Challenges to Teacher Resilience: Conditions Count

• In Event: Conditions Count: Teaching in Challenging Situations

Abstract

Drawing upon findings of a four-year research project on variations in the work and lives of teachers in England, this paper provides empirical evidence which contributes to understandings about the importance of resilience in teachers’ work. The experience of resilience as perceived by teachers in this research was that it was closely allied to their everyday capacity to sustain their educational purposes and successfully manage the unavoidable uncertainties which are inherent in the practice of being a teacher. Their capacity to be resilient fluctuated as a result of the influences of the personal, relational and organisational settings in which they worked. The findings have implications for initial and in-service professional development programmes, school leadership and the quality retention of teachers.

Authors

• Qing Gu, University of Nottingham

• Christopher W. Day, University of Nottingham