Living on the Edge: Risk and Resilience in Teachers in Schools Serving Challenging Urban Communities

• In Event: Exploring Dispositions in Lives of Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the resilience capacities of all teachers in a school in a high need urban community. These teachers were ‘living on the edge’, facing the twin daily emotional and academic challenges of managing students’ behavioural problems, and meeting external accountability demands. All displayed a capacity for resilience, and they attributed it to their inner strength of moral purpose, support from colleagues, family/friends and the principal, especially, for her contributions in creating a sense of individual and collective resilience. However, the strength and stability of teachers’ capacity for resilience differed. Whilst some were managing their work successfully, others were barely coping. These differences were associated with particular combinations of personal and professional support.

Authors

• Christopher W. Day, University of Nottingham

• Ji Yeon Hong, University of Oklahoma