We are slowly emerging from our third national lockdown, which has required many teachers to work remotely while simultaneously juggling home-schooling or the many other pressures that the pandemic has brought.
It is apparent that working and living during these times requires adaptability, grit and resilience for all. A mindset shift is required which includes a perspective shift: from living through to living with.
Uncertainty and change has become the norm. Consequently stress experienced by teachers is on the rise, as evidenced by the Teacher Wellbeing Index (2020), which found that 84 per cent of teachers are very or somewhat stressed, rising to 89 per cent of senior leaders.
This all highlights the need for resilience-building training and “hacks” for education professionals. Resilience is a protective factor against stress, anxiety and depression and can be described as our ability to bounce-back emotionally, adapt, recover and grow during or after difficult and stressful times (Rutter, 2008). Resilience is also the process of continual development of personal competence in the face of adversity.
Hack 1: Resilient mindset
A resilient mindset requires optimism, as highlighted by psychologist Martin Seligman, who suggests that optimism during adversity is critical; resilient individuals view the effects of bad events as temporary rather than permanent.
Moreover, pervasiveness is important in resilient individuals – they do not allow setbacks to affect other unrelated aspects of their lives. It is important to ensure you have firm boundaries in place, especially if working remotely, to ensure that work stressors do not filter into your home life.
It is important to acknowledge that you may not be having a good day at work but not allowing this to affect the course of your week.
Finally, personalisation – it is important not to blame yourself when a bad situation arises, but rather demonstrate self-compassion, which will facilitate self-soothing, reduce anxiety and build resilience. It is important to acknowledge the role of external factors, such as other people or resources in impacting upon events.
Here are some useful questions that can help you to foster a resilient mindset:
- During this pandemic, what have you learned about yourself?
- What have you learned about your teams or colleagues?
- What have you learned about the pupils?
- What is most important to you in times of uncertainty (core values)?
- Are there any opportunities for growth?
- What obstacles have you overcome in the past and how can you apply these experiences to your current difficulties?
Mindfulness facilitates a resilient mindset as it involves paying more attention to the present moment, including your thoughts, feelings and the world around you. It allows you to take a non-judgemental stance and to tune into your experiences while tuning out the distractions, worries and stresses.
Why not try using your senses to be mindful; try mindful breathing or “body scan” exercises (see online) when feeling overwhelmed or if you are struggling to be present.
Hack 2: Community and Connectedness
Community and connectedness is important to countering the isolation and loneliness that can easily be experienced at the moment, especially if working remotely. Try the following:
- Check-in with colleagues and staff quickly through various methods including texts, emails and virtual staff meetings.
- Headteachers and leaders should provide regular praise and feedback to ensure teachers feel valued and visible – important when working remotely.
- Communicate regular updates with all staff to foster cohesion and community.
- Create “virtual staffrooms” where teachers can chat, support and check-in with one another.
- Establish buddy networks and use these consistently to counter isolation and prevent apathy and stress.
- Follow a routine and structure for your day as this provides safety and predictability – critical when facing uncertainty and change.
- Differentiate work and leisure time and if possible have a designated working space at home.
- Limit the frequency of checking work emails and turn your work phone off when you are not working.
Teachers frequently report that relationships with colleagues are key to their resilience, as they provide opportunities for vicarious learning, emotional and professional support alongside the chance to validate their experiences.
Research (Duffield & O’Hare, 2020) suggests that drawing upon external support networks such as family, friends or community groups are advantageous to teacher resilience therefore this should be encouraged and enhanced during these times of adversity.
Hack 3: Promotion of a culture of help-seeking
Research suggests that help-seeking from others contributes to teacher resilience through facilitating problem-solving and effective decision-making (Duffield & O’Hare, 2020).
Moreover, help-seeking should be normalised, especially when working remotely. Unfortunately seeking help can also evoke feelings of vulnerability or cause feelings of weakness or failing, which must be countered through normalising this behaviour. Senior leaders can facilitate this through modelling and encouraging this behaviour.
Hack 4: Learning opportunities
Learning opportunities for teachers and the chance for team reflection should be priorities. This will enhance teacher resilience by allowing them to acquire new skills and knowledge while recognising reflective conversations as learning opportunities. Learning opportunities create a safe space for teachers to build resilience while navigating novel skills or information.
Learning opportunities such as delivering online teaching creatively with multiple platforms and technology contributes towards the development of self-efficacy and confidence which provides impetus for resilience.
Moreover there will be a plethora of opportunities to learn during Covid especially due to the requirement to deliver teaching in innovative and engaging ways. It is important for teachers to share their experiences with one another.
Teachers should be encouraged to seek out learning opportunities personally and professionally as this provides opportunities to cope with setbacks or perceived struggles and failures.
Learning is related to self-awareness and self-doubt, as you have to be willing to learn from failures or challenges. It is likely that at this time, many teachers may be experiencing feelings of self-doubt,
particularly as they try to develop ways of being a teacher in uncharted waters.
Hack 5: Tolerance and acceptance of uncertainty
The ability to tolerate uncertainty can enhance resilience while reducing anxiety. Learning to accept that uncertainty characterises your working life will allow you to embrace times of uncertainty while protecting you from heightened levels of stress and anxiety.
We can all learn to tolerate and embrace uncertainty and the identification of advantages and drawbacks of requiring certainty can facilitate this process. It is useful to consider how you have coped with uncertainty in the past while considering positive outcomes too.
Research (Tang et al, 2020) suggests that uncertainty boosts creativity and enhanced decision-making, so why not leverage these during challenging and uncertain times. We can all develop resilience in times of uncertainty, we just have to be intentional about this.
And finally…
Don't forget to check-in with yourself daily. It can be useful to quantify your thoughts, emotions and resilience on a scale (0 to 100) as this helps with monitoring and understanding resilience shifts while informing the appropriate action to take.
Martina Witter is an accredited cognitive behaviour therapist and author of Reslience in the Workplace. She delivers CPD-accredited resilience training. Visit www.raphatherapyservices.com
Further information & resources
- Duffield & O’Hare: Teacher resilience duirng coronavirus school closures, British Psychological Society, 2020: https://bit.ly/3rIqV4t
- Rutter: Developing concepts in developmental psychopathology. In Developmental psychopathology and wellness: Genetic and environmental influences, Hudziak (ed), American Psychiatric Publishing, 2008.
- Tang et al: Perceived work uncertainty and creativity during the Covid-19 pandemic: The roles of zhongyong and creative self-efficacy, Frontiers in Psychology. October 2020.