Teacher Resilience in High-Poverty Schools: How Do High-Quality Teachers Become Resilient?

• In Event: Teach For America: Impacts Beyond the Classroom

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to understand how high-quality teachers who began their career through Teach For America (TFA) became resilient while teaching in challenging, high-poverty schools. A secondary purpose of this study was to ascertain how the teaching experiences of TFA teachers who stayed in the profession differed from those who left the profession shortly after fulfilling their two-year commitment to TFA. Although there is substantial research on teacher retention, such research tends to focus on school-site factors that contribute to teacher attrition, such as poor working conditions or poor administrative support. However, there are relatively few studies that examine why teachers stay in the profession despite such circumstances. For the purposes of this study, resilience is a personal construct that refers to the ability of teachers to remain committed to the teaching profession despite the presence of adverse conditions and setbacks. This study adds to the literature on teacher resilience by focusing on the unique group of teachers that are brought into the profession by TFA: high-ability college-graduates who have no prior background or preparation in education and who initially signed-on for only a two year teaching commitment.
This qualitative study consisted of two phases. In Phase One, 72 TFA alumni participated in an Internet-based survey. In Phase Two, I interviewed14 teachers and 9 former teachers who were selected based on survey responses. The teachers and the former teachers in this study did not differ substantially in terms of their early motivation to enter the profession or in their teaching experiences. The only thing that differentiated the two groups was the fact that the former teachers left the profession, most commonly due to burnout. Consistent with the research on teacher resilience, data show that the teachers’ main source of resilience is the positive impact they have on their students. Participants felt that the main challenges facing public education in high-needs areas have little to do with the students; rather, the system, and the adults within the system, make effective teaching difficult.
Two unexpected findings resulted from this study. First, the teachers’ ability to change roles and advance their career stood out as significant factors that contributed to resilience. Second, the teachers acknowledged that they had to come to terms with the idea that society views them as “just a teacher.” The teachers in this study were bright and motivated college-graduates who held degrees outside of education and initially expected to pursue other career paths. The implication this holds for educational practice lies in this question: Why, when they are qualified to enter a higher-paying and more highly-regarded career, do such people persist in the teaching profession? By ensuring that similarly motivated and talented teachers have multiple opportunities for growth and are empowered to take on new projects, roles, and leadership positions, educational leaders may increase the likelihood that such teachers will remain invested enough to stay. Furthermore, TFA can support corps members by helping them recognize where they may find such opportunities for growth and fulfillment.

Author

• Kate Merrill, Teach For America, Inc.