Finding the Bright Spots: What Factors Cause Teachers to Thrive Under Stress?

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: Policy, Big Picture, and Well-Being

Abstract

The first year of teaching is frequently described with a deficit perspective or fatalist language, where new teachers either “sink or swim.” We rejected this deficit-model of new teachers. In response, we examined data from two original qualitative research studies to determine what factors cause first-year teachers to thrive in times of stress. We drew three significant conclusions. First, the social and emotional competence of self-awareness acts as a conduit for moving first-year teachers from surviving to thriving. Second, a first-year teacher who thrives recognizes ways in which her values and purpose flourish in the school context. Finally, critical to sustaining a teacher’s ability to thrive is the intentional manifestation of those values and purpose in her teaching.

Authors

• Patrick Daniel Riordan, Pacific University

• Kate Newburgh, Deep Practices Consulting