Veteran Teacher Resilience

This book explores why veteran teachers choose to remain in the classroom, making teaching their life’s career.  The authors felt compelled to interview veteran teachers to learn about their experiences, how they make meaning of their classrooms and schools, and in particular what can be known about the adversities they face and their resilience. Factors (individual and contextual) are uncovered that influence veteran teacher’s resiliency and adaptation from veteran teachers’ perspectives and the literature. Induction programs, professional development, and mentoring are also examined for their importance to the interviews and education.

• Focuses on veteran teacher resilience and why veteran teachers choose to remain in the classroom and teaching profession
• Uses an interview method involving veteran teachers that illuminates issues of resiliency and retention from their perspective
• Highlights 15 narrative accounts of veteran teachers tailored to their perceptions, experiences, and strategies for navigating barriers and overcoming challenge
• Combines conceptual frameworks, research results, interventions, and strategies
• Connects implications of the study and suggestions for future research to practice and policy

This book is for researchers interested in teacher resilience, particularly veteran teacher resilience and the study and development of it, as well as practitioners  drawn to the same topic, with applicability to their fields. Anyone interested in resilience, particularly within demanding professional contexts and stressful situations, should find value.

"The focus on teacher resilience is original and it is an important aspect of why teachers might choose to stay in the profession.  Teacher resilience is understudied and should provide useful knowledge to policymakers and education leaders on how to improve working conditions and increase efficacy. So much ink is spilled extolling why teachers exit the profession--there is a dearth of research on why they stay, which in my opinion is even more important than why they leave. This book makes an important contribution to the literature and will hopefully inform policy making and inspire others to conduct research on the subject."   

Christopher H. Tienken, Associate Professor, Dept. of Education Leadership Management and Policy, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA

"The topic is original. It seems there is much literature on new teachers and why they leave, but little on veteran teachers and why they stay. The topic and the reporting of the findings with suggestions for practices to be implemented in university programs as well as in K-12 schools is very useful. The format this book follows is actually a strong one for other researchers and students in doctoral programs."

Sandra Harris, Professor Emerita, Educational Leadership, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA  

Lee Brantley Shields, EdD, is an administrator at Rustburg High School in Virginia, USA. He was a physical education teacher at two high schools before moving into administration and serving as a school leader. His passion for developing teacher resilience has grown from his experiences in teaching and coaching. His doctorate is from Virginia Tech. ^</p></p></p></p></p></p>

Carol A. Mullen, PhD, is Professor of Educational Leadership at Virginia Tech, USA. A twice-awarded Fulbright Scholar, she was honored with the Jay D. Scribner Mentoring Award from the University Council for Educational Administration and Excellence Award from her alma mater. She is author of Revealing Creativity (2020) and Canadian Indigenous Literature and Art (2020), and editor of Creativity Under Duress in Education? (2019) and Handbook of Social Justice Interventions in Education (forthcoming).  Her doctorate is from the University of Toronto. </p></p></p></p>