● As technology reshapes work, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies resilience, flexibility and agility as among the most sought-after core skills, alongside analytical thinking, leadership and social influence.
● In 2024, 97% of South African children aged seven to 17 (approximately 12.6 million learners) were reported to be attending school, making schools one of the country’s most important everyday environments for young people to experience trusted relationships, guidance and opportunities to develop life capabilities.
October 2026: As young people navigate a world shaped by rapid technological change, evolving career paths, academic demands and complex social pressures, education must prepare them for more than examinations. Academic knowledge remains essential, but so too is the ability to respond constructively when plans change, feedback is difficult, motivation wanes, or when a first attempt doesn’t succeed.
There is growing value in considering how educational environments can help young people develop emotional resilience: the self-awareness, emotional regulation, adaptability and problem-solving capabilities needed to recognise a challenge, access support and take a constructive next step. At Koa Academy, emotional resilience is regarded as a foundational capability for future-ready young people, rather than a separate lesson or an additional expectation placed on students.
“Emotional resilience does not mean that a young person never struggles, feels overwhelmed or finds something difficult. It’s about how they respond when those experiences arise: can they recognise that they are struggling, regulate their emotions sufficiently to consider what they need, ask for help, solve problems, adapt and ultimately take the next step?” says Esmarel Potgieter, Head of Student Support at Koa Academy.
Emotional resilience develops over time through repeated opportunities to encounter manageable challenges, reflect, receive feedback and try again. It does not mean being unaffected by disappointment or uncertainty, suppressing emotions, or simply “pushing through”, regardless of circumstances. Sometimes, the most constructive response is recognising: I am not coping with this, and I need help.
For younger students, resilience may mean acknowledging uncertainty about a project, asking a teacher or parent for guidance and returning to the task once they have received support. For older students, it may involve recovering from a disappointing result, revising an approach after feedback, resolving conflict, returning to a goal after falling behind, or separating a difficult outcome from their sense of self-worth. Rather than concluding, “I am terrible at this,” students can learn to ask, “What could I do differently next time?”
“In life, plans change, things go wrong, feedback can be difficult, and disappointment is inevitable. Academic knowledge remains important, but young people also need the ability to navigate the experiences surrounding it: to persevere through challenges, learn from setbacks and continue moving forward,” says Potgieter.
The environment around learning
Emotional resilience is not developed by young people in isolation, nor can it be attributed to a single programme, school model or adult. It is shaped by the many interconnected environments around them: family relationships, friendships, community, culture, individual temperament, previous experiences and the support available when challenges arise.
Educational environments are where young people spend a significant portion of their daily lives. This gives schools, learning communities and educators a meaningful opportunity to create the conditions in which resilience-related capabilities can be practised and strengthened.
This doesn’t mean removing every difficulty or expecting educators to resolve every challenge a young person may encounter. It means creating predictable, supportive environments where students can experience manageable challenges; make mistakes; ask questions; receive useful feedback; reflect on what happened; and take a supported next step.
Resilience-supportive learning environments generally have several features in common. They prioritise trusted relationships between young people and adults; give students a genuine sense of belonging; make it acceptable to acknowledge uncertainty and ask for help; provide age-appropriate responsibility; and treat questions, mistakes and feedback as ordinary and valuable parts of learning.
They also recognise that independence is developed gradually. Students need space to make decisions and work through challenges, but must know where to turn when they need guidance. Schools and families can reinforce one another when they communicate a consistent message: difficulty is a normal part of learning and life, support is available, and a setback does not determine a young person’s ability or potential.
“The aim is not always to remove a challenge, but to provide the guidance and support that enables a student to work through it. Appropriate support does not remove the challenge; it gives students the security and confidence to attempt something difficult, take a considered risk and recover if it does not go as planned,” says Potgieter.
Koa as a practical example
At Koa Academy, these principles are incorporated into the rhythm of everyday learning. Students belong to small Pods of eight, allowing teachers to know them well and recognise changes in participation or behaviour. The Academy’s student-support structures provide an additional layer of guidance where needed.
“A smaller learning community gives students the experience of being seen and known. When young people feel a genuine sense of belonging and develop trusted relationships with educators, they may be more likely to participate, acknowledge uncertainty and seek support before a challenge becomes overwhelming,” notes Potgieter.
Koa also embeds opportunities to practise communication, self-awareness, adaptability and problem-solving through assemblies, project-based learning, student leadership, mastery-based coursework and Pod-based activities. These connected capabilities are central to emotional resilience. Asking for help, for example, requires a student to identify what they are struggling with and communicate that need clearly. Responding constructively to feedback requires them to manage discomfort, reflect on the information received and decide how to act on it.
Educational environments can normalise revision by building feedback into the learning process, rather than positioning it only as a final judgement. At Koa, the six-week Expo process and mastery checkpoints allow students to develop projects in stages, present their thinking, receive input from educators and peers, make corrections, and return with a stronger version.
“A mistake becomes information about where a student is in their learning and what they can do next—not a judgement of their ability or identity,” says Potgieter.
Independence can, similarly, be supported through clear structures, visible expectations and accessible help. At Koa, student and parent dashboards, together with dedicated teacher time, help students plan academic work, breaks and other commitments, monitor progress, and revise their plans when circumstances change. Teachers guide students as they learn to take increasing responsibility for their time, priorities and learning decisions.
Koa Grade 12 alumnus Kyra Bennie’s transition to the Academy for his matric year illustrates how a change in learning environment can become an opportunity to develop agency. Initially uncertain about adapting to online learning and a different educational model, Kyra gradually developed more confidence in managing his learning through teacher guidance and clear systems. He credits Koa’s self-directed approach with helping him prioritise work, manage time and solve problems more independently, capabilities he continued to use while completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Cape Town.
Preparing students for change
Young people will need both academic knowledge and the ability to navigate change. While knowledge and technical competence remain essential, it is impossible to predict exactly what many careers and workplaces will look like in the future.
Adaptability will be one of the most important capabilities they can develop: recognising when circumstances have shifted, when a familiar approach is no longer effective or when new information calls for a different response, and adjusting thoughtfully, rather than reacting impulsively or becoming stuck.
“Future readiness is not only about continuing in the face of difficulty. It is also about knowing when to persist, when to seek help and when to change course. In a world where technologies, careers and social contexts will continue to evolve, the ability to learn, reassess and respond thoughtfully will be critical,” says Potgieter.
Schools and families do not need to choose between challenging young people and supporting them. When young people experience trusted relationships, manageable challenges, constructive feedback, reflection and appropriate support across the environments around them, they are better placed to develop the confidence, agency and adaptability to keep learning long after they leave school.
