Title: Developing pre-service maths teachers' resilience using the growth zone model

Authors: Holly Heshmati; Sue Johnston-Wilder; Madeleine Findon

Addresses: Centre for Education Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK ' Centre for Education Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK ' Centre for Education Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK

Abstract: This paper reports on action research aimed at developing teacher resilience. Relationships between teacher resilience and teacher retention have been well established; however, less is known about effective strategies for building resilience. Teacher resilience is known to be the outcome of dynamic interactions between everyday challenges and protective resources in a process involving teachers employing practical strategies through harnessing their personal and contextual resources. This research focused on using an intervention program to develop five aspects of resilience amongst 25 pre-service maths teachers. For a period of one academic year, various approaches for developing motivational, professional, emotional, social and physical aspects of resilience were identified and evaluated. The results of questionnaires and interviews confirm that increasing participants' personal and professional networks, along with their use of the growth zone model, can improve resilience. Adapting the interventions for use within both pre and in-service teachers is a route for future research.

Keywords: teacher resilience; pre-service maths teachers; five aspects of resilience; growth zone model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2020.111072

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2020 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.162 - 183

Received: 24 Jul 2019
Accepted: 09 Jan 2020

Published online: 09 Nov 2020 *

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