A social connectedness intervention as pathway to teacher resilience in primary schools in challenged spaces

Abstract

Evidence from Africa and other challenged contexts is scant in the emerging teacher resilience knowledge base. This study aimed to investigate the utility of a school-level social connectedness intervention as a pathway to promote teacher resilience given structural disparity and chronic and multiple challenges. A concurrent mixed-methods intervention study design was employed to describe teacher resilience and social connectedness of conveniently sampled teachers (n=36) from six purposively selected peri-urban primary schools from lower socio-economic neighbourhoods in the Eastern Cape, South Africa before and after a social connectedness intervention. Following a year-long, Participatory Reflection and Action process, the Isithebe Social Connectedness Intervention was co-constructed with teacher participants, implemented over six months, and quantitative and qualitative teacher resilience and social connectedness data were collected at pre-, process and post-intervention timepoints. Whereas qualitative data (verbatim transcriptions and visual data) were thematically analysed, quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Irrespective of the social connectedness intervention, teacher resilience and social connectedness were high amongst teachers–despite the challenged context. The intentional gatherings between teachers led to a significant increase in trust. The teachers acted on a heightened awareness of social connectedness by leveraging school and school-community networks to bond across school spaces. The bonding signifies an enabling pathway to respond to needs using social networks and resources to provide and receive social support from peers, learners, parents, and caregivers. Following the social connectedness intervention, evident enablers of quality education included teacher professionalism (opportunities for professional development via social networks, peers and schools) and teaching and learning competencies (creativity, adaptability, compassion). Enablers of occupational well-being included social connection, acknowledgement of occupational inputs, and experiencing occupational purpose. This study contributes evidence of an accessible, school-level intervention that, when implemented with teachers working under extreme challenges and constrained structural support, forges trusting school communities. The socially connected spaces enable teachers to capitalise on bonded networks within and across schools and school communities. Plausibly, teacher well-being and quality education are enabled as teachers provide and receive compassionate implicit social support to acknowledge one another and a shared career purpose. Teachers also use pragmatic explicit social support to share teaching and learning competencies and opportunities for professional development.