Building Resilience in Teachers: Challenges and Support Systems

This essay delves into the concept of teacher resilience, defining it as the ability to adapt and thrive amidst challenges. It identifies various obstacles faced by teachers, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, including environmental factors, lack of support, and student-related issues. The essay analyzes how resilience can be developed through support systems, positive thinking, and effective communication, highlighting the significance of the Brite module in fostering resilience. It further examines the four dimensions of resilience – social, motivational, professional, and emotional – providing strategies for building resilience, such as building support networks, cultivating an optimistic mindset, and embracing adaptability. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of resilience for pre-service teachers and summarizing key methods for its development.

Essay
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Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................6
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INTRODUCTION
Resilience is a procedure of well adapting the situations of trauma, tragedy, threats or
sources of stress. These sources can be relationship problems, health issues or workplace
challenges (American Psychological Association, 2014). In my understanding, resilience is an
ability of an individual to face traumatic conditions but despite of complaining about the
situations, stay strong and turn traumatic conditions in favourable situations. In this essay,
various challenges will be identified and analysed which teachers face in today’s world. Along
with this, an evaluation will be done in this essay regarding how Resilience can be developed in
teachers through support systems and relationships.
Resilience is not only associated with personal attribute. When the concept of Resilience is
analysed, it is often mis-understandably argued that it is a personality trait which is not true as
Resilience can be developed by a teacher through various sources of positive thinking, effective
communication etc.
There are various challenges which are faced by early career teachers. These challenges are
related to environmental factors; such challenges are not getting help from mentors or
colleagues, focusing too much on job operations and neglecting social exercises, negative
feedback from students and no support of partners. The Brite module helps teachers in building
resilience as it intends to work over relationships, wellbeing, taking initiative and emotions. The
Brite module has the expert opinions on how to build resilience due to which it helps in building
resilience.
MAIN BODY
There are various challenges which teachers face in today’s world and these challenges are
even crucial for teachers with early career stage. These challenges which are faced by teachers
are analysed as follows. The major influential challenge which teachers face is protecting factors.
According to this factor, teachers face pressure of their family due to which it becomes difficult
for them to concentrate on their job operations. Another challenge faced by teachers is in regard
with environmental factors. These factors create difficultly for teachers to cope up with changing
scenario of teachers. Focus of students is also a difficulty which is faced by early career teachers.
Under this challenge, it becomes difficult to teach students due to their lack of focus as students
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are more interested in engaging in fun activities rather than focusing over curriculum (Be You,
2019).
Apart from above essential challenge, there are few secondary challenges as well which are
faced by teachers. One of these challenges is the inability to adjust according to the environment
and culture of school due to which no social relationships are developed at school. Another
challenge faced by early teachers is the inability to stabilise work life balance. Due to stressful
situations in workplace, teacher’s personal relationships are impacted and due to stressful
situations with friends and family, the performance at workplace is adversely impacted. Another
challenge which is faced by teachers is the low communication with partners and colleagues due
to which, a stressful environment is created.
All the challenges which are analysed above can be resolved using resilience. The concept
of resilience provides ability to the teachers cope up with the changes and challenges and bounce
back during difficult times. Every challenge analyse above can be resolved from the attributes of
resilience but it is also important to effective develop resilience in teachers. For the challenges of
protecting and environment factors relationships at workplace and at family can be built so that
they can act as an escape of communication at difficult time. Along with building relationships,
pre school teachers can also adopt “well being” attribute of resilience. This attribute can help pre
school teachers to adjust in any environment and handle the stressful situations. This aspect is
most important for teachers as it also helps them to stabilise their psychological abilities (Be
You, 2019).
Third aspect of resilience which can be used by teachers is support system. This attribute
can help in the challenges of no social relationships, stabilise work life balance and Focus of
students. By building a support system, teachers communicate with each other which create a
social relationship with them and will also stabilise their work life balance. By having a support
system, teachers can also help each other in exchanging ideas about how to retain focus of
students combing academics and fun activities (ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment
and Reporting Authority, 2015).
After analysing the challenges faced by teachers and the attributes of resilience which can
help in overcome with those challenges, now, it is important to analyse the procedure and ways
by which resilience can be built in teachers. The process of building resilience involves four
dimensions which are social, motivational, professional and emotional dimension. Under social
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dimension, teachers are required to build support networks and relationships so that they can
seek help from them and ask them to provide an advice. Under second dimension, resilience is
developed not by the teacher but by the environment around teachers. It is important to motivate
teachers and develop a sense in them of being confident so that their focus can be improved.
Third dimension is professional under which resilience is developed by organising each
activity individually and be flexible around colleagues so that they can help in solving problems.
Last dimension is emotional, under this dimension, resilience can be developed by teachers
themselves and no external factors can help in this dimension. Teachers must build ability in
them of being optimistic and must be ready to face challenges. Under this, teachers should
control their emotions and should care about their own well being so that they can cope up from
stress (Be You, 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it has been concluded that resilience is a continuous process which is
flexible enough to be changed with changing external environment. Building resilience is most
important for pre service teachers as they are at high risk of being stressed and these teachers
face ample challenges. Various ways are analysed by which resilience can built and these ways
are summarised as build social networks, developing optimistic nature, consider adaptability and
flexibility and lastly be motivated and confident.
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REFRENCES
ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority). (2015). Personal and
social capability: Organising elements. Retrieved from
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/personal-
and-social-capability/
American Psychological Association. (2014). The road to resilience. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx
Be You. (2019). Educator wellbeing (an Early Years focus). Retrieved from
https://beyou.edu.au/resources/news/educator-wellbeing
Be You. (2019). Learning Resilience Affirm. Retrieved from https://beyou.edu.au/learn/learning-
resilience/affirm
Be You. (2019). Seven ways to build professional resilience (Primary and Secondary). Retrieved
from https://beyou.edu.au/resources/news/seven-ways-to-build-professional-resilience
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