Applied educational resilience

Understand the difficulty.
Adjust the conditions.
Strengthen participation.

Evidence-informed resilience for classrooms, families and the systems around them—translated into decisions adults can use.

  • PhD
  • Two book-length works on resilience
  • 20+ years in educational institutions
Resilience in Practice lotus emblem
Research into action. No empty motivation.

People should not be labelled non-resilient without examining the conditions in which they are expected to adapt.

Evidence with its limits visible

Research conducted where adversity is not theoretical.

A 2024 practice-based programme followed 81 school-entry-age children exposed to four or more concurrent developmental risk factors across two kindergartens in a disadvantaged Hungarian region.

Important: the study was regional and non-representative. Attendance varied, maturation and everyday educational support may also have contributed, and the findings do not justify simple causal claims.

Inspect the findings and limitations

Built for real contexts

One evidence base.
Different decisions.

The same difficulty can require a different response in a classroom, family or organisation.

The PRACTICE framework

From observation to proportionate action.

A repeatable method for thinking accurately before intervening.

  1. Pinpointthe difficulty
  2. Reviewrisks and resources
  3. Assessdevelopmental fit
  4. Calibratechallenge and support
  5. Transfermeaningful agency
  6. Implementone useful change
  7. Checkthe response
  8. Escalatewhen necessary

Practical resources

Use the research on Monday morning.

Books and selected scholarship

A long-form evidence base behind the practical work.

The site draws on published research, a doctoral programme of inquiry and a second book-length synthesis of resilience in education.

Title page of Reziliencia és iskolakezdés by Róbert Erdei

Published monograph · 2022

Resilience and Starting School

Reziliencia és iskolakezdés, Sárospataki Pedagógiai Füzetek 30, Tokaj-Hegyalja University. ISBN 978-615-6482-02-0.

The volume develops the doctoral research into resilience, developmental risk, protective factors and the transition into school, drawing on a multi-year dataset of 493 children.

View publications and research programme

Resilience in Practice on YouTube

Five-minute explanations. Research kept intact.

The channel translates core ideas from the books and research into concise explanations for teachers, parents and helping professionals.

Explore the video learning paths

Research grounded in practice

Róbert Erdei, PhD

“Resilience should not remain academic theory—or become another motivational slogan.”

Róbert Erdei is a qualified psychologist with more than twenty years of experience across educational institutions, pedagogical support services and higher education. He holds a PhD and is the author of two book-length works and several scientific publications on resilience.

His work has involved children, families and educational professionals in difficult circumstances, including disadvantaged regions where poverty, cumulative developmental risk, disrupted caregiving and educational vulnerability are recurring realities. This experience informs a careful position: resilience support must strengthen people while also addressing the relationships, institutions and material conditions around them.

  • PhDResearch expertise in education and resilience
  • 2 book-length worksthe published Reziliencia és iskolakezdés and the manuscript Reziliencia a pedagógiában
  • Selected articlesProtective factors, educational resilience and support for children requiring special attention
  • 20+ yearsExperience across educational institutions
Discuss the work

Professional development

Change practice—and the conditions around it.

Research-grounded sessions adapted to the context, audience and objectives of your school or organisation.

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Free practical guide

Start with protective factors.

Get the starter kit and receive evidence-informed ideas you can translate into action.

Open the free resources Inspect the research