Resilience Strategies for New Teachers in High-Needs Areas

This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol. 26, Issue 3, Author(s): Antonio J. Castro, John Kelly and Minyi Shih, “Resilience Strategies for New Teachers in High-Needs Areas“, Pages 622-629, Copyright Elsevier (April 2010).

This qualitative study explores 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.