CRPL Research Methods Seminar Series - Alison Pearson (Exeter) - Teacher Resilience in Secondary Schools

Teacher Resilience in Secondary Schools

Alison’s research investigates the experiences of long-serving secondary school teachers in England, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of what has challenged and sustained them through their teaching careers, including their views on what resilience is as applied to teachers. Her project is a qualitative study, investigating the experiences of eight secondary school teachers: each teacher had been in the profession for more than ten years (between 14 and 25 years), with a combined experience of 21 different schools. Each teacher took part in two in-depth interviews, with the second interview involving a further exploration of key aspects which emerged from the first. As part of the reflective process before and during interviews, these teachers created a visual timeline to show the emotional highs and lows of their career to date. Her presentation will share the emerging findings from her data analysis, as well as her experiences of using participant-created timelines.

About the Speaker

Alison is in her final year of an ESRC funded PhD at the University of Exeter, and is a member of the Centre for Research in Professional Learning. Her research started off as a project into teacher resilience, and has broadened into investigating what sustains those teachers who stay in teaching when so many leave.  Prior to embarking on her doctoral research she worked for many years in the further education (post-16) sector, with roles including teacher, manager and senior leader, followed by self-employed work including training, coaching and consultancy.