| Summary: | This study focused on the common, shared experience of struggling in high
school, rather than background characteristics of students who struggle. A discovery-oriented
approach aimed at describing rather than analyzing the experience of struggle
was utilized. A qualitative phenomenological research design was used to investigate
and explicate the experience. Seven women who had struggled to complete high school
volunteered to describe their experiences in in-depth, audio-taped interviews. Eleven
themes were identified that made up the story of struggle. The results support the ideas
that struggling in high school is a complex phenomenon, that students who struggle come
from diverse backgrounds and that some are highly capable underachievers. This study
raised questions about stereotypes of students who struggle. Students can be assisted in
times of struggle and their achievement potential can be maximized. Educators must
create opportunities for students to develop a sense of belonging within the system as
well as to express individuality through autonomously chosen and personally meaningful
activities. Participation in extra-curricular arts and sports can facilitate these goals. In
the integrated narrative description of struggle the results were tied conceptually to
theories of identity development and wellness, self-determination and intrinsic
motivation, and engagement. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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