Teacher Resilience in Europe: A Multidimensional View on a Significant Construct

• In Event: Retaining Quality Teachers: International Perspectives on Teacher Resilience

Abstract

There is an urgent need for safe-guarding and improving teachers’ health, not only with regard to their quality of life but also because there is a direct influence of teachers’ health on the quality of their teaching. One concept that has become more salient in the last decade is teacher resilience which refers to the process of, capacity for, or outcome of positive adaptation and on-going professional commitment and growth in the face of challenging circumstances (Beltman, 2015). Resilience is shaped by individual, situational and broader contextual characteristics that interrelate in dynamic ways to provide risk or protective factors (Mansfield, Beltman, Price & McConney, 2012).

Research shows that individual characteristics of teacher resilience consist of four dimensions: The motivational, emotional, social and professional dimensions of teacher resilience. Further developments suggest that these dimensions can be understood as a four-dimensional capacity construct embedded in individual behaviours (e.g., coping-strategies) and beliefs (e.g., teacher-efficacy), the social context (e.g., colleagues) and the policy and administrational context of the teacher. This paper presents results from a survey study in four countries (Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal) that focuses on the interplay in this complex variable structure. It addresses the following three major research questions:
a) Can the postulated constructs be measured in the four different countries?
b) What is the interplay between these variables?
c) Can country-specific aspects be identified?

Method
Sample: Participants were teacher education students and teachers from four countries. Portugal 223 (93.3% female), Malta 279 (76.2% female), Germany 274 (69.7% female) and Ireland 161 (77.8% female).
Survey: The following instruments were used, adapted or developed and translated into the relevant languages:
• Morgan (2011): Teacher Resilience, Teacher Efficacy, Rumination, Master Orientation, Commitment
• Mansfield & Wosnitza (2014): Teacher Resilience Scales
• Cefai (2012): Social context
• Newly developed: Administrative and Policy Demands

Findings
First analyses of the dataset showed that that the expected factor structure could be replicated in all countries. The reliabilities, although slightly different in all countries, were in the same acceptable range (α=.65 - α=.94). In no country gender differences for any of the scales could be identified. The correlation structures showed significant to highly significant positive correlations between the five resilience measures and the belief scales (Teacher Efficacy: Rrange=.35 - .70; Commitment: Rrange =.30 -.49). Regression analyses for the datasets showed different structures in all four countries with explained variances between R2=.35 and R2=.64 and Teacher Efficacy as the strongest predictor for teacher resilience in all four countries.

Theoretical and Educational Significance
The study showed that there is an interplay between resilience capacities, beliefs and behaviour of teachers. The study furthermore showed that resilience is influenced by the context in which teachers live and work. This is emphasized by the country-specific interplay of resilience dimensions postulated in the theoretical framework, which will be presented in detail in the symposium. Reasons for the country specific differences will also be discussed in the light of all four presented datasets. Overall, this study underlines the necessity of a complex perspective on the phenomenon of teacher resilience.

Authors

• Marold S. Wosnitza, RWTH Aachen University

• Francisco Peixoto, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada

• José Castro Silva, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada

• Jennifer Schwarze