Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“Take a step back”: teacher strategies for managing heightened emotions

  • Published:
The Australian Educational Researcher Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

From a social ecological perspective, there are multiple challenges that can lead to stress, burnout and attrition in teachers and school leaders. The capacity to manage negative emotions is important for emotion regulation, emotional intelligence, coping and mindfulness. Emotions also form one dimension of resilience as teachers use strategies to maintain their commitment and well-being. This paper examines those strategies nominated by 73 practicing teachers who completed online modules designed to enhance resilience capacity. An iterative process of coding of 206 separate responses led to 14 first-order categories. These were then coded into four higher-order categories of Waiting, Assessing, Problem-Solving and Being Proactive. The largest group of responses, aligned with mindfulness approaches, referred to the need to take a break to calm oneself and manage the emotions, before assessing the situation and engaging in direct problem-focused strategies. Participants also reported putting proactive strategies in place. Implications for teacher professional learning are discussed including the challenge of focusing on individual capacity when the source of challenges may lie in wider policies or workplace structure. Limitations include lack of corroborating observational data, and suggestions are made for further research to understand how teachers manage the emotional challenges of their work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akın, U., Aydın, İ., Erdoğan, Ç., & Demirkasımoğlu, N. (2013). Emotional labor and burnout among Turkish primary school teachers. The Australian Educational Researcher, 41(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-013-0138-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anttila, H., Pyhältö, K., Soini, T., & Pietarinen, J. (2016). How does it feel to become a teacher? Emotions in teacher education. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 19(3), 451–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9335-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government Productivity Commission. (2012). Schools workforce: Research report. Canberra. Retrieved 4 Apr 2019, from http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/education-workforce/schools/report

  • Baumgartner, J. J., Carson, R. L., Apavaloaie, L., & Tsouloupas, C. (2009). Uncovering common stressful factors and coping strategies among childcare providers. Child & Youth Care Forum, 38(5), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-009-9079-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beltman, S., & Mansfield, C. (2015). What does resilience mean for the teaching profession? Professional Educator, 14(6), 26–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beltman, S., Mansfield, C., & Price, A. (2011). Thriving not just surviving: A review of research on teacher resilience. Educational Research Review, 6(3), 185–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.09.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernay, R. (2014). Mindfulness and the beginning teacher. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(7), 58–69. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n7.6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brackett, M. A., Palomera, R., Mojsa-Kaja, J., Reyes, M. R., & Salovy, P. (2010). Emotion-regulation ability, burnout, and job satisfaction among British secondary-school teachers. Psychology in the Schools, 47(4), 406–417.

    Google Scholar 

  • BRiTE. (2014–2017). Welcome to the BRiTE program. Retrieved 9 July 2019, from https://www.brite.edu.au/privacy

  • Chan, D. W. (2008). Emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and coping among Chinese prospective and in-service teachers in Hong Kong. Educational Psychology, 28(4), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410701668372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M.-L. (2009). An appraisal perspective of teacher burnout: examining the emotional work of teachers. Education Psychology Review, 21, 193–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/sl0648-009-9106-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corcoran, R. P., & Tormey, R. (2012). How emotionally intelligent are pre-service teachers? Teacher and Teacher Education, 28(5), 750–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.02.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, C. (2014). Resilient principals in challenging schools: the courage and costs of conviction. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 638–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937959.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2010). The new lives of teachers. Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2014). Resilient teachers, resilient schools. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebersöhn, L. (2014). Teacher resilience: Theorizing resilience and poverty. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 568–594. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, P., Woods, K., Humphrey, N., Curran, A., & Morris, E. (2007). Emotional Intelligence and education: A critical review. Educational Psychology, 2(2), 235–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410601066735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fried, L., Mansfield, C., & Dobozy, E. (2015). Teacher emotion research: Introducing a conceptual model to guide future research. Issues in Educational Research, 25(4), 415–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (2002). The Coping Scale for Adults: Correlates of productive and nonproductive coping. Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 19(1), 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallant, A., & Riley, P. (2014). Early career teacher attrition: New thoughts on an intractable problem. Teacher Development, 18(4), 562–580. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2014.945129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghanizadeh, A., & Royaei, N. (2015). Emotional facet of language teaching: Emotion regulation and emotional labor strategies as predictors of teacher burnout. International Journal of Pedagogies & Learning, 10(2), 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/22040552.2015.1113847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, L. (2006). Emotion-focused therapy—A synopsis. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36(2), 87–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39, 281–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Q. (2014). The role of relational resilience in teachers’ career-long commitment and effectiveness. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 502–529. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagenauer, G., Hascher, T., & Volet, S. E. (2015). Teacher emotions in the classroom: Associations with students’ engagement, classroom discipline and the interpersonal teacher-student relationship. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 30, 385–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0250-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagenauer, G., & Volet, S. E. (2014). “I don’t hide my feelings, even though I try to”: Insight into teacher educator emotion display. The Australian Educational Researcher, 41(3), 261–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-013-0129-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, H. (2012). Teachers’ emotional responses to new pedagogical tools in high challenge settings: Illustrations from the Northern Territory. The Australian Educational Researcher, 39(39), 447–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-012-0075-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt-Taylor, J. (2001). Use of constant comparative analysis in qualitative research. Nursing Standard, 15(42), 39–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, J. Y. (2012). Why do some beginning teachers leave the school, and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18(4), 417–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2012.696044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House of Commons Education Committee. (2012). Great teachers: Attracting, training and retaining the best. London: The Stationery Office Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung, C. L. (2011). Coping strategies of primary school teachers in Taiwan experiencing stress because of teacher surplus. Social Behavior and Personality, 39(9), 1161–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. M. (2012). Beginning teacher induction: What the data tell us. Phi Delta Kappan, 38, 47–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, P. A., Snowberg, K. E., Coccia, M. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2011). Improving classroom learning environments by Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE): Results of two pilot studies. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 46(1), 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeon, L., Hur, E., & Buettner, C. (2016). Child-care chaos and teachers’ responsiveness: The indirect associations through teachers’ emotion regulation and coping. Journal of School Psychology, 59, 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.09.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S., Berg, J., & Donaldson, M. (2005). Who stays in teaching and why: A review of literature on teacher retention., The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers Cambridge: Harvard Graduate School of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, B., Down, B., Le Cornu, R., Peters, J., Sullivan, A., Pearce, J., et al. (2014). Promoting early career teacher resilience: A socio-cultural and critical guide to action. Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, J., & Wall, C. (2010). Resilience and loss in work identities: A narrative analysis of some retired teachers’ work-life histories. British Educational Research Journal, 36(4), 627–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920903018216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion. American Psychologist, 46(8), 819–834. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.46.8.819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M., Pekrun, R., Taxer, J., Schutz, P., Vogl, E., & Xie, X. (2016). Teachers’ emotions and emotion management: Integrating emotion regulation theory with emotional labor research. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 19(4), 843–863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9359-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, C. F., Beltman, S., Broadley, T., & Weatherby-Fell, N. (2016). Building resilience in teacher education: An evidenced informed framework. Teaching and Teacher Education, 54, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.11.016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, C. F., Beltman, S., & Price, A. (2014). ‘I’m coming back again!’ The resilience process of early career teachers. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 547–567. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, C. F., Beltman, S., Price, A., & McConney, A. (2012). “Don’t sweat the small stuff”: Understanding teacher resilience at the chalkface. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.11.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, C. F., Ebersöhn, L., Beltman, S., & Loots, T. (2018). Great southern lands: Making space for teacher resilience in South Africa and Australia. In M. Wosnitza, F. Peixoto, S. Beltman, & C. Mansfield (Eds.), Resilience in education: Concepts, contexts and connections (pp. 53–71). Cham: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrath-Champ, S. Stacey, M., Wilson, R., & Fitzgerald, S. (2018) Understanding work in schools: The foundation for teaching and learning. 2018 Report to the NSW Teachers Federation. University of Sydney; Curtin University. Retrieved 7 May 2018, from http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71410.

  • Meyer, D. K., & Turner, J. C. (2002). Discovering emotion in classroom motivation. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 107–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, M., Ludlow, L., Kitching, K., O’Leary, M., & Clarke, A. (2010). What makes teachers tick? Sustaining events in new teachers’ lives. British Educational Research Association, 36(2), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920902780972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newberry, M. (2013). The demand of multiplicity in the classroom: Emotion regulation and cognitive load. In M. Newberry, A. Gallant, & P. Riley (Eds.), Emotion and school: Understanding how the hidden curriculum influences relationships, leadership, teaching, and learning (Vol. 18, pp. 25–48). Bingley: Emerald.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]. (2013). Teaching and learning international survey, TALIS, conceptual framework. Retrieved 1 May 2019, from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/TALIS%202013%20Conceptual%20Framework.pdf.

  • Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Punch, K. F., & Oancea, A. (2014). Introduction to research methods in education (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiser, J. E., & McCarthy, C. J. (2018). Preliminary investigation of a stress prevention and mindfulness group for teachers. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 32(1), 2–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2017.1338811.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, P. W., Watt, H. M. G., & Devos, C. (2013). Types of professional and emotional coping among beginning teachers. In M. Newberry, A. Gallant, & P. Riley (Eds.), Emotion and school: Understanding how the hidden curriculum influences relationships, leadership, teaching, and learning (Vol. 18, pp. 229–253). Bingley: Emerald.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, P. (2017). The Australian principal occupational health, safety and wellbeing survey. Executive summary. 2016 Data. Retrieved 30 Oct 2018, from http://www.principalhealth.org/au/reports.php.

  • Roeser, R. W., Skinner, E., Beers, J., & Jennings, P. A. (2012). Mindfulness training and teachers’ professional development: An emerging area of research and practice. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00238.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schussler, D. L., Deweese, A., Rasheed, D., Demauro, A., Brown, J., Greenberg, M., et al. (2018). Stress and release: Case studies of teacher resilience following a mindfulness-based intervention. American Journal of Education, 125, 28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutz, P. A., DeCuir-Gunby, J. T., & Williams-Johnson, M. R. (2016). Using multiple and mixed methods to investigate emotions in educational contexts. In M. Zembylas & P. A. Schutz (Eds.), Methodological advances in research on emotion and education (pp. 217–229). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schutz, P. A., & Zembylas, M. (2016). Where do we go from here? Implications and future directions for research methods on emotion and education. In M. Zembylas & P. A. Schutz (Eds.), Methodological advances in research on emotion and education (pp. 287–293). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, J. E., & Jennings, P. A. (2016). Strengthening teacher presence through mindfulness: What educators say about the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) Program. Mindfulness, 7, 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0474-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharplin, E., O’Neill, M., & Chapman, A. (2011). Coping strategies for adaptation to new teacher appointments: Intervention for retention. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.07.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2016). Teacher stress and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of engagement, emotional exhaustion, and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Creative Education, 7, 1785–1799. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.713182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, M. (2012). Social ecologies and their contribution to resilience. In M. Ungar (Ed.), The social ecology of resilience: A handbook of theory and practice. New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, E. A., & Hadwin, A. F. (2015). Emotions and emotion regulation in undergraduate studying: examining students’ reports from a self-regulated learning perspective. Educational Psychology, 35(7), 794–818. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.895292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weldon, P. (2018). Early career teacher attrition in Australia: Evidence, definition, classification and measurement. Australian Journal of Education, 62(1), 61–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944117752478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willett, M., Segal, D., & Walford, W. (2014). National Teaching Workforce Dataset: Data Analysis Report. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ntwd_data_analysis_report.pdf

  • Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2013). A reflection on the place of emotion in teaching and teacher education. In M. Newberry, A. Gallant, & P. Riley (Eds.), Emotion and school: Understanding how the hidden curriculum influences relationships, leadership, teaching, and learning (Vol. 18, pp. 255–270). Bingley: Emerald.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Skinner, E. A. (2016). The development of coping: implications for psychopathology and resilience. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology (3rd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 485–534). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The data collected for this research were enabled by the Building Resilience in Teacher Education (BRiTE) project funded through the Office of Learning and Teaching, Australia. We would like to acknowledge undergraduate students Katherine Duncan, Jasmina Kovacevic and Wenting Hsu who assisted with this paper as part of a writing program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Susan Beltman & Emily Poulton

Authors
  1. Susan Beltman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emily Poulton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan Beltman.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Beltman, S., Poulton, E. “Take a step back”: teacher strategies for managing heightened emotions. Aust. Educ. Res. 46, 661–679 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00339-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00339-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation