.59236/td2025vol18iss41886)

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Abstract

There has been a proliferation of papers on resilience in universities in recent years, many of them focused on how educators can make students more resilient. Yet the meaning of the term is nebulous, and critics argue that the focus on individuals obscures wider systemic dysfunction. This paper reports on a critical narrative review informed by a multidimensional framework called the Dynamic and Interactive Model of Resilience (DIMoR) (ahmed Shafi, Templeton et al., 2020; ahmed Shafi, Middleton et al., 2023). We found three critical themes in the extant literature: a troubling lack of complexity and coherence in how resilience is conceptualised; unsupportable assumptions inherent in typical resilience-training interventions; and incompatibility between traditional scientific investigative methods and the dynamic and interactive dimensions of resilience. We argue for a more considered approach to resilience within the sector, looking to co-create with all community members the conditions that are supportive of resilience: namely, connection, communication, compassion, care, and challenge. By profiling five illustrative examples from the literature, we suggest a way forward for practice and scholarship that embraces resilience in all its contextual and relational complexity.

ORCID iDs

McCool, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7297-5750, Carlysle-Davies, Felicity ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2256-796X, Cochrane, Neil ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3340-9959 and McCrorie, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4260-3873;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)