Empowering Educators to Foster Student Resilience

Children across the world face various challenges as they develop. This is especially true for asylum seekers and immigrant youth who arrive in a host country traumatized by their past and current experiences. Since educators are ideally poised to foster protective factors among children, we call on teachers to aid in the construction of childhood fortitude by becoming aware of the individual characteristics of resilience and then making efforts to build it as they instruct and interact with students. To this end, this article provides teachers with a list of indicators of childhood resilience and provides several recommendations for how educators can boost positive development at school. The model outlined is easily incorporated into general and integration education instruction.     

Resilience following emotional abuse by teachers: Insights from a cross-sectional study with Greek students

An integrative socio-ecological model was developed to investigate the impact of emotional abuse by teachers on children’s psychological functioning and test the role of social support and self-confidence as protective factors associated with resilience. Emotional abuse by teachers, social support from family, peers, school and a significant adult from the community, self-confidence and psychological functioning were assessed in a sample of young Greek school students aged 9–12 years (n = 223, mean age = 10.8, SD = 0.885). Results revealed that exposure to emotional abuse by teachers predicted behavioural problems in school students suggesting a negative effect of these experiences on psychological functioning. The bootstrapped mediation model showed that the impact of emotional abuse by teachers on psychological functioning was significantly diminished through the influence of social support and self-confidence. Also, social support exerted a strong positive impact on self-confidence. This is the first study to show that individual and environmental factors using a socio-ecological model of resilience influence the adverse outcomes of this form of abuse in school aged children. These findings suggest that emotional abuse by teachers should be considered as a potential source of behavioural problems and adjustment in elementary students. Social support through its strong effect on self-confidence is an important protective factor of resilience against emotional abuse by teachers.     

School Teachers’ Experiences of Science Curriculum Reform

We examine teachers’ experiences of a major reform of the school science curriculum for 14–16-year olds in England. This statutory reform enhances the range of available science courses and emphasises the teaching of socio-scientific issues and the nature of science, alongside the teaching of canonical science knowledge. This paper examines teachers’ experiences of the reform and the factors that condition these experiences. A designed sample of 22 teachers discussed their experiences of the reform within a semi-structured interview. Our analysis considers how the external and internal structures within which teachers work interact with the personal characteristics of teachers to condition their experiences of the curriculum reform. In many cases, personal/internal/external contexts of teachers’ work align, resulting in an overall working context that is supportive of teacher change. However, in other cases, tensions within these contexts result in barriers to change. We also explore cases in which external curriculum reform has stimulated the development of new contexts for teachers’ work. We argue that curriculum reformers need to recognise the inevitability of multiple teaching goals within a highly differentiated department and school workplace. We also show how experiences of curriculum reform can extend beyond the learning of new knowledge and associated pedagogies to involve challenges to teachers’ professional identities. We argue for the extended use of teacher role models within local communities of practice to support such ‘identity work’.     

Resilience in young children involved with child protective services

Child maltreatment increases the risk of poor developmental outcomes. However, some children display resilience, meaning they are high-functioning despite their adverse experiences. To date, few research studies have examined protective factors among very young maltreated children. Yet, domains of resilience, and the protective factors that promote resilience among maltreated children, are likely to differ by developmental stage. Drawing on ecological systems theory and life course theory, we examined how protective factors at multiple ecological levels across early childhood were related to social and cognitive resilience among very young children involved with child protective services. The results demonstrated that the buffering effects of protective factors varied by social or cognitive resilience and the cumulative effects of protective factors were more consistently related to later resilience than protective factors at specific time points. In addition, the influence of specific protective factors on resilience slightly varied by initial in-home or out-of-home placement. These findings have important policy and research implications for promoting optimal development among children involved in child protective services.     

Which difficulties and resources do vocational teachers perceive? An exploratory study setting the stage for investigating teachers’ resilience in Switzerland

ABSTRACT

Based on an ecological view of teacher resilience, the paper investigates perceived difficulties and resources among vocational education and training (VET) teachers as a first step for investigating teachers’ resilience. Given the substantial shortage of theoretical and empirical studies on this population, more research on resilience among VET teachers is necessary and relevant. In this exploratory qualitative study, interviews with VET teachers in Switzerland (n = 37) sought to identify the specific challenges faced by teachers, the resources to be addressed. As well as confirming the different critical challenges and protective factors emerging from the literature review, the results identify difficulties and resources specific to VET teachers in Switzerland. In terms of critical challenges at a macro-contextual level, teachers’ low social recognition is emphasised. Moreover, exposure to curricular reforms generates stress and pressure related to the required standardisation of content and subject changes. At a micro-system level, we detected teachers’ frustration in relation to students’ low vocational motivation and maturity and specific emerging instructional challenges in vocational subject teaching. In terms of resources, teachers perceived the possibility of diversifying their professional role by alternating school and extracurricular activities as a supportive factor. The results provide a basis for more extensive quantitative study investigating relationship among adversities and resources and resilient strategies.     

“Don’t sweat the small stuff:” Understanding teacher resilience at the chalkface

This study investigates how graduating and early career teachers perceive resilient teachers. Informed by survey data from 200 graduating and early career teachers, the study’s results indicate that graduating and early career teachers perceive that resilience for teachers comprises characteristics that are multi-dimensional and overlapping, and that views of resilience may develop according to teachers’ career stage. To further conceptualise teacher resilience, four possible dimensions of teacher resilience (profession-related, emotional, motivational and social) are suggested and the aspects within these dimensions are described. Some implications of this view of teacher resilience for preservice teacher education and future research are discussed.     

‘I’m coming back again!’ The resilience process of early career teachers

Early career teachers face a range of challenges in their first years of teaching and how these challenges are managed as career implications. Based on current literature, this paper presents a model of early career teacher resilience where resilience is seen as a process located at the interface of personal and contextual challenges and resources. Through a semi-structured interview the challenges faced by 13 Australian early career teachers and the resources available to manage these challenges are examined. Findings show that beginning teachers experience multiple, varied and ongoing challenges and that personal and contextual resources are both important in sustaining them through the beginning year(s) of their teaching careers. The study emphasises the critical roles played by family and friends and the importance of relationships in the resilience process. Implications for future research and teacher education are discussed.     

经济困难大学生心理韧性模型的建构

目前,以心理韧性理论为指导的研究缺乏对经济困难大学生心理韧性发展过程的动态探讨。积极认知、应对策略、自我效能感等个体因素是经济困难大学生在大学环境中应对压力情景的挑战而形成的,父母积极品质的影响和支持性家庭关系等家庭因素增强了经济困难大学生应对经济压力的信心,家庭以外的因素则强调了社会支持所起的作用。这三类保护性因素与经济压力作用的结果可能促进了经济困难大学生心理韧性的发展,也可能使其心理功能发生紊乱。提出了心理辅导与教育的操作性建议。     

Teacher Specialists and the Boundaries They Encounter: Towards a Nuanced Understanding of Teachers’ Perspectives of Specialised Teacher Roles

ABSTRACT

This article studies differences in teachers’ and teacher specialists’ perspectives of a newly introduced teacher specialist role in Norway. It is known that the emergence of specialised teachers challenges the egalitarian norms of the profession. However, there is a lack of insight into teachers’ perspectives of these roles and the nuances of egalitarianism in schools. By drawing on extensive observational data, focus groups and individual interviews, the present paper explores the characteristics of teacher specialists’ perceived boundaries, and how these boundaries can nuance the comprehension of teachers’ perspectives. The results reveal three boundaries: a knowledge boundary, a structural boundary and a relational boundary. In general, teachers have an overall positive perception of role differentiation in terms of knowledge specialisation. However, their support of such differentiation seems to be related to—and dependent on—an absence of interference with their classroom practice and individual autonomy.     

Resilience under fire: Perspectives on the work of experienced,inner city high school teachers in the United States

Teachers working in inner city high schools in the United States face enormous challenges. Their students, most of whom come from economically disadvantaged minority families and often do not speak English as a first language, present a daunting array of educational needs for teachers and schools. Resources and school structures are seldom sufficient for the task. Despite such conditions, some urban high school teachers persist for many years in the classroom and experience success and satisfaction in their work. Through a survey and extended interviews, this study identifies three broad factors that motivated a group of these teachers to remain in inner city classrooms for more than 12 years: (1) the students, (2) professional and personal satisfaction, and (3) support from administrators, colleagues and the organisation of the school. The study discusses how the teachers’ resilience enabled them to overcome difficult challenges and recurring setbacks and to persist vigorously in their work. Further study of resilience in inner city teachers is recommended.     

Reflective Practice as a Means for Preparing to Teach Outdoors in an Ecological Garden

Although teachers are engaged in many field-trips, they seldom have the pedagogical knowledge and experience to enact them. This article presents an effort to support reflective practice of teachers in the outdoors. The teaching experience of five pre- and in-service teachers included preparation for teaching in the outdoors, designing learning materials, teaching elementary and junior-high school students in an ecogarden, and reflecting upon these teaching experiences. The data collected by teachers and researchers highlighted challenges such as lack of confidence, class management and inadequate student motivation. The group and the instructors’ support and collaboration and careful preparation yielded a positive outdoor teaching experience. We suggest that supported field experience followed by individual and group reflection are promising in encouraging teachers to carry out outdoor learning activities.     

A systematic review of bilingual education teachers’ competences

Ongoing globalisation processes call forth a need to foster students' intercultural competences and language skills. Simultaneously, teachers face an increasing diversity of students' first languages and cultures within classrooms, demanding responsive and integrative practices from them which address all students. Bilingual education is one possible format in which these challenges can be met; however, it requires a high level of teacher professionalism. This systematic literature review harvests international research on bilingual education teachers published between 1995 and 2020. It compares frameworks and research on bilingual education teachers’ required competences for secondary education and generates a professional competence model for bilingual education teachers. This systematic review of 79 individual reports identifies a total of 16 converging competences, many focusing on language proficiency and pedagogical/psychological knowledge. Furthermore, it yields important implications for bilingual teacher training such as the fostering of (academic) language proficiency, cooperation skills and knowledge of bilingual education research.     

Implications of risk and resilience in the life of the individual who is gifted/learning disabled

The constructs of risk and resilience and their implication in the life of individuals who are gifted, learning disabled, and gifted/learning disabled will be explored in this paper. The intent is to understand further how the constructs of risk and resilience affect individuals who are gifted/learning disabled. The paper includes a discussion of risk and resilience, followed by a discussion of learning disabilities, giftedness, and learning disabilities combined with giftedness. Each of these sections addresses the risk factors that hinder normal development and make the individual more vulnerable and the protective factors that serve to buffer the individual's response to adversity. Interventions that may foster resilience in the individual who is gifted/learning disabled are proposed.     

Resilience strategies for new teachers in high-needs areas

This qualitative study investigates strategies of resilience exhibited by fifteen novice teachers employed in high-needs areas, such as in urban and rural contexts and in special education. Findings indicated that teachers utilised a variety of strategies, including help-seeking, problem-solving, managing difficult relationships, and seeking rejuvenation/renewal. These strategies assisted beginning teachers in building additional resources and support; however, the burden for success and securing resources fell on teachers themselves. Furthermore, the researchers recognised that resilient teachers demonstrated agency in the process of overcoming adversity. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.     

Critically re-conceptualising early career teacher resilience

In this paper, we describe how and why we adopted a socially critical orientation to early career teacher resilience. In re-conceptualising early career teacher resilience, we expose the normative components of resilience by revealing the implicit values, beliefs and assumptions that underpin most traditional conceptions of resilience. We argue against the hyper-individualisation of the concept because it leads to a diminution of the influence of situational and structural forces on early career teachers’ experiences, and shifts primary responsibility for early career teacher well-being onto the individual. We lay the groundwork for a critical perspective on teacher resilience capable of illuminating the ‘problems’ of early career teachers within a broader social, cultural and political context. Our analysis is designed to promote further debate about new ways of seeing early career teacher resilience with the aim of creating and sustaining a spirit of optimism and human agency, as well as a sense of health and well-being among early career teachers.     

The ‘secrets’ of Chinese students’ academic success: academic resilience among students from highly competitive academic environments

Abstract

Given Chinese students often perform well academically despite the challenges of their competitive academic environments, it is important to explore what enables the academic resilience of these students. Moreover, because the extant resilience literature is biased towards Western accounts of resilience, it is crucial that non-Western perspectives be added to this literature. In this study, three factors from family and school settings were examined: namely, parental supervision, school involvement and recognition, and school expectation of behaviour. We did so among 693 11th grade Chinese students from two of the largest provinces participating in the competitive college entrance examination in China. Participants completed a questionnaire comprising a series of individual, family, and school variables that were complemented by academic achievement data drawn from school records. Results showed that Chinese parents’ supervision and school involvement and recognition are significantly and negatively associated with low school commitment and individual conflict attitude, which are important protective factors in reducing adolescents’ risk of problem behaviours and promoting academic resilience. This study highlights the importance of taking a multidimensional approach to building academic resilience among those from highly competitive settings in China.     

Leaving teaching: lack of resilience or sign of agency?

Alarming numbers of teacher attrition are reported in many countries, including in Norway. Whereas most of the research tells about personal and professional negative experiences which have a harmful impact on teachers’ resilience, a different approach is taken in the current paper. Four cases of leavers are purposefully selected because they represent qualified teachers who left the profession, not because they were unhappy with the job or had negative experiences, but because they needed more space and autonomy than they had as teachers. The findings show that their motives for teaching were mainly intrinsic, they were successful teachers, however, they became restless and left their secure jobs to start afresh, and they succeeded. We suggest that it is time to examine the strength of the leavers and accept that teaching is not a lifelong ‘call’ for some of its best people. It is time to seek new ways to revive the profession.     

STUDENT TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS THROUGH ELECTRONIC MAIL DISCUSSIONS

Abstract

This qualitative study looked at how early childhood teachers talk about and interact with the most powerful children in their classrooms—the student leaders. Relying primarily on interviews with six teachers in early childhood classrooms (infants, toddlers, and preschoolers) within a University‐affiliated center, this paper reconsidered leadership qualities in young children from the teachers’ point of view, probing the often overlooked challenges and dilemmas that young leaders present in student‐student and student‐adult relationships. Findings showed that the teachers described children's leadership skills in positive ways in the abstract, but these theoretical beliefs were quickly challenged by the realities of the classroom. As a result, teachers faced the complex dilemma of supporting individual children's leadership strengths while nurturing their own visions of classroom community. Findings are discussed with reference to implications for practice, including implications for early childhood teacher education, and suggestions for further study.     

The mental health and psychological well-being of refugee children and young people: an exploration of risk,resilience and protective factors

This research investigates the perceptions of refugee children, refugee parents and school staff regarding the positive adaptation of refugee children in a new social context and the effects on mental health and psychological well-being. This included an exploration of resilience and the role of risk and protective factors. Few studies have focused on views from a resilience perspective, and these have tended to use quantitative rather than qualitative measures. This mixed methods piece of “real world” research adopted a “what’s working well” perspective and explored the important voices of these children, parents and school staff. Staff, parent and child responses were triangulated to provide a rich picture of the potential protective factors operating within the school and family environment. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Impact of teachers’ career adaptability and family on professional learning

Teachers’ engagement in professional learning is vital to the profession’s sustainability. Their professional learning is influenced by the demands of balancing work, family, and the strain of balancing the two. This challenge is addressed through the notion resilience, operationalized as career adaptability. In a sample of teachers (N = 193), the present research explored the relations between career adaptability, family-to-work conflict (time-based and strain-based), and engagement in professional learning. Structural equation modelling revealed that time-based conflict mediated the relation between career adaptability and strain-based conflict. Strain-based conflict, in turn, negatively predicted engagement with professional development studies. It is recommended that strategies for teachers’ professional learning are inclusive of contextual factors, such as family-to-work conflict, and focused on enhancing their career adaptability.