How teachers develop and sustain resilience in their work

Many studies on teachers' lives have concentrated on the stressful aspect of such lives, listing what makes them stressful. This case study prefers to concentrate on teachers' lives and explore what makes teachers' resilient in these stressful situations. Although resilience in children has been well researched, resilience in adults, and teachers in particular, remains under researched. This study seeks to contribute to the understanding of the factors that enable teachers to develop and sustain resilience in their working lives. It includes reflecting on the school setting as well as outside it, in order to understand further the factors that develop and sustain resilience in teachers throughout their career. The study concentrates on the stressful lives of teachers in an inner city disadvantaged school. A multi-method approach was adopted. A questionnaire was first used to map the territory, followed by interviews with ten teachers who volunteered for the study and that the Principal identified as resilient. The role of recalling critical incidents in their teaching careers was also used in the data collection process. The findings show that while the role of colleagues, students, family and friends is important in developing and sustaining resilience, the role of the Principal is pivotal. Recommendations are identified for developing and sustaining resilience within the school organisation. The study adds to our understanding of the complex working lives of teachers and contributes to the debate on retention and teacher effectiveness.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo