Improving Self-Resilience in Students with Special Needs through the Counseling Teachers’ Roles: A Case Study on Grounded Theory

Previous studies show that self-resilience was significantly improved in students with special needs by supporting the social environment and the learning system. Additionally, support for the role of counseling teachers in inclusive schools fosters self-resilience. In this regard, this study aimed to understand the role of counseling teachers foster self-resilience among students with special needs in inclusive schools. The grounded theory approach was applied to produce theories related to these issues. The participants included eleven counseling teachers and the special needs students drawn from three schools in West Sumatra and Bengkulu, Indonesia. The data collected were analyzed based on three stages of grounded analysis, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The findings indicated that self-resilience among students with special needs grows when the counseling teachers use three roles, namely, modifying behavior, giving instructions repeatedly and providing options according to students’ interest.