Developing Resilience and Life Mastery Skills in the Classroom – A Multiple-case Study Comparing a Norwegian and a Peruvian Context

Abstract

Despite different circumstances, something is universal for pupils across the world; they need motivation and resilience to succeed. This is what the current study is about; how to facilitate for increased motivation and development of life mastery skills in the classroom so that puils are resilient when they meet obstacles in their learning and in their lives in general. The study is part of a project called «A Systematic Approach – the fivestep Motivation Method», which started in the southern region of Norway and has spread to new contexts such as Peru. The current study investigates and compares how Norwegian and Peruvian students perceive a fivestep method for working with life mastery and motivation. The study concludes that many students in both groups appreciated the method, but there is a difference. In general, the Peruvian students seemed to benefit more, as the majority there reported that they became better at prioritising and solving problems, and they experienced increased motivation. There is, however, a need for a more thorough study on how the fivestep approach affects students in different contexts.