Resilient Teachers, Resilient Schools

This book unpicks the complex, dynamic blend of individuals’ psychological and professional assets, workplace conditions, and leadership support which enable teachers who stay in teaching to continue to make a difference in their careers, regardless of shifts in policy, workplace, professional, and personal circumstances.

Whilst much has been written over the years about teacher stress and burnout, there is very little research which reports on the conditions essential for teachers to sustain their commitment and effectiveness over their professional lives, in contexts of challenge and change. Drawing upon a range of educational, psychological, socio-cultural, and neuro-scientific research, together with vivid accounts from teachers in a variety of primary and secondary schools internationally, and from their own research on teachers’ work and identities, the authors discuss the dynamic nature, forms, and practices of teacher resilience. They argue that resilience in teachers is not only their ability to bounce back in extremely adverse circumstances but that it is the capacity for everyday resilience which enables them to sustain their commitment and effectiveness in responding positively to the unavoidable uncertainties inherent in their professional lives.

The authors conclude that resilience in teachers can be nurtured by the intellectual, social, and organisational environments in which teachers work and live, rather than being simply a personal attribute or trait, determined by nature. Resilient Teachers, Resilient Schools will be of key interest to policymakers, headteachers, teachers, and training and development organisations who wish to improve quality and standards in schools.