The resilience of in-service teachers enrolled in distance education

Abstract

This exploratory survey study aimed to contribute to knowledge on teacher resilience given contextual challenges synonymous with a Global South, South African context. Guided by the Social Ecologies of Resilience Theory (SERT), the study focused on traits (emotion, professionalism, motivation, sense of coherence, self-efficacy, teacher efficacy) and the contextual dimension relevant to teacher resilience given the particular setting. The study purposively sampled extant survey data (ENTRÉE-adapted survey, TRQ) of 602 teachers enrolled for distance education. Employing both descriptive and inferential statistics alongside reliability and validity analyses, the study investigated the underlying variable structure of the TRQ, revealing its robustness within the setting of in-service teachers enrolled for professional development. Results further indicated that perceived teacher resilience in the high-adversity South African space is notably high. In a space of relentless and multifarious challenges teacher resilience is enabled by the following traits intrinsic motivation, a strong belief in social cohesion within their professional community, elevated teacher efficacy, confidence in professional skills (particularly communication), motivation to inspire hope, reliance on personal competence and collegial support, emotional competence for balancing teaching motivation with life's challenges, and a strong self-efficacy belief stemming from past experiences. Conversely, traits constraining teacher resilience given this setting included aversion to obstacles, difficulty in perspective- taking, reduced confidence in conflict resolution, susceptibility to taking incidents personally, and challenges in bouncing back from setbacks.