The well of resilience is running dry, but universities keep drawing from it

The well of resilience is running dry, but universities keep drawing from it

by | ESAI

Resilience is usually treated as a good thing. It is the quality we admire in people who keep going when work becomes difficult. The people who adapt under pressure, put their heads down and carry on when demands keep growing. In universities, as in many other professions and sectors, resilience is often treated as part of being professional.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

However, there is a point at which resilience stops being a personal strength and becomes something the job quietly depends on. My recent research with teacher educators in Ireland and the UK suggests that this is increasingly the case in higher education. Teacher educators are not simply academics who ‘just’ teach and research. They also mentor student teachers, support them during school placement, respond to pastoral issues, and manage the effects of repeated policy, accreditation, and inspection demands (for example, Ofsted inspections in England). Much of this work is time-consuming, emotionally demanding, and only partly visible in the ways universities usually account for academic labour.

Keep calm and carry on

One participant in my study captured the culture in a single phrase: “Just plough on and pretend it’s not happening.” The phrase points to something beyond individual frustration; in work built around care and public service, people often keep things going by absorbing pressures that should not really be carried by individuals alone. They answer emails late into the evening, take on extra work, manage other people’s distress, and fill gaps when formal support is missing. Over time, what is praised as resilience can become one of the ways chronic strain is normalised.

Participants in my study described their academic roles as feeling like “three separate jobs” at once:

“No matter how hard or how efficiently we work, there is always a mountain of endless tasks to be completed.”

Another described how work had spread into every corner of their life:

“I never have true rest periods, working on annual leave, weekends and evenings. Never being ‘finished’, no matter how many hours or how little rest time, you are never on top of everything.”

None of this is to say that resilience has no value. It clearly does; it can help people deal with uncertainty and see them through periods of pressure. But it has limits. Namely, it cannot make an excessive workload reasonable, nor can it make an unsupported role more sustainable.

Soldier On

Yet public discussion of workplace pressure often slips too quickly into the language of coping. Are you setting boundaries? How are you managing your stress? Are you looking after yourself properly? Are you being adaptable enough? Have you attended the wellbeing workshop on offer? The problem is that those questions often obscure a harder one: why is so much of this strain being dealt with at the level of the individual in the first place?

Resilience as scar tissue

This is where Suslovic and Lett’s critique of resilience is useful. They argue that resilience is too often treated as “an individual-level solution to a structural toxin”. More strikingly, they suggest that resilience may be better understood as “scar tissue”. It is a powerful metaphor because it shifts resilience away from the reassuring language of inner strength and towards something else: the mark left by repeated injury.

The idea of scar tissue helps make sense of what many academics in my study described. Their accounts were not simply about the ordinary demands of their work. They were about prolonged accommodation to conditions that had become excessive and normalised. They repeatedly pointed to pressures that were structural rather than personal: competing demands across teaching, research, service, mentoring and placement work; administrative burdens linked to accountability systems; and a sense that the most demanding parts of their role were poorly understood, or indeed invisible.

As one participant put it:

“All of this work is pretty much irrelevant (under a performance metrics lens), so while I’m trusted to do my job, there isn’t really anyone who understands the stress involved in these elements.”

Moving beyond ‘Chin Up’

In recent years, work-related stress has increasingly been recognised not just as a private issue but also as an organisational one. For example, in December 2025, Britain’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the University of Birmingham did not have appropriate arrangements in place to manage work-related stress and could not demonstrate that it was managing the risks associated with excessive workload. The significance of that case lies in the framing. The question was not whether staff were coping well enough. It was whether the institution was identifying and effectively managing foreseeable risk, as is an employer’s legal responsibility.

There is a similar legal imperative in Ireland. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) treats work-related stress as a workplace hazard to be assessed and prevented by employers. That matters because it shifts the focus from systems of work that generate stress to whether workers can keep adapting indefinitely.

This is significant since wellbeing language now circulates widely across universities in Ireland and the UK. That veneer of well-being can sit easily alongside overload if the organisation of work itself does not change. Workshops and wellbeing campaigns may have some value, but if academic staff do not have the time or energy to benefit from them, they can feel more like another way of returning responsibility to the individual. The real question, then, is not how much more resilience university staff can produce, but why universities have built conditions that depend so heavily on it.

Key Messages

Resilience needs to be viewed as a structural requirement, not a personal strength. Universities increasingly depend on academics’ abilitiy to absorb excessive workloads rather than addressing unsustainable working conditions

Teacher educators face invisible, emotionally demanding labour. Beyond teaching and research, they mentor students, manage pastoral care, and navigate constant policy changes – work that is time-consuming yet largely unrecognised.

Resilience may be better understood as ‘scar tissue’. Rather than inner strength, resilience can represent the accumulated damage from repeated exposure to structural workplace toxins.

Wellbeing initiatives can obscure systemic problems. Workshops and self-care campaigns place the responsibility on the individual, while leaving the organisation of work unchanged.

Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons

Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons

DCU CREATE—The Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education at Dublin City University, Ireland.

Sabrina Fitzsimons is a lecturer in Initial Teacher Education and Co-Director of DCU CREATE—The Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education at Dublin City University, Ireland. Her research focuses on the occupational well-being and flourishing of educators, including higher education-based teacher educators, academics, school-based teachers, student teachers and other educators. She is a graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland and a Senior Fellow of the Advance HE.

Other blog posts on similar topics:

References and Further Reading

Birmingham UCU. (2025, December 13). HSE confirms material breaches at the University of Birmingham following union safety concerns. https://birminghamucu.org/2025/12/13/hse-confirms-material-breaches-at-university-of-birmingham-following-union-safety-concerns/

British Safety Council. (n.d.). The Health and Safety at Work Act explained. Retrieved April 29, 2026, from https://www.britsafe.org/training-and-learning/informational-resources/the-health-and-safety-at-work-act-explained

 Fitzsimons, S., & Smith, D. S. (2025). “Just plough on and pretend it’s not happening”: Understanding burnout in teacher educators in Ireland and the United Kingdom. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 9, 100491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2025.100491

Fitzsimons, S., Boag, L. & Smith, D.S. (2025) Understanding Teacher Educators’ Quality of Life: Insights from the PERMA Model. Applied Research Quality Life. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-025-10435-z

Fitzsimons, S., & Smith, D. S. (2025). ‘Don’t do anything special for us coming’: the mental health impact of Ofsted inspections on teacher educators in England. Cambridge Journal of Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2025.2451280

Furlong, C., Fitzsimons, S., & O’Farrell, P. (2026). Protective factors for teacher wellbeing in Ireland through the PERMA lens. Pastoral Care in Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2026.2646149

Health and Safety Authority. (n.d.). Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Retrieved April 29, 2026, from h https://www.hsa.ie/eng/topics/managing_health_and_safety/safety-_health_and_welfare_at_work_act_2005/

 Health and Safety Authority. (n.d.). Causes of work-related stress. Retrieved April 29, 2026, from https://www.hsa.ie/eng/workplace_health/workplace_stress/workplace-stress-overview/causes-of-work-related-stress/ 

Suslovic, B., & Lett, E. (2024). Resilience is an Adverse Event: A Critical Discussion of Resilience Theory in Health Services Research and Public Health. Community health equity research & policy, 44(3), 339–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/2752535X231159721 

Teacher burnout: Lessons from the aftermath and what helps teachers thrive again

Teacher burnout: Lessons from the aftermath and what helps teachers thrive again

by | NW 11 Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance, NW 8 Health and Wellbeing Education

Teaching is one of the most rewarding professions, but also one of the most demanding. Across Europe, nearly half of teachers report experiencing high levels of work-related stress (European Commission, 2021). For some, this stress escalates into teacher burnout, a psychological syndrome marked by exhaustion, emotional detachment, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (Schaufeli et al., 2020).

Much of the existing research has focused on the causes of burnout before teachers leave the classroom, and on its consequences once they have dropped out (Ahola et al., 2017). But what happens after burnout, when teachers return to work? Too often, the story ends at the point of absence. Yet the period of reintegration can be just as challenging. Understanding this ‘teacher burnout aftermath’ is essential if schools want not only to support teachers effectively but also to retain them in the profession.

Our study into reintegration after teacher burnout

An illustration of a woman under a stormy cloud. She looks worried. An arrow points to a woman in front of a white board, indicating that this image references teacher burnout.

To address this gap, our study explored the experiences of ten teachers who returned to the classroom after burnout. Using semi-structured interviews, we investigated the challenges they faced and the factors that helped them reintegrate successfully. Although the teachers’ experiences varied, several recurring themes emerged.

Barriers teachers encounter

Many participants described workload as the most pressing obstacle to recovery. Administrative and bureaucratic tasks consumed precious energy that could otherwise have been invested in teaching. In some cases, schools placed teachers straight back into full schedules, leaving little room to rebuild their confidence.

Relationships also proved decisive. Strained interactions with colleagues or a lack of understanding from school leaders created additional stress. Some teachers reported feeling they had to “prove” themselves all over again, rather than being welcomed back with empathy. This sense of scrutiny often made the return heavier than expected.

Supportive factors that made a difference

Despite these barriers, teachers also pointed to a range of supportive factors that facilitated their reintegration after teacher burnout.

Positive collaboration with colleagues and school leaders created a sense of safety and belonging. Teachers highlighted the importance of professional support, such as therapy, counselling, or coaching, to help them process their experiences. As one participant explained, counselling helped her set clearer boundaries and avoid slipping back into old patterns.

For many, a genuine passion for teaching was a crucial source of motivation: the classroom itself gave them energy and meaning, even if it sometimes carried the risk of overcommitment. Finally, self-care practices such as adjusting workloads, saying “no” more often, or prioritising rest were described as essential in maintaining balance.

Together, these elements created the conditions for teachers to regain stability and gradually rebuild confidence in the classroom.

A complex balance

One of the most striking findings was the dual role of certain factors. Passion for teaching, for instance, could be both a protective resource and a risk. While it inspired teachers to return, it also tempted some to take on too much too soon, undermining recovery.

This highlights the complexity of teacher burnout aftermath: resources and risks are not separate, but deeply intertwined. A factor that enables reintegration in one context can easily become constraining in another. Successful support, therefore, requires continuous adjustment and awareness, rather than one-off measures.

Personal context matters

The barriers and supportive factors of teacher burnout. Barriers include workload and bureaucracy, full schedules, strained relationships, lack of empathy, and pressure to 'prove'. Supportive factors include collaboration and belonging, professional support, passion for teaching, and self-care – including rest, boundaries, and saying no. A set of arrows is between the columns of Barriers and Supportive Factors, pointing in both directions, to denote the complex balance between these.

The study also revealed the decisive role of personal circumstances. Teachers with supportive families or flexible private responsibilities generally found reintegration smoother. Those facing additional stressors, such as caring duties or financial pressures, often experienced a heavier burden.

This underlines that reintegration after burnout is not a one-size-fits-all process but highly context-dependent. Any support strategy must take account of both the professional and personal dimensions of teachers’ lives.

What schools can do

Our findings point to the critical role of school leadership in enabling successful reintegration. Support cannot rely on individual goodwill alone; it requires both organisation-wide frameworks and tailored measures.

At the organisational level, schools should:

  • Ensure a realistic workload for returning teachers.
  • Provide accessible professional support such as counselling.
  • Develop clear reintegration guidelines across the institution, so teachers know what to expect.

At the individual level, reintegration must move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. Effective measures include:

  • Phased returns, where responsibilities are built up gradually.
  • Flexible scheduling and the reduction of non-core tasks.
  • Access to psychological support.

According to the teachers we spoke to, these personalised adjustments often made the difference between a sustainable return and a renewed risk of burnout.

Moving forward

Reintegration after burnout should not be seen as a private matter for the teacher to “manage better”.

It is a shared responsibility between the individual, the school, and the wider education system.

Addressing both structural and personal dimensions of the burnout aftermath is essential to protect teachers’ well-being and ensure their long-term retention in the profession.

A graphic showing the support needed on an organisational level vs individual level for a reintegration after teacher burnout. On an organisational level: Realistic workload, professional support, and clear guidelines. On an individual level: phased return, flexible scheduling, and psychological support.

Conclusion

Teacher burnout does not end when a teacher leaves the classroom; in many ways, the story begins there. Returning to work presents its own set of challenges, requiring careful attention, supportive structures, and flexibility. By acknowledging the complexity of the “burnout aftermath” and implementing tailored strategies, schools can help teachers return stronger, healthier, and ready to thrive.

During the ECER conference in Belgrade, we had the chance to connect with fellow researchers and discuss the pressing challenges of teacher burnout. In particular, we explored the gaps in both research and practical strategies for supporting teachers as they return to work after burnout. Hearing their perspectives was incredibly enlightening and highlighted a shared commitment to promoting teacher well-being across diverse educational contexts

Key Messages

  • Returning to the classroom after burnout is just as challenging as the burnout itself; it’s a critical but often overlooked phase.
  • Workload, strained relationships, and lack of leadership support are major barriers to reintegration.
  • Supportive colleagues, counselling, and self-care practices help teachers to return.
  • Passion for teaching is both a motivator and a risk, highlighting the complexity of recovery.
  • Successful reintegration requires tailored, school-wide strategies that address both personal and professional contexts.
Aron Decuyper

Aron Decuyper

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Belgium

Aron Decuyper is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University (Belgium). In his PhD, he focuses on effective teaching behaviour in the context of team teaching. Furthermore, he conducts research on teacher educators and teacher well-being

Laura Thomas

Laura Thomas

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Belgium

Laura Thomas is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University (Belgium). Her research focuses on social networks and teacher wellbeing, spanning student teachers, early career teachers, and experienced teachers.

Maxime Moens

Maxime Moens

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Belgium

Maxime Moens is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University (Belgium). Her research focuses on school wellbeing policies, with a particular emphasis on teacher wellbeing.

Melissa Tuytens

Melissa Tuytens

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Belgium

Melissa Tuytens is a professor at the Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University (Belgium). Her research and teaching focuses on policy, leadership, and people management in education.

Ruben Vanderlinde

Ruben Vanderlinde

Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University, Belgium

Ruben Vanderlinde is a professor at the Department of Educational Studies, Ghent University (Belgium). He focuses on educational innovation, teacher training and professionalisation and the integration of Information and Communication Technologies in education.

Other blog posts on similar topics:

References and Further Reading

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2021). Teachers in Europe: Careers, Development and Well-being. Eurydice report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/teachers_in_europe_2020_chapter_1.pdf

Schaufeli, W., Desart, S., & De Witte, H. (2020). The Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) – Development, validity and reliability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249495

Ahola, K., Toppinen-Tanner, S., & Seppänen, J. (2017). Interventions to alleviate burnout symptoms and to support return to work among employees with burnout: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Burnout Research, 4, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burn.2017.02.001

Transformative learning in educational sustainability as collective resilience and resistance

Transformative learning in educational sustainability as collective resilience and resistance

by | NW 30 Environmental and Sustainability Education Research, ESER, NW 7 Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Over the last two years, I have been conducting research on how doctoral students experience transformative learning in an educational sustainability program. We define transformative learning as a process that engages the head, heart, and hands in critical reflection, values introspection, social engagement, and empowerment towards sustainability (Grund et al., 2024; Papastamatis and Panitsides, 2014; Sipos et al., 2008). The transformative learning journey is not a straight line, rather it is dynamic, fluid, adaptive, and recursive in nature, allowing each learner to experience it differently (Boström et al., 2018; Grund et al., 2024; Rodríguez Aboytes and Barth, 2020). We argue that although a transformative moment can occur within an individual, transformative learning is a social and collaborative process.

I am the director of the educational sustainability program and an associate professor, teaching many courses within the program. I have loved learning from students on how, to what extent, and when they experience transformative learning, but the process is mutual. As much as the students have been transformed, so have I. Over the last year, the attacks on sustainability have changed these relationships and created a different type of transformative learning, one that feels like collective resistance. The emotional trauma of seeing these attacks has led to a deeper kinship, one that binds us together through this struggle and collective desire to build a safe space for all.

Sustainability education in a hostile political environment

I define sustainability as the morally courageous pursuit of a just, inclusive, and equitable future where humans and the environment can thrive. However, this pursuit can come with fatigue and advocating for change is not without struggle. As change agents, we take on those struggles in the hope of moving forward in a different way—one that reflects justice and equity. We learn from the past and challenge White Supremacy culture and systems of domination. We see the interdependence of environmental and human health and treat the environment as a stakeholder in our decision-making.

On the morning of November 5th, 2024, I woke to a Trump victory, which all but sealed the destruction of equity and inclusivity movements in U.S. higher education institutions. The topics that lay the foundation of sustainability education—social justice, ecological health, cultural inclusivity, and equitable access to resources—all lay on the chopping board. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, the weight of what this means to me, to my students, barreled down on me. I was teaching a class entitled, “Social Justice for a Sustainable Society,” and my students were preparing case studies on reparative futures (Sriprakash et al., 2020); but how was I supposed to show up for this authentically, knowing the just futures they were imagining will be under attack for at least the next four years?

I did show up for my classes and for my students, but it was different. In some cases, I cried with my students, in others, I urged them to keep going, to not let this hostile political environment silence them and their achievements. I fiercely defended this program as a safe space for all, especially in this time of difficulty. My job changed, my relationship with my students changed. Working together through our pain and vulnerability, we found a collective strength and supported each other in a way that increased our resilience to do the work of sustainability.

Building strength through vulnerability

One of the features of our program that builds relationships, and collective learning is the one-week, in-person residency that is required every summer for three years. The educational sustainability doctoral program is online, except for this yearly residency. The residency is frequently mentioned by our students as one of the most transformative experiences in the program. This year (June 2025), I took a different approach to planning the residency. Rather than bringing computers and learning about sustainability competencies and research methods, we focused on the heart and hands parts of transformative learning (Sipos et al., 2008) and the social and emotional connections between each other (Papastamatis and Panitsides, 2014).

I planned activities for us that would require leaving our devices behind and connecting with nature and each other, like canyoning (repelling down waterfalls). The canyoning experience, in many ways, mirrored the transformative learning design of the program—it required collaboration, had moments of difficulty, struggle, and vulnerability, and concluded with a sense of collective strength, resilience, and empowerment.

The students similarly reflected on how canyoning was transformative and created a unique bond through vulnerability and trust. One student wrote about the canyoning experience:

Everyone that participated in that experience was truly vulnerable and also supportive of each other. We had to let our guards down to focus on completing the journey down the canyon and leaned on each other to do so. That required a significant amount of trust and literal handholding.

In the end, we were closer with our peers after the canyoning experience

Another student reflected on the emotional safety created through this experience:

One particularly memorable experience that fostered the community was the canyoneering trip, where we rappelled down an 80-foot waterfall.

Supporting each other through adrenaline (and fear) led us to encouragement and emotional safety.

Yet another student reflected on the emotional support and kinship that this experience fostered:

The descent through all the waterfalls was not only physically grueling, but emotionally intense. What surprised me, however, was the way my peers checked in with me—offering emotional support and words of affirmation without judgment. In that moment, I felt seen and held. There was a sense of mutual care that went beyond casual classmate interaction and moved toward a deeper kind of kinship.

The fact that I faced my fear, endured the pain, and still came away feeling proud says a lot about the strength and healing I’ve cultivated.

The canyoning experience pushed many people’s physical and emotional limits, but together we were strong, resilient, and could tackle anything put in our path. The canyoning became an analogy for our relationships in this program and our pursuit of sustainability.

We may feel fear, face struggles, even trauma, but through vulnerability, trust, and support, together, we can persist.

This one experience is not the full story, but it does provide a glimpse into the shared experience of striving and struggling for sustainability in a time of difficulty and finding that together we are more resilient. It also opens the conversation for viewing transformative learning as a physical and emotional endeavor, rather than primarily cognitive.

I started 2025 full of fear and sadness. I came to my classes with that vulnerability—with tears and at a loss for any answers or solutions to the hardships we are facing. My students held my hand as much as I held theirs. The determination that I feel today to use everything I have to uplift their voices and ensure that they have this program as a space for healing, hope, and emotional safety is more steadfast than ever. I am transformed by the strength I see in our collective capacity.

Transformative learning as a form of collective resistance

Transformative learning is a recursive and co-generated process. Educators must be willing to be vulnerable, open, and receptive to growth and change. In this way, we are not experts disseminating knowledge; instead, we are learning alongside our students and growing because of them. Also, sometimes in advocating for sustainability, we need to take time away from writing, reading, and presenting to build our resilience as change agents with our community.  

I feel more engaged and enraged to fight for a sustainable future today than I have ever felt in the past. Holding this space where we could be vulnerable, created emotional safety, and from that space of safety and support, I can continue to fight and advocate for a more just future.

ECER 2025 – Presentation

To learn more about the educational sustainability students and their perspectives on transformative learning, please attend our presentation at ECER:

“Multi-year study on Students’ Transformative Learning Journey through an Educational Sustainability Doctoral Program”
Session Number: 30 SES 02 B
Session Title: 30 SES 02 B: Education and Transformation
Session Location: University of Belgrade, room tbc
Session Time: 09/Sept/2025, 15:15 – 16:45

Dr. Erin Redman

Dr. Erin Redman

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, USA.

Erin Redman is the program director and associate professor of Educational Sustainability in the School of Education at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Prof. Redman comes to UWSP from Leuphana University of Luneburg (Germany) where she has been a research associate and program lead on an international sustainability education collaboration for the Global Consortium of Sustainability Outcomes (GCSO). Prior to joining Leuphana, Prof. Redman created and led the Sustainability Teachers’ Academy, a professional development program for in-service teachers from all over the United States. She was also a faculty member at the National University of Mexico (UNAM), where she integrated sustainability throughout their undergraduate programs as well as designed a stand-alone sustainability undergraduate program. https://www.uwsp.edu/directory/profile/erin-redman/

ECER Belgrade 2025

Since the first ECER in 1992, the conference has grown into one of the largest annual educational research conferences in Europe. In 2025, the EERA family heads to Serbia for ECER and ERC.

08 - 09 September 2025 - Emerging Researchers' Conference
09 - 12 September 2025 - European Conference on Educational Research

Find out about fees and registration here.

Since the first ECER in 1992, the conference has grown into one of the largest annual educational research conferences in Europe. In 2025, the EERA family heads to Serbia for ECER and ERC.

In Belgrade, the conference theme is Charting the Way Forward: Education, Research, Potentials and Perspectives

No doubt that education has a central role in society, but what it is destined to do is contested politically as well as scientifically. Yet more debate is had concerning the question of the way in which educational research should shape the future of educational practice. The important, but sensitive role educational research occupies in that regard should be the promotion of a better understanding of the contemporary and future world of education, as is expressed in EERA’s aim.

Emerging Researchers' Conference - Belgrade 2025

The Emerging Researchers' Conference (ERC) precedes ECER and is organised by EERA's Emerging Researchers' Group. Emerging researchers are uniquely supported to discuss and debate topical and thought-provoking research projects in relation to the ECER themes, trends and current practices in educational research year after year. The high-quality academic presentations during the ERC are evidence of the significant participation and contributions of emerging researchers to the European educational research community.

By participating in the ERC, emerging researchers have the opportunity to engage with world class educational research and to learn the priorities and developments from notable regional and international researchers and academics. The ERC is purposefully organised to include special activities and workshops that provide emerging researchers varied opportunities for networking, creating global connections and knowledge exchange, sharing the latest groundbreaking insights on topics of their interest. Submissions to the ERC are handed in via the standard submission procedure.

Prepare yourself to be challenged, excited and inspired.

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Developing the resilience of first-year students under martial law in Ukraine

Developing the resilience of first-year students under martial law in Ukraine

by | NW 10 Teacher Education Research, NW 5 Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education, UERA

War traumatises everyone it touches, especially children and young people. The World Health Organisation has noted that at least 10% of people who have experienced traumaticevents as a result of armed conflict have had serious mental health problems (and 10% of them will have behaviours that interfere with their ability to function effectively). The aggravation of the military conflict in Ukraine has made it important to implement the project “Development of Resilience of First-Level Higher Education Students in the Context of the Military Conflict in Ukraine”, which was made possible by the Ukrainian Educational Researchers Association with the support of the European Educational Research Association.

This study was conducted at the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education of the Dragomanov Ukrainian State University (Kyiv) at the beginning of the academic year 2022-2023. Students had started studying from a distance, not only in different regions of Ukraine, but also in other countries as refugees.

Why focus on first-year students in Ukraine?

In the current realities of Ukraine, first-year students at Ukrainian universities are at risk of deteriorating mental health. Former school leavers had not yet fully adapted to the challenges and restrictions of receiving educational services in the COVID-19 pandemic  [8; 15; 17], and the start of professional training again required a change in lifestyle, way of thinking, attitude towards themselves and others, in accordance with the requirements of the newly developing social situation [6; 9; 10; 11; 14]. And all this was happening against the backdrop of escalating military aggression by the Russian Federation, which was accompanied not only by a risk to life and health, but could also cause mental trauma or damage to basic structures of personality, starting with physiological reactions to stress, and ending with the general picture of the world and self-image [18].

After the first week of studying at the university under martial law, Ukrainian first-year students reported a deterioration in their mental health: symptoms of distress (asthenia, increased anxiety, lowmood, restless sleep, tension) and somatisation (headaches) prevailed. In some cases, this was combined with certain manifestations of anxiety (anxiety/panic attacks, fear of public embarrassment). More than half of the surveyed first-year students associated the deterioration of their mental health with their studies and the situation in Ukraine (52.1% and 66.2%, respectively) [2].

Why focus on resilience?

Adaptation to a difficult life situation, and overcoming and preventing negative consequences, is significantly influenced by the availability of certain personal resources. In this context, it is worth talking about resilience as a systemic element in the structure of a well-being personality, a positive mental state that leads to adequate adaptation in adverse circumstances. At the same time, resilience should be viewed as a resource that allows a person to choose the appropriate type of coping [13].

Resilience as a factor in maintaining mental health under martial law can be defined as an individual’s ability to return to normal functioning and to restore the previous state after a certain period of maladjustment due to stressful experiences[7]. It is also about the individual’s ability to prevent the emergence and exacerbation of psychological problems and dysfunctional disorders by “mitigating” the impact of the socio-psychological consequences of emergencies by actualising their own internal resources[3]. In other words, resilience should be viewed as a continuous, active process of emergence or development of new forces and resources for adaptation and recovery, which has uneven dynamics in the face of new risks [12].

According to the results of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), 38% ofUkrainian first-year students do not have the skills to maintain and support mental health, which is confirmed by their low levels of resilience [5]. Accordingly, these students have a reduced ability to influence a complex or atypical situation, lose their own resources, have difficulties in solving new challenges and issues of life, and have difficulties adapting.[16].

What contributes to preserving and restoring Ukrainian students mental health?

The structure of resilience includes three components:

  • cognitive – represented by such components as openness to experience, tolerance to uncertainty and positive thinking
  • emotional – involves emotional stability, emotional intelligence and extraversion
  • behavioural – search activity, prosocial behaviour [3].

In other words, if a person does not lose the ability to think flexibly in an objectively or subjectively difficult life situation, he or she is more likely to be able to regulate his or her emotional state and prevent a physiological stress response. Given an adequate emotional response, they will seek a constructive solution to the problem, including by seeking social support.

 The level of resilience of Ukrainian first-year students is closely related to the following components:

  • extraversion – orientation towards other people, connections with them, support
  • prosocial behaviour – orientation towards socially useful actions
  • emotional stability – orientation towards emotional self-regulation
  • openness to experience – orientation towards learning new experiences and skills

The level of resilience also depends on the complexity of the problems faced by the student [4].

How to develop first-year students’ mental health under martial law

The innate ability of a person to be more or less resistant to stress should not be underestimated. However, without either a spontaneous (by imitating the stress-resistant response of significant others and identifying with them) or specially–organised process of acquiring resilience skills, this may not be enough when the traumatic nature of the situation exceeds the individual’s inborn reserves to withstand its negative impact.

Therefore, a training programme on developing resilience in first-year students was developed to familiarise participants with a set of psychological tools that will help harmonise their self-image, self-concept and attitude to themselves; actualise and activate self-knowledge processes; and form emotional and behavioural self-regulation skills that will strengthen their psychological stability (resilience).

This training programme consists of six modules, each of which contributes to forming and developing important mental health competencies:

  • The ability to communicate, develop relationships with other people, and to seek social support
  • The ability to express their thoughts and feelings, focus their attention, and be empathetic to themselves
  • The ability to identify and build on their value orientations, understand the meaning of their lives
  • Positive thinking skills to strengthen self-confidence and increase their self-esteem
  • The ability to build mutual support and effective cooperation and nurture life-giving relationships
  • The building of skills for effective regulation of energy and emotions [1].

The programme was attended by 18 first-year students. 7 students took part in a one-day offline course, while the remaining 11 students were involved in two online psychological support groups and received training over a six-week period.

After participating in the scheme, 75% of the participants showed positive changes in their resilience, especially among the participants of the online psychological support groups. However, given the small number of students who had an objective opportunity to take the training in the harsh realities of Ukraine, it is worth talking about the need for further testing.

Activities to preserve and restore students’ mental health are ongoing. Elements of the training programme are used in the educational process in such disciplines as Psychological Counselling, Psychological Rehabilitation, Psychological Correction, etc. The training programme is also being actively implemented in the work of the Centre for Psychological Support and Social Adaptation at the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education of Dragomanov Ukrainian State University.

Key Messages

  • At least 10% of people who experience traumatic events, such as the war in Ukraine have serious mental health problems
  • A project by the Ukrainian Educational Researchers Association and EERA was launched to support Ukrainian first-year students
  • The project focused on first-year students, as they were coping with the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the transition from school to professional training
  • Ukrainian students reported a deterioration in their mental health after the first week of studying at the university 
  • The EERA and UERA programme focused on building the resilience of Ukrainian students, to help them cope with the stress of studying during martial law
  • 75% of participants showed positive changes in their resilience after taking part in the programme
  • Futher activities to preserve and restore students’ mental health in Ukraine are ongoing
Dr Hanna Afuzova

Dr Hanna Afuzova

Associate Professor of the Department of Special Psychology and Medicine, Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education, Drahomanov University, Ukraine

Hanna Afuzova holds a PhD in Psychology and is an Associate Professor of the Department of Special Psychology and Medicine, Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education, Ukrainian State Drahomanov University (Kyiv, Ukraine)

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8112-8943

Researcher ID: HZI-0197-2023

Other blog posts on similar topics:

References and Further Reading

  1. Afuzova, H. (Eds.). (2023). Rozvytok rezylientnosti zdobuvachiv pershoho rivnia vyshchoi osvity v umovakh voiennoho konfliktu na terytorii Ukrainy [Development of resilience of first-level higher education students in the context of military conflict in Ukraine]. Retrieved from URL Методичні рекомендації з розвитку резильєнтності – Google Диск [in Ukrainian].
  2. Afuzova, H. V., Naydonova, G. O., & Krotenko, V. I. (2022). Osoblyvosti psykhichnoho zdorovia pershokursnykiv na etapi adaptatsii do profesiinoho navchannia v umovakh voiennoho stanu [Features of The Mental Health of First-Year Students at the Stage of Adaptation to Professional Education Under Martial Law]. Habitus, 41, 278–273. https://doi.org/10.32782/2663-5208.2022.41.49 [in Ukrainian].
  3. Afuzova, H. , Naydonova, G. O., & Krotenko, V. I. (2023). Rezylientnist yak chynnyk zberezhennia psykhichnoho zdorovia v umovakh voiennoho stanu [Resilience as a factor in maintaining mental health under martial law]. Habitus, 53, 100–104. http://habitus.od.ua/journals/2023/53-2023/16.pdf [in Ukrainian].
  4. Afuzova, H., Krotenko, V., & Naydonova, G. (2023). Rozvytok rezylientnosti pershokursnykiv na etapi adaptatsii do profeisinoho navchannia v umovakh voiennoho stanu [Development of first-year students’ resilience at the stage of adaptation to professional training under martial law], Psykhichne zdorovia v umovakh viiny: shliakhy zberezhennia ta vidnovlennia: zbirnyk materialiv I Vseukrainskoi naukovo-praktychnoi konferentsii (z mizhnarodnoiu uchastiu) [Mental health in the conditions of war: ways of preservation and restoration: collection of materials of the First All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference (with international participation)]. Kyiv, 5–8. [in Ukrainian].
  5. Afuzova, H., Naydonova, G., & Krotenko, V. (2023). A study of Ukrainian first-year students’ resilience at the stage of adaptation to training and professional activities under martial law. Studies in Comparative Education, (1), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.31499/2306-5532.1.2023.288413

  6. Androsovych, K. A. (2015). Psykholohichni chynnyky sotsialnoi adaptatsii pershokursnykiv v umovakh osvitnoho seredovyshcha profesiino-tekhnichnoho navchalnoho zakladu [Psychological Factors of Social Adaptation of Freshmen in the Educational Environment of a Vocational School]. (Candidate`s thesis). Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University. Severodonetsk. [in Ukrainian].
  7. Assonov, D., & Khaustova, O. (2019). Rozvytok kontseptsii rezyliiensu v naukovii literaturi protiahom ostannikh rokiv [Development of the concept of resistance in the scientific literature in recent years]. Psykhosomatychna medytsyna ta zahalna praktyka, 4(4), e0404219. https://doi.org/10.26766/pmgp.v4i3-4.219 https://uk.e-medjournal.com/index.php/psp/article/view/219 [in Ukrainian].
  8. Education and COVID-19: challenges and opportunities (2020). Retrieved from URLhttps://en.ccunesco.ca/idealab/education-and-covid-19-challenges-and-opportunities 

  9. Enes, R., & Tahsin, I. (2016). Coping styles, social support, relational self-construal, and resilience in predicting students’ adjustment to university life, educational sciences. Theory and Practice, 16(1), 187– https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2016.1.0058

  10. Fryer, L. K. (2017). (Latent) transitions to learning at university: A latent profile transition analysis of first-year Japanese students. Higher Education, 73(3), 519– https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0094-9 
  11. Gonta, I., & Bulgac, A. (2019). The Adaptation of Students to the Academic Environment in University. Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 11(3), 34-44. https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/137

  12. Grygorenko, Z., & Naydonova, G. (2023). The concept of “resilience”: history of formation and approaches to definition. Public administration and law review, (2), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.36690/2674-5216-2023-2-76-88

  13. Kireieva, Z. O., Odnostalko, O. S., & Biron, B. V. (2020). Psykhometrychnyi analiz adaptovanoi versii shkaly rezylientnosti (CD-RISC-10) [Psychometric Analysis of the Adapted Version of the Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10)]. Habitus, 14, 110-116. https://doi.org/10.32843/2663- 5208.2020.14.17 [in Ukrainian].
  14. Nelson, K. J., Smith, J. E., & Clarke, J. A. (2012). Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: an institution-wide approach. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(2), 185-199. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.556108
  15. Nestorenko, Т., & Pokusa, Т. (Eds.). (2020). Education during a pandemic crisis: problems and prospects. Opole: The Academy of Management and Administration in Opole.
  16. Odnostalko, O. S. (2020). Resursy stiikosti osobystosti v umovakh skladnykh ta netypovykh sytuatsii zhyttia [Resources of Personality Stability in the Conditions of Difficult and Atypical Situations of Life]. (Candidate`s thesis). Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University. Lutsk. [in Ukrainian].
  17. Özüdoğru, G. (2021). Problems faced in distance education during Covid-19 Pandemic. Participatory Educational Research, 8(4), 321-333. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.21.92.8.4
  18. Ulko, N. M. (2016). Psykhoeduktsiia yak chynnyk sotsialno-psykholohichnoi reabilitatsii [Psychoeduction as a Factor of Socio-Psychological Rehabilitation], Sotsialno-profesiina mobilnist v umovakh suchasnoi osvity: materialy Mizhnarodnoi naukovo-praktychnoi konferentsii [Social and Professional Mobility in The Conditions of Modern Education: International Conference Proceedings]. Kyiv, р. 16. [in Ukrainian].
  19. World Health Organization. World health report 2001 – Mental health: new understanding, new hope. Geneva: Switzerland; 2001. [Google Scholar]
    Silent heroes – Celebrating Peru’s Early Childhood Educators in times of crisis

    Silent heroes – Celebrating Peru’s Early Childhood Educators in times of crisis

    by | BERA, NW 10 Teacher Education Research, NW 14 Communities, Families, and Schooling in Educational Research

    We are counsellors, we are nurses, we are legal helpers, even parish priests, we are multifaceted.

    Maria

    Leader/Teacher, Peruvian public school

    These are the words of a Peruvian public-school early childhood educator/leader, as she described how her role morphed into one of holistic accompaniment, not just to her young students, but to their families as well during the extended period of school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They highlight one of the many challenges thrust upon a previously maligned and disenfranchised workforce in a moment of crisis, but much more than this, they offer us a glimpse into the lives of early childhood education(ECE) stakeholders in Peru during this period. 

    The Peruvian Context

    Life in Peru was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent social distancing requirements, which meant that education institutions were closed to in-person teaching for more than 18 months. Educational outcomes, whilst seeing an upward trend in the years leading up to the pandemic in terms of PISA scores, were still below the OECD average (OECD, 2018). The system was still considered to be struggling in terms of providing equal access to quality teaching and learning experiences as ‘poor, rural, indigenous girls are 91% more likely to be left behind in quality education than their wealthier, urban, non-indigenous peers’ (Alcázar et al., 2020, p12).

    Public school teachers are historically perceived as having low prestige and relatively low pay in comparison to other professions (Saavedra & Gutierrez,2020), a significant contextual consideration when we ponder the critical role they not only played in ensuring educational opportunities for children, but also in support and guidance for families.

    The challenges faced by early childhood educators

    Within this complex context, initial findings from my multiple case study doctorate research project, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents, leaders and teachers at four early childhood settings, suggest that early childhood educators across private, public, rural, and urban areas faced several significant challenges. These included increased workload burdens, adaptation to the use of technology, their own emotional well-being, connecting in meaningful ways with children, and dealing with the day-to-day uncertainty. And from the outset of the strict social distancing measures put in place, they were bombarded with the demands of work.

    If, for example, they did not have their child’s next call scheduled, or they didn’t know the questions to ask them, or they had a problem sending their evidence, there would be messages at midnight or at one in the morning… even at four in the morning, the phone rang. It didn’t matter if it was Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the same. 

    Catalina

    Teacher, Peruvian public school

    Significantly, access to high-quality internet and devices in Peruvian homes is limited, so online lessons were not an option for many families. Instead, they relied on sending and receiving messages, usually via WhatsApp or SMS texts, which resulted in early childhood educators being the first point of call for parents, reframing their role in society.
    And our role was more emotional accompaniment for the families, not only with children, with families too
    Almudena

    Teacher, Peruvian public school

    If educators were able to connect virtually with children, they were faced with the challenges of adapting their pedagogical approach to foster relationships and engage young children through screens. A task that was initially faced by just the educators working in the private sector but soon by many in the public sector too.

    It has been a very difficult time. For me, as a professional, no? Because in spite of having made every effort to bond with my students, it’s a dehumanising process, you are in front of a computer and have no contact with them.

    Rosario

    Teacher, Peruvian private school

    Implications and conclusions

    This blog post, rather than endlessly listing the challenging circumstances faced by early childhood educators in Peru during the pandemic, seeks to draw attention to their resilience and achievements, providing a voice to those often overlooked in vulnerable communities.

    Resilience in educators was evident in the mere fact that ECE was able to be adapted and continued regardless of the extreme and unprecedented challenges faced. However, as Gu (2014) states, resilience in educators is not merely coping in the face of adversity; it encompasses a moral and vocational-like commitment to make a difference and support learning. Critical to this dedication was their ability to develop positive interactions with parents and foster supportive relationships with peers, as they shared online teaching practices and provided emotional accompaniment. These coping strategies are underpinned by collaboration, which was key in bringing the ECE community together, and ensuring the best outcomes for children.

    This has significant implications for the future as the relationships forged between parents and teachers, alongside the new professional and personal skills developed by teachers, can be vital in addressing learning gaps and bridging inequalities. In highlighting these issues, there is the potential for the profession’s low prestige in Peruvian society to be changed or at least challenged.

    Key Messages

    • Celebrating the efforts and dedication of early childhood educators during the pandemic provides a voice to those often overlooked in vulnerable communities
    • Resilience in educators includes a moral and vocational-like commitment to make a difference and support learning
    • The development of positive interactions with parents was critical, as was the fostering of supportive relationships with peers
    • The relationships forged, and the professional and personal skills developed by teachers during the pandemic, can be vital in addressing learing gaps and bridging inequalities.
    Tom Chalmers

    Tom Chalmers

    PhD Student at the University of Greenwich, UK

    Tom Chambers is an early career researcher studying a part-time PhD at the University of Greenwich, London. His research is focused on exploring the impact of the pandemic on the key stakeholders associated with early childhood education (ECE) in Peru. The research will not only have implications for educational policy and practice but also highlight the inequalities in accessing high-quality ECE in countries in the Global South.

    He has recently completed a two-year period of part-time volunteer work as a desk researcher with La Fundación Baltazar y Nicolás, a Peruvian NGO involved with supporting parents of young children in Peru. Tom is an experienced early years/primary educator and holds a Master’s in Education also from the University of Greenwich

    Twitter/X: @TomChambers1984 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tom-chambers1984 ORCID: 0009-0000-4439-9592

    Other blog posts on similar topics:

    References and Further Reading

    Alcázar, L., Bullard, M., &Balarin, M. (2020). Poor education and precarious jobs in Peru: Understanding who is left behind and why. Southern Voice, 64. https://southernvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Education-Jobs-Peru-Alcazar-Bullard-and-Ballarin-2020.pdf

    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

    OECD. (2018). Programme For International Student Assessment (PISA) Results From PISA 2018. In OECD COUNTRY NOTE. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_PER.pdf

    Saavedra, J., & Gutierrez, M. (2020). Peru: A Wholesale Reform Fueled by an Obsession with Learning and Equity. In F. M. Reimers (Ed.), Audacious Education Purposes: How Governments Transform the Goals of Education Systems. Springer.

    Peru: A Wholesale Reform Fueled by an Obsession with Learning and Equity | SpringerLink