This book addresses one of the most persistent issues confronting governments educations
systems and schools today: the attraction preparation and retention of early career teachers.
It draws on the stories of sixty graduate teachers from Australia to identify the key barriers
interferences and obstacles to teacher resilience and what might be done about it. Based on
these stories five interrelated themes - policies and practices school culture teacher
identity teachers' work and relationships - provide a framework for dialogue around what
kinds of conditions need to be created and sustained in order to promote early career teacher
resilience. The book provides a set of resources - stories discussion comments reflective
questions and insights from the literature - to promote conversations among stakeholders rather
than providing yet another 'how to do' list for improving the daily lives of early career
teachers. Teaching is a complex fragile and uncertain profession. It operates in an
environment of unprecedented educational reforms designed to control manage and manipulate
pedagogical judgements. Teacher resilience must take account of both the context and
circumstances of individual schools (especially those in economically disadvantaged
communities) and the diversity of backgrounds and talents of early career teachers themselves.
The book acknowledges that the substantial level of change required- cultural structural
pedagogical and relational - to improve early career teacher resilience demands a great deal of
cooperation and support from governments education systems schools universities and
communities: teachers cannot do it alone. This book is written to generate conversations
amongst early career teachers teacher colleagues school leaders education administrators
academics and community leaders about the kinds of pedagogical and relational conditions
required to promote early career teacher resilience andwellbeing.
