Enhancing teacher resilience through face-to-face training : insights from the ENTREE project

Abstract

This chapter provides a project overview of the ENhancing Teacher REsilience in Europe (ENTREE) face-to-face training programme aimed to foster teachers’ relationships, wellbeing and commitment to education and schooling and, through this, their effectiveness in teaching. Six face-to-face training modules were developed, using the themes of resilience (module 1), relationships in school settings (module 2), emotions and stress management (modules 3 and 4) and pedagogical skills for effective teaching and classroom management (modules 5 and 6). In this chapter, we provide some background to the module development, the theoretical underpinning and structure of each module along with evaluations from the implementation. Implications for further training and development of the programme are discussed. Teacher resilience has been identified as a significant factor in teachers’ ability to cope with the challenges of the teaching profession, in that teachers who possess characteristics of resilience are more likely to persevere in adverse situations, find it easier to adapt to change and ultimately may be less inclined to consider leaving the profession (e.g. Beltman et al. 2011). Teacher resilience is neither an individual trait nor a ‘state’ – rather it refers to the capacity that arises through interactions occurring within educational contexts. Resilience is shaped both by individual and contextual variables that interrelate in dynamic ways to provide risk or protective factors. Resilience can therefore be nurtured through initial training, continuing professional development and supportive networks. As teacher resilience and wellbeing have become important issues, there has been interest from teachers, employers and educational systems in ways that teacher resilience can be supported. This interest has led to a major international project, ENhancing Teacher REsilience in Europe (ENTREE), involving partners from Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal and Australia. In support of enhancing and developing teacher resilience, a main outcome of the ENTREE project was a face-to-face training programme to be used for professional development of pre-service or in-service teachers to enhance teachers’ resilience. The programme consists of six modules and programme training materials and activities intended to help trainers apply and adapt the generic information to their own specific cultural context. Teacher educators may find the theoretical sections particularly useful in informing their own teacher preparation programmes. Those engaged in continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers may choose to focus on the more practical, in-class applications. All professionals using this programme may find it beneficial to adapt the information to suit their particular cultural and educational context.