Teacher Resilience in Central Virginia: How Veteran Teachers Become Resilient

The development of teacher resilience is important in improving teacher retention. This study identified reasons veteran teachers have remained in the classroom; individual and contextual factors of resilience; significant challenges the teachers have encountered; and strategies the teachers used for dealing with the challenging situations. This was a qualitative study that included interviews with 15 teachers in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Data analysis occurred through deductive coding of the transcribed interviews using qualitative data analysis software. The findings for this study identified seven factors that veteran teachers indicated were important in their decision to remain in the classroom. The study also identified 22 individual factors of resilience and 10 contextual factors presented through the experiences of the veteran teachers. The veteran teachers described four challenges that they have faced in their school division and the strategies they used to overcome those challenges. The study concludes with the discussion, implication, and conclusion of the findings.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Counselor Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Shields, Lee Brantley

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Mullen, Carol Ann

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Cash, Carol S.
• Seibert, Horace Alan
• Gratto, John Robert

• resilience
• teacher retention
• adversity
• veteran teacher

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:24221

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/97613