Risk & Protective Factors
Risk factors are the hurdles that hinder success and protective factors are shields to reduce the impact of the risk factors. Every student has a combination of risk and protective factors among their friends, within their families, schools and communities. Our PDs identify and address risk factors through social emotional learning (SEL) skills and strategies. SEL is a process through which children and adults adopt the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set, and achieve positive goals, feel, and show empathy for others, establish, and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Click on the family-school-community image to check out Charisse’s latest interview.
Family
Family life may be experiencing a disconnect with school. Many parents/guardians are focused on survival or have had bad experiences in school. Some may feel ill-equipped to help their children navigate school due to cultural and language barriers. They may also need help understanding the resources available to support them and their children. Along with the resources, value and acceptance from their child’s school will matter most in the long term.
School
Today’s classrooms include student populations that are increasingly diverse, and many students may not be experiencing success in school. For example, recent immigrants, children with mental illness, and ESL learners, are the mainstream. Keep in mind that students who struggle are often as ambitious as their counterparts. Therefore, genuine invitations from school are important and help parents in need to become strong teaching partners.
Community
Community is the combination of family and school. If there is an imbalance between home and school, the community is negatively impacted, and may result in the onset of violence. Risk factors increase the likelihood that a young person will become violent. However, they are not the direct cause of youth violence. For more insight on identifying and addressing risk and protective factors, At-risk Students Transforming Student Behavior, may be a helpful resource.
By fully implementing effective programs, the family-school-community partnership becomes equipped to transform lives globally.
| Risk Factors | Area | Protective Factors |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Failure | School | Educational Support |
| Lack of Adult Supervision | Family | Effective Parenting |
| Poverty | Community | Community Resources |
| History of Trauma | Community | Community Resources |
| At-risk Caregivers | Family | Effective Parenting |
| Mental Illness | Family | Community Resources |
| Social Deficits | School | Educational Interventions |
Our Training Consists of Four Modules:
- Module 1: Identifying risk factors within family and school.
- Module 2: Brainstorm protective factors to address each risk factor.
- Module 3: Develop a SWOT analysis.
- Module 4: Create an SEL Strategic Action Plan (SSAP).
