Academic Resilience among Indonesian College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Future Orientation and Peer Support

Abstract

Introduction.  Students in Indonesia are known to have a low level of academic resilience; both compared to other countries in Asia and around the world. Academic resilience is influenced by various factors, including internal and external factors. This study aimed to examine the contribution of future orientation (representing internal factor) and peer support (representing external factor) simultaneously towards academic resilience. Method.  This cross-sectional study conducted by online questionnaire, encompassed three measurement instruments: Academic Resilience Scale-Indonesian version (α =.89), Future Orientation Scale (α =.82), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (α =.71).  A total of 303 undergraduate students were recruited for this study by accidental sampling method.   Results.  Through multiple regression analysis, future orientation and peer support simultaneously contribute to academic resilience in Indonesian students (R2 = .46, F (2.300) = 129.415, p<.001). Regarding comparative effect, peer support contributed slightly more to academic resilience than future orientation. In addition, based on the t-test, there were significant differences in academic resilience between male and female students (t=-2.141, p=.033). Academic resilience was also significantly correlated with academic achievement as measured by GPA (r=.36, p<.001). Discussion and Conclusion. This current study highlights that academic resilience was associated with future orientation (represent internal factor) and peer support (represent external factors (peer support) collectively. Furthermore, peer support had a slightly higher contribution towards academic resilience than future orientation. This finding can be served as a foundation for interventions to develop student academic resilience.