Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629

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Teaching and Teacher Education

Resilience strategies for new teachers in high-needs areas

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This qualitative study investigates strategies of resilience exhibited by fifteen novice teachers employed
Received 22 October 2008 in high-needs areas, such as in urban and rural contexts and in special education. Findings indicated
Received in revised form that teachers utilised a variety of strategies, including help-seeking, problem-solving, managing difficult
23 August 2009
relationships, and seeking rejuvenation/renewal. These strategies assisted beginning teachers in building
Accepted 21 September 2009
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
Keywords:
process of overcoming adversity. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.
Resilience
Teacher retention Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Novice teachers
Teacher agency
Teacher attrition

A growing teacher shortage, especially in high-needs urban from increased administrative duties to issues of meeting the diverse
and rural schools and in fields like special education, is becoming special needs of students (Boe, Bobbitt, & Cook, 1997; Boe, Bobbitt,
a pressing concern for many countries (Gorard, See, Smith, & White, Cook, Whitener, & Weber, 1997; Singh & Billingsley, 1996).
2007; Guarino, Santibanez, & Daley, 2006; Ingersoll, 2001; White & As a way of decreasing the exodus of new teachers from the
Smith, 2005). In fact, a U-shaped pattern of attrition exists, in which profession, many scholars advocate reducing school-based stressors
new teachers and older teachers leave the profession at faster rates and incorporating mentoring and induction programmes. Darling-
(Guarino et al., 2006; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004; Ingersoll, Hammond (2003) persuaded school leaders to make an investment
2001). Researchers allude to a plethora of reasons why new teachers in competitive salaries, provide adequate resources, hire qualified
leave the profession, ranging from pursuing another career, seeking teachers, and incorporate a solid mentoring programme. Likewise,
higher pay or better benefits, childbearing, lack of authority at Colgan (2004) urged school administrators to ‘‘listen’’ to teachers,
school, needing more time for self and family, and feeling dissatisfied who reported needing an accessible mentor, collaboration with
with teaching (Ingersoll, 2001; Kersaint, Lewis, Potter, & Meisels, faculty, support with discipline issues, and an encouraging Principal
2007; Zumwalt & Craig, 2005). McCann and Johannessen (2004) (Head of School). McCann, Johannessen, and Ricca (2005) stressed the
discovered that teachers who were likely to leave the profession importance of assigning teachers appropriate teaching assignments,
reported feeling that the workload was unreasonable or unman- offering a comprehensive induction process, facilitating collegial
ageable, that their efforts were futile, that their needs were not being networking and supportive evaluation, and preparing novice teachers
met, or that choosing teaching was a compromise rather than the for the challenges that they might face by discussing common issues
career of choice. In addition, researchers pinpoint the school context, encountered by new teachers.
which may lack resources, professional-development opportunities, These strategies attempt to either alter negative working condi-
parent involvement, and community support systems, as a major tions or to provide additional resources for beginning teachers.
culprit in teacher attrition (Ingersoll, 2001; Johnson, Berg, & However, Williams (2003) observed that ‘‘many teachers are affected
Donaldson, 2005; Loeb, Darling-Hammond, & Luczak, 2005; Scherff, by the same conditions that contribute to their colleagues leaving the
2008; Smethem, 2007). Finally, fields like special education assert profession but chose to stay’’ (p. 74). These teachers exhibit qualities
additional demands and burdens on beginning teachers, ranging of resilience. Broadly defined, resilience refers to the ‘‘ability to
adjust to varied situations and increase one’s competence in the face
of adverse conditions’’ (Bobek, 2002, p. 202). While the teacher
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 973 882 1993. education literature has addressed ways to improve the school
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.J. Castro). context for beginning teachers, few researchers have explored how

0742-051X/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.010
 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629 623

teachers employ resilience strategies in challenging contexts. shift illuminates how resilience occurs as a process of adaptation.
Furthermore, the literature fails to investigate the subtleties of A central component here, productive energy, implies that teachers
teacher resilience in hard-to-staff urban and rural schools and in the exhibit agency in overcoming adversity. By agency, we share Lasky’s
field of special education, specifically for first-year teachers. The (2005) view that agency ‘‘starts with the belief that human beings
purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of fifteen have the ability to influence their lives and environment while they
beginning teachers who taught in high-needs areas and who prac- are also shaped by social and individual factors’’ (p. 900). Hence, the
tised resilience strategies when dealing with the many problems they strategy orientation of Patterson et al. (2004) suggests the impor-
confronted during their first year of teaching. Here, we illuminate the tance of agency on the part of the teacher. Unfortunately, we have
adaptive process these beginning teachers undertook to overcome found no other studies on teacher resilience that explored strategies
adversity and to sustain their commitments to teaching. of resilience and agency. Furthermore, researchers have yet to study
how beginning teachers utilise strategies of resilience and act as
1. Teacher resilience and agency agents to overcome conditions of adversity.
As part of this study, we assert a belief that resilience is a process
Gu and Day (2007) discussed two trends in defining resilience. which occurs throughout the normal lifespan of a person (Richardson
First, resilience as a psychological construct incorporates the study et al.,1990; Staudinger, Marsiske, & Baltes,1995). Our view of resilience
of personal factors, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, motivation, as a process relies on a model of resilience in which individuals
resourcefulness, and health, which are believed to assist individuals employ specific strategies when they experience disruption and
to be resilient in the face of adversity. This approach seeks to identify anxiety as a result of an adverse situation (Henderson & Milstein,1996;
attributes which describe a resilient person. The second approach Richardson et al., 1990). These resilience strategies allow a person to
views resilience as a multidimensional and complex process, ‘‘a overcome the adversity and gain new insights which minimise the
dynamic within a social system of interrelationships’’ (Gu & Day, impact of that adversity for future encounters. Our position on resil-
2007, p. 1305). These relationships include a series of protective ience borrows from both the multidimensional approach described
factors, or buffers, that minimise the impact of an adverse situation by Gu and Day (2007) and the strategy orientation of Patterson
or event (Kumpfer, 1999). Protective factors incorporate not only et al. (2004). This approach to resilience offers several advantages
personal factors, but also external support systems, such as friends for teacher educators, school administrators, and teacher mentors.
and community resources. In addition to protective factors, resil- First, we see teachers as active agents, adopting various strategies to
ience in this second approach is oftentimes viewed as a process by find balance and achievement in the face of adversity, often caused by
which individuals negotiate and overcome challenges in the normal minimal resources and challenging working conditions. Second,
process of living (Richardson, Neiger, Jensen, & Kumpfer, 1990). identifying resilience as a process suggests that all teachers practice
We have found only a handful of studies that explore teacher a variety of resilience strategies. Thus, our focus here centres not on key
resilience, most of which emphasises the role of protective factors, attributes of the teacher or resources in the environment, but on
identifying either personal attributes or environmental conditions strategies teachers employ. These strategies may inform ways in which
of resilient teachers. In a qualitative study of ten inner-city teachers, teacher educators and mentors support novice teachers. Finally, our
Stanford (2001) concluded that resilient teachers derived deep position on resilience enables us to identify strategies of resilience
personal satisfaction in their work and relied on an extensive found in the struggles and accomplishments of beginning teachers, not
network of support involving teacher colleagues, family and friends, just experienced teachers.
and church groups. Likewise, Williams (2003) found that the twelve In this study, we sought to describe resilience strategies
experienced teachers in her study drew strength from their joy of employed by first-year teachers in high-needs areas. We investi-
teaching and also sought to improve themselves through profes- gated the following research questions:
sional development. Brunetti (2006) described the personal quali-
ties of experienced inner-city teachers, acknowledging the ‘‘heart’’ of  What strategies do new teachers employ in response to
these teachers that enabled them to want to teach underprivileged adverse situations?
students and work towards social justice. Finally, based on a study of  What resources do beginning teachers rely on to overcome
300 experienced teachers in England, Gu and Day (2007) identified challenges and obstacles to teaching?
three scenarios that describe how teachers balanced their personal
identities, school situations, and professional values and beliefs These questions delve into an area not pursued in the literature
throughout their teaching career. In the first scenario the resilient on teacher resilience and new teacher retention.
teacher sought balance among these three components; whereas,
in the other two scenarios one or more of these components either 2. Contexts of the study
became dominant or teachers could not manage any of these
areas. Gu and Day (2007) offered three stories that illustrate the Participants for this qualitative, interpretative study included
interconnected role of both personal and environmental factors on fifteen first-year teachers in various high-needs areas who were
the resilience of experienced teachers. interviewed between May and September of 2007. Participants
These recent studies on resilience highlight the importance included five rural teachers, five urban teachers, and five special
of protective factors that help to buffer the effects of adversity; education teachers. The five rural teachers taught in a hard-to-staff
however, more attention must be given to the process of overcoming rural community, consisting of a low-income and culturally diverse
adversity. Patterson, Collins, and Abbott (2004) defined resilience as population. These rural teachers were recruited in April and May
‘‘using energy productively to achieve school goals in the face of adverse through e-mail with the support of local school officials. These teachers
conditions [emphasis in original]’’ (p. 3). In their study of eight were interviewed in May and June. The five urban teachers were
experienced teachers, they identified strengths and strategies that recruited with the support of a large urban school district and were
teachers rely on in the face of adversity, including decision-making, contacted by e-mail in August at the end of their first year of teaching.
seeking professional development, problem-solving, relying on Interviews with urban teachers were conducted in summer after their
friends and colleagues, and being flexible. Here the focus shifts from first year of teaching or early into their second year, between August
attributes and environmental conditions to actual strategies that and September. Finally, the five special education teachers were
experienced teachers employ when confronting challenges. This recruited through their affiliation with a large research university
624 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629

located in the Southwestern portion of the United States. These special grading, meetings, non-instructional activities), curriculum delivery,
education teachers taught in primarily suburban areas. They were parent communication, and classroom management. Special educa-
interviewed in the summer following their first year of teaching. tion teachers expressed feelings of isolation and trouble negotiating
While all the rural teachers participating in the study were relationships with colleagues and parents. Several participants
secondary teachers, nearly all the special education teachers taught described a lack of material resources and support from school
at the elementary, or primary, level. The urban teachers included administrators. Although differences exist in the context across these
three elementary/primary teachers and two secondary teachers. three groups, for the purposes of this paper, we focus on resilience
Furthermore, while all the special education teachers graduated from strategies that apply to all groups and contexts of the participants.
a traditional undergraduate programme, the majority of teachers in These strategies include: help-seeking, problem-solving, managing
both the urban and rural districts were being certified through difficult relationships, and seeking rejuvenation/renewal.
various alternative teacher certification programmes. Because these
two districts faced teacher shortages, alternative certification
routes provided additional recruitment options for these schools. 3.1. Help-seeking
Overall, participants represented a variety of subject areas, such as
science, mathematics, art, Latin, life skills, and bilingual education. The process of asking for help may be difficult for beginning
Our diverse sample reflects our attempt to recruit a cross-section of teachers. Francis, who teaches 9 and 10-year-olds (U.S. fourth
various teachers in high-needs areas for this study, so as to glean grade) in an urban district, summarised the issues involved in help-
insights from the data that would have a broad significance for seeking:
a variety of beginning teachers.
You don’t get a lot of help; well, you have to ask for it.Nobody
The researchers conducted interviews lasting roughly between
is going to stretch out their hand to help me unless I go tell them,
one hour to ninety minutes long with each participant either in the
‘‘Help me.’’ That’s really hard, because as a new teacher, you
participant’s classroom or at a neutral site, such as a coffee shop or
want to appear like you know what you are doing.
local library. During the interviews, we asked participants to describe
at least two different challenges or major concerns they faced during Here, Francis described the tension between appearing compe-
their first year of teaching, the internal and external resources the tent and acquiring necessary support from colleagues and admin-
participant relied upon to cope with these challenges, and the strat- istrators. A culture of isolation (Lortie, 1975) oftentimes surrounds
egies she or he employed to overcome the obstacles encountered. In new teachers as they struggle with their own problems and
many cases, the participants discussed several issues. As researchers, issues within the confines of their classrooms. For this reason, help-
we focused primarily on the patterns of strategies employed by the seeking, or the act of seeking assistance from others, becomes a way
teachers given the context in which they encountered the adversity. of self-preservation, of establishing one’s own resilience. Help-
Using a semi-structured interview protocol offered the best way for seeking requires the novice teacher to work with others in order to
us to probe deeply into the participant’s perspectives and concerns attain needed information and resources. For the participants in this
of their first year of teaching (Creswell, 2002; Merriam, 1998). After study, help-seeking strategies involved seeking ‘‘adopted’’ mentors,
participants elaborated on two or three specific issues, we soon advocating for resources, and acquiring allies to resolve problems.
realised that participants tended to rely on a consistent set of strat- Despite the best intentions of mentoring programmes, relation-
egies when facing issues and after three rounds of retracing the ships with a mentor can fail to provide meaningful support for the
adversity they faced, participants repeated their strategies described beginning teacher. For example, Emily, a special education teacher,
earlier in the interview. We felt that our data collection provided described how her mentor had little experience with special
sufficient data to conduct our analysis. education and provided only ‘‘positive words even if she didn’t
The interviews were transcribed and coded using a constant- quite know about the problems.’’ In some cases, participants felt
comparative method. First, we initially coded transcripts into the their mentors offered little help or were neglectful. Betsy, an urban
categories of adversity or problem faced, resources relied on by teacher of 7 and 8-year-olds (U.S. 2nd grade), stated seeing her
participant, specific strategy employed by participant, and the mentor only once, ‘‘when she came she told me everything like in
outcome of the strategy employed. Then, we combed through the ten minutes.’’ Likewise, Rayne, a special education teacher, reported
data again, seeking to identify instances of agency and adaptation, that her mentor offered negative advice and even attacked her for
indicators of resilience process undergone by participants. Third, not giving special attention to her teacher friend who requested
using a constant-comparative method, we attempted to identify a special education student be removed from a classroom.
themes occurring within each group of teachers (urban, rural, special Participants with difficult mentoring relationships sought out
education) and began comparing themes across groups to see trends their own ‘‘adopted’’ mentors. For example, Stacy, a rural high school
occurring in the data (Creswell, 2002; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). To Spanish teacher, explained that when her mentor was just too busy
assist in this process, we created a grid to help organise and compare to assist her with an irate parent, she ‘‘walked from classroom to
findings across the transcripts (Miles & Huberman, 1994). As multiple classroom and talked to the other teachers’’ to seek advice. Stacy
researchers, we each coded the data independently using the above elaborated on her approach to seeking mentors,
process. Afterwards, we met as a team to reach consensus about the
I had other teachers who would give me advice, and I would just
nature of our findings. Themes arising out of our analysis of the data
kind of latch onto them with things. So I actually kind of have
juxtaposed with and enhanced our theoretical understanding of
some adopted mentors. I didn’t realise that they were my
resilience as a process that involves not only the use of internal and
mentors, but they became them.
external resources, or buffers, but also various strategies (Kumpfer,
1999; Richardson et al., 1990). Other participants also searched for ‘‘adopted’’ mentors. Betsy
connected with her team leader and requested that the school
3. Findings administrator switch her mentor. In some cases, beginning teachers
found mentorship outside the school campus. Elizabeth, an urban
Participants in this study dealt with a variety of issues during their high school English teacher, approached her mother, an experi-
first year of teaching. In particular, urban and rural teachers reported enced primary/elementary school teacher, for guidance. Emily and
problems with the intensive bureaucratic demands (paperwork, Raynie turned to other professionals, such as a behavioral specialist,
 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629 625

school district coordinator, or other special education teachers, Finally, participants also acquired allies to help solve various
some working in different schools within the school district. Each of problems. Raynie, a special education teacher, discussed the role of
these teachers initiated their own search for mentorship. seeking help from the right people, ‘‘I0 m not going to the reading
Advocating for resources represented another important form of mastery teacher to figure out what to do with a kid who’s having
help-seeking among beginning teachers. Teachers reported finding issues with behavior; I0 m going to the specialists.’’ Several partici-
ways to acquire needed resources. For example, Kendra, a middle pants turned to others for assistance in solving issues with classroom
school special education mathematics teacher, related how her management. Heather, a rural middle-school teacher, went to the
greatest challenge was finding math materials for her special educa- athletic coach. Because many of her students were on athletic teams,
tion students. She consistently met with general education mathe- she said to the coach, ‘‘Look, here’s what I’ve done in my classroom,
matics teachers to request copies of their curriculum materials. Steven, it’s not working. Please make them [disruptive students] run, make
an urban middle-school teacher, and Kimberly, a special education them do something.’’ Others, acquired help in other areas. Laura,
teacher, best illustrated the process of advocating for resources. a rural Latin teacher, met with a curriculum specialist who taught
A second-career teacher and retired military sergeant, Steven Russian languages for teaching ideas. Elizabeth, an urban English
worked as a science teacher in an alternative middle school for teacher, turned to her team leader to intervene when an irate parent
students who exhibited extremely disruptive behaviors and had to constantly harassed her. These teachers utilised colleagues and
be removed from their regular school setting. Although his enroll- administrators as resources for overcoming obstacles.
ment began with four to five students, by December the class size Help-seeking as a resilience strategy requires beginning teachers
reached 45 students. Despite the class size, Steven stated that ‘‘there to take the initiative to find support when there is a lack of resources.
wasn’t one approved.science textbook in the seventh or eighth Although some may argue that teachers should not have to advocate
grade in that school.’’ According to him, the school district held to for time, resources, or even support for the daily tasks of teaching,
a strict ‘‘one book, one child’’ policy, whereby the schools were these teachers recognised that the resources and support would not
issued only one book for each child. The home schools that sent automatically come to them. Though well-meaning, colleagues and
these students to the alternative centre refused to send the books administrators get lost in the frenzied demands of the workplace,
with them, leaving Steven in a bind. Rather than sit back and suffer, forgetting to offer help and assistance or assuming that the novice
Steven initiated his own advocacy programme. ‘‘For me, it’s standing teacher already knows the information needed to teach in that
up for myself. I’ve got to stand up and fight for myself.You have to context. Francis’s conversation with her mentor illustrated this
fight for your resources,’’ he said. Steven reflected on his strategy, point. She asked her mentor teacher, ‘‘Could you please not assume
that I know what you are talking about [school procedures]?’’ Her
You’ve got certain strengths and tools that you can use, limited
mentor teacher replied, ‘‘I0 m going to assume you know if you don’t
compared to others, but you make a nuisance of yourself. I went
ask me.’’ Thus, the burden for success falls on the shoulders of the
right to itdstarted with the Vice Principal, didn’t get any effect,
beginning teacher; help-seeking, in the form of seeking ‘‘adopted’’
went to the Principal, didn’t get any effect. Got people saying,
mentors, advocating for resources, and acquiring allies to resolve
‘‘yeah, we’ll do this.’’ [I] went higher up, and the next thing you
problems, begins with the novice teacher taking agency.
know they are finding the money to do things.If you need to
accomplish something, do it. Tell them you’re going to do it. Go
3.2. Problem-solving
up the chain of command; you let them know that you’re going
to talk to someone else about it.
The act of teaching involves constant problem-solving. What am I
Steven’s strategy of advocating for resources demonstrates the going to teach? How am I going to reach this student or that student?
importance of tenacity. He persistently communicated his needs How do I approach this irate parent? Indeed, all the resilience strat-
until he spoke directly to the Assistant Superintendent. He admitted egies described in this article in some form address a problem
that advocating for oneself and one’s resources is ‘‘not something situation. For the purposes of this paper, problem-solving refers to the
that normally a first-year teacher would know’’ and may have come specific process participants utilised to resolve problems or dilemmas
with his age and experience. ‘‘It’s very, very hard for a young person in the classroom. Unlike help-seeking which relies exclusively on
to be that assertive though.if they haven’t had experience.’’ Despite gaining the support of others in order to acquire resources and
Steven’s claim, beginning teachers may advocate for resources in information, problem-solving techniques do not necessarily require
sometimes simple ways, such as asking a Principal or Head of School assistance from others and may be geared towards broader concerns
for assistance. in the classroom. Teachers in this study approached problem-solving
Kimberly, a special education teacherdnearly half the age of in three different ways: trial and error, consulting others, and
Stevendproved that she too could advocate for resources. Kimberly researching alternatives.
taught in an early intervention special education programme for The trial and error approach represented the most common
children, ages 3–5 years-old. Several of these children were diag- strategy employed by new teachers. Trial and error methods
nosed with self-injurious behaviors towards themselves and others. usually consisted of teachers attempting to figure things out on
Yet, at the beginning of the year, she only had one teacher’s aid. She their own. Emily, a special education teacher, illustrated a typical
described the situation, ‘‘One of my children would be out with my problem-solving approach:
assistant and I would be alone with three or two of them [with]
[A co-teacher] sat down with me and gave me some ideas on just
intense self-injury behaviors, and one was set off by the other ones.
how to execute some of the behaviour things.that I had not seen
They will attack each other.’’ She realised that ‘‘advocating for myself
in my student teaching that were helpful.I mean they were just
to get someone else in there for the safety of myself and the
ideas and I kind of tried them and if it didn’t seem to work, I just
students’’ was her responsibility. Like Steven, Kimberly approached
kind of improvised. It seemed like the whole year was a kind of
the school administration. She first collected data on the frequency
learning process, like let me try this way.I was just constantly
of these outbursts. Then, after researching the legal issues associated
[changing], I would try and see what worked and what didn’t.
with special education, she presented her findings and the legal
issues to her school level administration, where she received Although Emily began with support from a co-teacher, she
support. By the middle of the year, she had acquired two additional explored a variety of options in her classroom. As Lynn, another
teacher aids to assist her at various times during the day. special education teacher, described, ‘‘it’s just being able to look
626 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629

through the problems and think how I would.on my own [solve approach to problem-solving requires teachers to explore and utilise
them].’’ Lynn admitted she was ‘‘stubborn’’ and ‘‘strong-willed.’’ a variety of resources both inside and outside the school context.
Trial and error methods, though useful as an initial strategy, Teachers who develop advanced problem-solving strategies
often led to other problems. For example, when Heather, a rural identify resources in the school and community in order to solve
middle-school teacher, implemented different behavior plans in problems. In addition, advanced problem-solving can assist teachers
her classroom, she reported that her students became confused to develop new resources. For example, Nancy explained how she
and frustrated by the constant changes. Furthermore, trial and error overcame not having enough teaching materials for her class of 5 and
methods reinforce the notion that the teacher can figure it out on 6 year-olds at a primary urban school by using the Internet, ‘‘I type in
her or his own, cutting off possibilities for collaboration and a skill or content area that I want to research.Like in math[ematics],
garnering additional resources. say, there’s a skill in math[s] I need to teach, regrouping numbers.
The second problem-solving approach, consulting others, mirrors You click on regrouping and they [websites] give you a list of liter-
many of the concepts of help-seeking strategies above. As Michael, ature you can use.Resources, you know.’’ Although most teachers
a rural high school mathematics teacher, summarised, consulting utilise a trial and error method, learning more advanced problem-
others involves ‘‘asking questions, asking supervisors, asking ques- solving techniques, such as researching alternatives, may prove most
tions.’’ Unlike trial and error methods, consulting others creates useful for novice teachers.
opportunities for beginning teachers to learn from the expertise of
other individuals. Furthermore, many teachers not only consulted 3.3. Managing difficult relationships
experts, but also other beginning teachers. Kimberly, a special
education teacher, described her interaction with a group of first- Several participants reported concerns managing difficult rela-
year teacher friends, ‘‘[we] would just talk about the situation we tionships with adults inside and outside their schools. While rural
were in and, you know, bounce a lot of ideas [off each other].It is and urban teachers related issues with mostly irate parents, special
nice to have.other people in.in your field to be able to talk about education teachers also encountered difficulty with co-teachers,
things with.’’ Consulting others offers opportunities to develop new teacher assistants, and school administrators. Unlike most regular
strategies, to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various education teachers, special education teachers must collaborate with
teaching techniques, and to learn from the experiences of others. an array of other professionals, increasing opportunities for conflict
The final problem-solving strategy, researching alternatives, to arise in their day-to-day lives. This context, coupled with being
involves a specific problem-solving process. Two teachers provide an a novice teacher, often prompted participants to seek strategies to
illustration of this approach. First, Laura, a Latin teacher, explained manage conflicts in their relationships with co-workers. Kimberly,
her problem-solving process in dealing with classroom manage- a special education teacher, explained, ‘‘That is so hard, you know,
ment issues: ‘‘So I thought, let’s look at the kids, what are the a lot of the times, they [the teacher assistant] have children close
problems exactly I0 m having.’’ Here Laura wrote down the specific to my age.’’ Being younger than many of their colleagues, special
behavior issues exhibited by her students. She then consulted the education teachers expressed concerns with being taken seriously
students’ former teachers. ‘‘I talked to a lot of other teachers that had or fending for themselves. Although significant differences exist in
them [students] before and I asked what are the strategies that managing relationships with colleagues and with parents, we iden-
worked with this kid? What can I do to get them to focus on this?’’ tified strategies used by beginning teachers that apply to both situ-
After acquiring alternative approaches for these students, Laura ations. These strategies include seeking buffers and allies, avoiding
finally developed ways to incorporate these strategies in her class- encounters with difficult others, and collecting documentation.
room: ‘‘I would sit down [with] my seating chart, make notes, move Seeking buffers and allies for antagonising relationships repre-
the kids around so they wouldn’t talk to each other, and just keep sented the most used strategy for dealing with difficult adults. For
going at it.’’ Here, Laura went through a series of methodological example, Elizabeth, an urban high school English teacher, recalled
steps to reach a workable solution to the problem she encountered. her experiences with a difficult parent of a special needs student.
Likewise, Kendra, a special education, middle school mathe-
The parent was unbelievably overbearing, very confrontational,
matics teacher, undertook a specific process, one that required her
inappropriate, just neurotic.This woman was e-mailing me six or
to utilise various resources. Because Kendra did not have mathe-
seven times a day as a teacher and it was just disturbing. I literally
matics textbooks for her special education students who were
had an anxiety attack about this woman, and it affected every
below grade level, she wanted to develop and tailor a mathematics
round of my existence at that time, emotionally being a teacher.
curriculum for her students.
Elizabeth turned to co-teachers, administrators, and special
So some of what I did was just going to other teachers seeing what
education support staff for help. Elizabeth described how colleagues
does it [mathematics instruction] look like on grade level, what’s
‘‘told me who the right people to go to [were], to kind of buffer
difficult typically for kids on grade level? So knowing what the
between this woman and myself.’’ Finding a buffer involves recruit-
norms were for each grade level was really difficult. Also the
ing another professional to help minimise the impact of a negative
district has an online curriculum. So going to their curriculum,
relationship. Elizabeth felt finding a buffer was part of her ‘‘steps to
seeing what [mathematics] problems look like. Also, I spent a lot
protect myself.’’ Likewise, Stacy, a rural teacher, illustrated the
of time going to the [state education board] website, pulling their
importance of recruiting buffers when meeting with irate parents. ‘‘In
[standardised] tests, pulling the previous released tests, copying
one case, I had a counsellor be there as a buffer. Now, I always have an
problems, making problems that look like that. So, it was lots of
administrator besides myself at any of these meetings.’’ Here the
time pulling up those websites, finding things online.
buffer helped to establish support for the teacher and decrease the
Kendra used a variety of resources in order to develop her possibility of continued conflict.
curriculum. She asked teachers, researched the state standards, and These buffers also serve as allies for the beginning teacher. For
analysed standardized test questions. With this information, she example, Raynie described how the antagonism of her team leader
determined what mathematics instruction should look like at that led her to seek support from other teachers: ‘‘I was actually really
specific grade level and used this to assess how her students were good friends with two other people on my team, and I would talk to
performing in relation to others. She designed her curriculum to help them, like ‘How do I handle this situation? What would you do?’’’
her students improve their mathematics skills. This methodological These co-teachers attempted to serve as buffers for her during
 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629 627

meetings and other encounters. In addition to recruiting friends as helped me go back to the facts, you know, because emotions can
allies and buffers, Lynn, a special education teacher, demonstrated soar out of control and my initial reaction [was] just like, just
the importance of creating alliances with certain administrators. want[ing] to cry.Instead, I could just be very calm and say,
Lynn employed a ‘‘kill-them-with-kindness’’ strategy to win over ‘‘Here is the data to prove this and this is what we are doing. This
her Assistant Principal. ‘‘I was very sweet to her, and I0 d say kind is why, and this is according to the law. I0 m sorry you are feeling
of like overly sweet things, which I think really helped in the long like this, but this is something we will have to work through.’’
run.’’ Recruiting buffers and allies represents an opportunity for [Documentation] helped me just take a step back and cool off.
beginning teachers to garner additional resources and expertise in
Collecting and using documentation in the way that Kimberly
managing difficult relationships with others, whether they are
described here requires additional work and effort. However, like
parents or co-workers.
researching alternatives as a problem-solving method, documen-
Avoidance emerged as another strategy for managing difficult
tation appears to offer additional resources, such as a means to
adult relationships. Aside from simply avoiding interaction with the
establish credibility and legitimacy and a way to distance oneself
difficult person, teachers also used two avoidance techniques. First,
emotionally from a negative encounter.
teachers often referred the adversarial person to a buffer. When
Difficult relationships with parents and colleagues can produce
a co-teacher confronted Raynie about her unwillingness to remove
tremendous amounts of stress for the beginning teacher. Seeking
a special education student from the regular classroom, she referred
buffers and allies, avoiding the negative person, and collecting
this teacher to the head of the school special education department,
documentation offer some ways to cope and overcome the chal-
who had previously agreed to support her when dealing with this
lenges presented by others at the workplace.
teacher. In a similar fashion, Elizabeth forwarded e-mails and calls of
the neurotic parent to the special education department or school
administrators, not even answering or responding to these disrup- 3.4. Seeking rejuvenation and renewal
tive communication attempts. Second, some teachers maneuvered
around the difficult person especially if the person was an admin- Many participants described the work involved in teaching as
istrator or a person of power. Lynn had trouble gaining support from overwhelming. For example, Lynn spoke about how non-instructional
her Vice Principal for curriculum materials. She learned who in the tasks can steal time away from planning lessons. ‘‘At the end of the
chain of command would be able to support her. Then she ‘‘bypassed day, when you’re trying to lesson plan.I have to go and talk to this
my Vice Principal and I went to the person that I needed to talk to person or I have to fill out this paperwork.’’ These minor tasks intensify
and I got it [the curriculum materials] right away.’’ The ability to side- the workload of the teacher. In addition to work duties, teaching also
step a difficult person requires the beginning teacher to discover imposes emotional strains on the teacher. Arthur, a rural high school
alternative pathways and resources for acquiring needed resources art teacher, elaborated on the emotional side of teaching:
or support. Avoidance of difficult individuals may provide beginning
[Teaching] is physically and emotionally draining. I’ve got a bunch
teachers with some relief from potential conflict and adversity;
of kids here that are falling on some hard times. I had a student
however, avoidance rarely offers beginning teachers new insight,
that got arrested the other day for drug possession.Their
skills, or abilities to alter the impact of these negative relationships.
failures are your failures, at least that is the way I feel. So, I really
Only a few teachers collected documentation as a strategy for
had to work hard to separate this life from my home life. I really
managing difficult relationships. Unlike seeking buffers or avoiding
had a hard time dealing with some of their personal problems.
encounters with difficult others, these beginning teachers used
documentation to decrease the impact and improve the outcome However, despite such constraints, teachers consistently
of meeting with an antagonistic person. Stacy, a rural teacher, employed strategies to rejuvenate and renew. Finding rejuvenation
described the importance of collecting and using documentation as and renewal became a central part of these teachers’ ability to sustain
‘‘building a good case, like a lawyer. You’re in the public eye, you themselves throughout their first year of teaching. Rejuvenation and
have everything on paper for people to see, and then meeting face renewal strategies included finding balance between work and home
to face with the parent, I think it helps.’’ Here, referring to docu- life, caring for one’s personal, physical, and emotional well-being
mentation during a meeting or an encounter can actually serve as a outside of the classroom, and obtaining satisfaction while teaching.
buffer for the beginning teacher. Kimberly offers an example of the Participants struggled to achieve balance between work and
use of documentation. As a special education teacher, she manages home life. The process of ‘‘drawing the line’’ allowed teachers to
conflict with parents and colleagues over levels of service provided create a space for rejuvenation and renewal outside of the
for special education students. Therefore, Kimberly carries a note- schoolhouse. Raynie’s strategy consisted of setting boundaries for
book with her and takes work and home.
I tried to get all my work done at work. When I came home, that
notes every time I talk to a parent.taking notes when I talk to
was home time with my family, and then I0 d go out with my friends
any certain general education teachers so that if something ever
and not worry that I didn’t get work done.I don’t talk about work
arises, I could be like, ‘‘On this day and time, we’ve talked about
with my friends or my family. I talk about work to colleagues.
this.’’ So just kind of making sure that I have backup, you know,
to make sure [of] that, because we also have some problems Many participants took a similar stance of leaving work for the
with other professionals. workplace. However, Francis, a second-career urban primary school
teacher, also expanded on the importance of knowing when to
Having documentation provided Kimberly a way to transform the
leave the workplace. Her mentor advised her, ‘‘You can only do so
nature of her encounters with upset teachers or parents. She described
much, and then you need to go home.’’ Francis adopted a philos-
her method for using documentation to prepare for a meeting with an
ophy of self-preservation. ‘‘I0 m not 22-years-old, so I do have more
antagonistic general education teacher who questioned her policies
of a self-preservation [approach] than may be a much younger
regarding her intervention for a special education student:
person.I was able to say, ‘That’s it. I’ve done the best that I can and
I started to make a list, you know. This is what we were doing, I need to stop.’’’ Establishing balance between work and personal
and you told me to do this. And this is why we were doing it, and life fosters the ability of beginning teachers to practice self-pres-
here is what the law says about it.[Having documentation] ervation or self-care.
628 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629

Participants developed ways to care for their personal, physical, finding satisfaction in teaching all help to create the space for a novice
and emotional well-being outside of the school context. Elizabeth teacher to reaffirm their commitments to teaching and re-energise
related how she came to understand the importance of self-care. their will to succeed, to be resilient in the face of adversity.
‘‘The kids are only as good as you are,’’ she said. ‘‘If you are not
a 100% for them, they are not going to be 100% for you.’’ She learned 4. Discussion
to take time to do ‘‘something fun.’’ For example, Elizabeth took
horse-riding lessons, visited museums, and joined colleagues at The notion that resilience can be understood as occurring within
a local bar for drinks. Kimberly also explored the activities for ‘‘social systems of interrelationships’’ (Gu & Day, 2007, p. 1305)
renewal outside of the school context: ‘‘I hung out with my friends becomes reinforced by the data in this study. The types of adversity
and with my boyfriend. I read books that have nothing to do with experienced by participants ranged from managing relationships
education, [and], you know, just having T.V. shows to watch.’’ Other with others to confronting challenges in the organisation of the
participants, like Nancy, an urban primary school teacher, worked schools. These kinds of adversity remain consistent with research
out at the gym and interacted with her own children. Significantly, findings that suggest that the school conditions (e.g., levels of
these teachers made conscious efforts to carve out space for their administrative support, paperwork, student communities, lack of
physical and mental health. resources, etc.) are the culprits in many schools for teacher attrition
In addition to social and health activities, participants also spent (Ingersoll, 2001; Loeb et al., 2005; Scherff, 2008). Taking a strategy
time with teacher friends. These social gatherings not only provided orientation to our investigation of teacher resilience, we focus more
outlets for renewal and rejuvenation, but created a space for teachers on the ways in which beginning teachers adapt and implement
to share their experiences with others. Lynn, Raynie, and Kimberly, resilience strategies despite their school contexts. The research
having all graduated from the same undergraduate university, literature surrounding teacher retention centres mostly on the school
met with three other new teachers on a weekly basis for potluck context. While understanding these components are essential to
dinner. Although the group originally formed to coincide with improving the experience of beginning teachers especially in high-
a popular American television show appearing on Thursday evenings, needs areas, they often require substantial financial resources, policy
these women also received support and a release from the stress of changes, and long-term efforts, all of which are beyond the scope of
teaching. According to Lynne, ‘‘we would like [have] girl’s night once most teacher educators, school administrators, and teacher mentors.
a week and kind of vent and problem-solve together. That was my We believe that resilience strategies provide avenues for beginning
major support.’’ In addition to problem-solving, Kimberly described teachers to cope and sustain themselves given the current realities of
the weekly group as forcing her to make time to be with friends. their teaching context.
Other participants reported similar experiences of creating We have gleamed two important insights from this study about
support groups with other teachers. For example, Heather, a middle the process of teacher resilience. First, we acknowledge the funda-
school rural teacher, had been taking certification courses with mental role that the political and social organisation of the school
a cohort of teachers in her alternative certification programme. She plays in the experience of beginning teachers. Learning to teach can
discovered that she and her classmates bonded around social and be viewed as a process of socialisation, in which beginning teachers
educational issues. They compared situations and told stories about adopt the norms of the school context (Zeichner & Gore, 1990).
teaching. Emily, another special education teacher, also connected However, refusing to take a deterministic view of socialisation
with two new teachers in her school district, going out to eat on whereby the institutional forces overpower individual autonomy,
occasion throughout the year. Through these social groups, begin- Zeichner and Gore (1990) called for work that also explores the
ning teachers created not only opportunities for renewal and impact the novice teacher has on the school context. Kuzmic (1994)
rejuvenation, but important support systems. urged teacher educators to teach pre-service teachers organisational
Finally, beginning teachers obtained a sense of satisfaction while literacy, or how schools function as workplaces, so as to better
teaching. Most participants told stories of connecting with kids on prepare them to face and adapt to this socialisation process.
a personal level. Stacy, an urban primary school teacher, reflected Likewise, Kelchtermans and Ballet (2002) encouraged teaching pre-
that ‘‘despite all the surprises [of teaching students] I really like service teachers micro-political literacy, or the ability of the novice
kids, and I like the teaching.This year has been about getting to teacher to uncover the social-professional interests involved in their
the relationship part.’’ Heather agreed, stating ‘‘I just really saw interactions with colleagues and administrators and to know how to
a different side of myself as far as being.proud of my students. It’s respond appropriately to be successful within that context. Our work
just weird how you learn to love these kids.’’ Moments when the on resilience strategies can be seen as an extension of this research in
beginning teacher seemed to reach a troubled student, such as when that, like Kuzmic and Kelchtermans and Ballet, we offer strategies by
Arthur shared his love of music to bond with a formerly disruptive which the beginning teacher can navigate and overcome pressures
student, captured feelings of satisfaction and purpose felt by these from the social context. Our view of resilience affirms the agency of
participants. In addition to connecting with kids, beginning teachers teachers to transform negative aspects in their environment.
reveled in feeling a sense of accomplishment while teaching. Betsey Participants in this study demonstrated a variety of ways in which
claimed, ‘‘When I was with students teaching, I was feeling really they strove to change the conditions of their teaching for the better.
good at that time; when I was seeing that they were learning.’’ Second, we note that resilience strategies, such as advocating for
Likewise, Steven likened his teaching experience as a mission. resources, seeking allies and buffers, and forming teacher peer
‘‘Aren’t those successes that you achieve taking care of yourself? Can groups, create new resources where none previously existed, but also
you not recognise your own successes as value to you? I0 m taking expend energy from beginning teachers. Patterson et al. (2004)
care of myself by completing my missions.’’ Steven’s mission described resilience as ‘‘using energy productively to achieve school
included helping students be successful despite the difficulties that goals in the face of adverse conditions [emphasis in the original]’’ (p. 3).
led them to be placed in the alternative school. Participants in this study dedicated energy and time to bring about
Seeking rejuvenation and renewal represents perhaps the most the conditions necessary for them to teach. For example, Steven’s
important resilience strategy. Beginning teachers must constantly ability to demand that school textbooks be provided and Kimberly’s
refuel themselves by drawing on their own personal strengths and requests for more teacher aids in her special education classroom
resources. Drawing lines between work and personal life, participating represent examples of persistence, effort, and productive energy. In
in activities that foster personal, emotional, and physical renewal, and this study, we see the resilient teacher as a resource-builder, not
 A.J. Castro et al. / Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (2010) 622–629 629

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