Although there is a strong relationship between exposure to cumulative adversity and developmental outcomes, the relationship is by no means deterministic. There is considerable diversity in the way in which individuals respond to adversity or hardship, and many young people growing up in socio-economically disadvantaged families go on to lead rewarding and well-adjusted lives (Garmezy, 1991; Werner & Smith, 1992; Werner & Smith, 2001). The identification of individuals who are able to transcend exposure to adversity and who appear to avoid developing later adjustment problems, raises important issues regarding the factors and processes that lead to this resilience. The study of resilience not only entails the identification of individuals who succeed in the face of adversity but also the search for potential antecedents of such varying pathways, the protective factors and processes that mitigate, exacerbate or mediate the risk associated with adverse socio-economic conditions. The aim of this chapter is to identify protective factors and processes facilitating academic resilience in early childhood, as levels of early academic attainment are especially important in shaping later academic trajectories.

Studies have taken a variety of approaches in their attempt to identify factors associated with positive adjustment in the face of adversity and then to understand the process that underlay positive adjustment.