| Teachers face unique and potentially overwhelming stressors. The effects of stress may be manifested as burnout or premature retirement, with adverse consequences for the teacher's students (Burke & Greenglass, 1996). High teacher attrition rates suggest that burnout and premature retirement are widespread concerns (NEA HIN & CMHS, 2001). The nature and severity of these concerns motivates an inquiry into what psychologists can do to promote greater teacher emotional well-being. The literature provides two approaches: stress management and resilience building.; Stress management interventions aim to increase individual coping skills and may include support components. Interventions for teachers that have been studied include cognitive behavioral approaches, teacher induction programs, and support groups (Cecil & Forman, 1990; Long, 1988; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Thompson, 1982; Winzelberg & Luskin, 1999). While these interventions have been found to be helpful, resilience interventions have had a more preventative and holistic focus than stress management approaches, in that resilience approaches address individual strengths and contextual factors. This study evaluates resilience-building interventions in terms of their feasibility and applicability with respect to developing a psychologist-led group intervention to address teacher stress.; Based on the resilience literature, a workshop was developed to identify and promote 10 skills to build resilience for teachers. The workshop sought to help participants apply resilience skills and motivate goal-setting. It was delivered to 66 university students enrolled in education classes, including student teachers and employed teachers. Feedback concerning workshop effectiveness and skill usefulness was solicited immediately and six weeks after the presentation. The data did not meet the criteria established to support that the workshop was effective in teaching participants about resilience or helping participants set a goal. However, 90% of respondents would recommend the workshop to others. While the criterion set for skill usefulness was not met; all but one respondent used two or more of the skills after the workshop and 85% of the respondents rated the skills as sufficiently helpful. The data was inconclusive in determining the differential usefulness of the 10 skill categories. This feedback was analyzed to provide suggestions for workshop improvement and future research in this area. |
