Abstract

With the increased significance of a high school education in today’s society, the modern public health system is focusing more on mediating factors, such as resilience, instead of risk factors, in an attempt to protect adolescents against school failure. The present research reports on the development of a program designed to strengthen resilience for female adolescents who are at-risk of school failure. As resilience is a complex, multi-layered construct, only one aspect, self-esteem, is addressed. Given the scope of the research, the first two steps of a five-step model for intervention design were completed in the development of an eight-session group vocal music therapy protocol. The program design is informed by analysis and application of pertinent literature and findings from semi-structured interviews with area experts – two music therapists, a school counsellor, and a special-care counsellor. This self-esteem vocal music therapy program design is intended to serve as one facet of a larger program aimed at improving resilience to mediate against school failure.