Exploring the resilience development of secondary school English teacher-researchers: a Chinese case study

Teacher education research recognizes the importance of teacher resilience, but the development of language teacher-researchers’ resilience remains underexplored. This qualitative case study investigates how two Chinese secondary school English teacher-researchers develop resilience over time and what factors contribute to it. Interviews and case documents show resilience is dynamic, with two patterns identified: low-to-high and W-shaped recovery. Individual and environmental factors and their interactions jointly shaped resilience. Engagement in classroom research provided diverse ways to sustain resilience. Implications are offered for teacher development in China and similar contexts.

Haibo Gu, Siyi Wang, Xiaofeng Chen, Qian Wang