Chapter 95: Teaching Through the Lens of Resilience Theory and Black Feminist Theory:

As teachers are faced with the challenges to be successful in diverse classroom settings and to meet federal and state accountability standards, they must have the ability and the competence to adjust to changing situations. Resiliency is a critical element in helping teachers to meet these challenges and in retaining them in the education profession. To prepare teachers for the challenges they will face in the classroom, Bernshausen and Cunningham (2001) stated that teacher preparation programs must be collaboratively designed to build resilience, and thus equip teachers with the personal strategies they need in order to remain in the profession beyond 5 years. Bernshausen and Cunningham also advocated that efforts to maintain resilience in novice teachers occur by: (a) providing formal mentor support, (b) assigning reasonable teaching assignments, (c) developing targeted and relevant professional development, (d) establishing cohort meetings and activities for novice teachers, and (e) follow up by university faculty in order to provide ongoing support. Sagor (1996) indicated that attributes of resilience that provide people with strength and fortitude to confront overwhelming situations in life are competence, belonging, usefulness, potency, and optimism.