Fostering Resilience: A Necessary Skill for Teacher Retention

The goal of this qualitative 2-year study was to examine the resilience building process in four novice secondary science teachers and its link to teacher retention. To achieve the research goal, a resilience framework was established. Three factors were instrumental in creating the framework. The first focused on stressors and protective factors in the lives of novice secondary science teachers and provided direction and goals for the research. Second, a case study was developed for each of the four teachers participating in the research in order to emphasize the detailed analysis of factors linked to resilience. Finally, cross-case analysis was employed to identify similarities and differences and provide insight into issues concerning the resilience process. Results of this study suggest that the interaction between stressors and protective factors acts as a primary force in the resilience process and stimulate responses to help counteract negative effects of resulting stress. Therefore, it can be reasoned that resilience can be fostered in novice teachers as a means to encourage teacher retention.