
For the month of April we are focusing on Resilience for both our students that we are supporting, as well as ourselves as faculty and staff.
Resilience is defined in the literature as “mechanisms that stimulate individuals to remain healthy or to recover swiftly when facing severe adversities over the course of life” (Rutten et al., 2013, p.4). With trauma informed care we are ultimately wanting to cultivate the resilience of our students. This does not mean removing obstacles or stress, but encountering stressors and being able to engage and move through barriers.
It is also important to recognize that in developing trauma informed care in our organization, we are fostering professional resilience as well. This will contribute to our longevity in teaching all students, including those that come into our classrooms with trauma.
This is the beginning of a 6 hour series on cultivating professional resilience to combat compassion fatigue. The rest of the series can be found on YouTube.
Cultivating Teacher Resilience: International Approaches, Applications and Impact
by
This open access book follows the development of the Building Resilience in Teacher Education (BRiTE) project across Australia and internationally. Drawing on the success of this project and the related research collaborations that have since emerged, it highlights the importance of cultivating resilience at various stages of teachers’ careers. Divided into three sections, the book includes conceptual, empirical and applied chapters, designed to introduce readers to the field of research, provide empirical evidence and showcase innovative applications. The respective chapters illustrate the ways in which teacher resilience can be enhanced in a variety of contexts, and address specific learning activities, case studies, resources and strategies, student feedback and applied outcomes. They also consider future directions including cross-cultural applications and the use of technologies such as augmented reality. The book will appeal to researchers, teacher educators and teachers, as well as those interested in supporting the cultivation and ongoing development of professional resilience for pre-service and practicing teachers.