Developing self-efficiency and resilience

What makes a wise and efficient teacher? Most likely the response would be
something to do with the five foci that I have just written about How the
teacher teachers their subject with passion, the styles and theories they use in
the classroom, the way they respond to the individual students learning needs in
an effective and appropriate manner. As well as building relationships with their
students, the students families and the rest of the staff in the school, how they
work with difficult situations and the contextual issues within their classrooms,
and lastly how they show love grace and forgiveness towards others. If this was
the answer to wise and efficient teaching, it would be the right answer and I
know teachers who would be great examples of this teaching ability; however I
believe there is more to it. The key would be all these wise skills above but also
the ability to build self-efficiency and resilience to last the distance.
As a counsellor I am often asked how I manage such a stressful job and am often
looked at as if I have special powers. Though interesting enough I see teaching
as a very stressful job too. So how would one manager the stresses of these
jobs? In my training as a counsellor it was drilled into us to always be reflective
of self and implement self-care; having these skills in my career has helped me
build self-efficiency and resilience to handle some very stressful times and
situations.
As Dillon (2011) implies that teaching should be a reflective practice that leads
to intuitive judgement and conscious thoughtfulness which will sharpen your
ability to make deliberate moves to maintain standards and your long-term goals
and values to improve your performance as a teacher. Harrison (2008) would
suggest that developing your own self-awareness is an essential tool to teaching
as its central to developing your reflective practice as a professional; If I can
form a helping relationship to myself if I can be sensitively aware of and
acceptant towards my own feelings then the likelihood is great that I can form
helping relationships towards another (p. 16). Having self-efficiency is being
self-aware of your thinking, feelings/emotions and behaviours you experience in
your teaching role and how that influences the way you teach and how you will
manage stressful situations (Gibbs, 2002). The way a person thinks cognitively
will have an effect on their emotional wellbeing and then will reflect in their
behaviour, any given situation or an event whether it be good or bad will
automatically cause thoughts, which will have an effect on how a person feels
physically and emotionally and this will alter the way a person responds in
behaviour (Blenkiron, 2010). As counsellors we call this cognitive behaviour and
using a CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach helps people become
observant of themselves and why they do or respond the way they do to any
given situation in their personal and professional life. Building the practice of
becoming self-aware, self-reflective develops your ability to understand your
strength and weakness which ultimately is an important tool to help one critique
their decision making and problem-solving strategies that will allow you to cope
better with the complexities of your teaching role (Harrison, 2008).

Subsequently when we becoming more self-reflective, we then become more

resilient; Tait (2008) writes people with high levels of emotional competence
including the ability to manage feeling and handle stress, confront failure with
optimism, persist in the face of difficulty, have all been correlated with success in
the workplace (p. 60). Many people write about resilience, but what does that
really mean and how to we build it in our lives and professional roles? Being
resilient is being capable, adaptable,to be able to bunce back, or return to
normal after being stretched or shocked (Collins dictionary, 1999). From the
reading I have read about the skills needed for teaching, along with adding some
of my own ideas I have come up with an illustration using a word play on
resilience that I hope will help teachers build a reflective and resilient practice.
R = Relationship with God, Relationship with self and Relationship with others
colleagues, students and school community (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012).
E = Emotional competence, knowing yourself, knowing your boundaries and how
you cope with stress (Gibbs, 2002) and (Tait, 2008).
S = Self-regulation, bring balance to your life; self-care is important if you want
to last the distance (Capel, 2009), (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012) and (Tait, 2008). Take time to rest,
as God did from creation on the seventh day of the Hebrew calendar week, it is
commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest (Exodus 20:8, GODS WORD
Translation).
I = Intentional and Innovative in your behaviors, ideas, skill sets and teaching
(Capel, 2009)and (Gibbs, 2002)
L = Learning, Being mentored and willing to learn from others. Learning from
your own mistakes (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012)and (Tait, 2008).
I = Interrelatedness, accepting others from all cultures and context, with
empathy and understanding (Harrison, 2008), (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012) and (Tait,
2008).
E = Experiences, using all situations good or bad as a growing and learning
opportunity (Capel, 2009), (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012), (Gibbs, 2002), (Harrison, 2008)
and (Tait, 2008).
N = Network, you do not have to be all things to all people. Others have different
giftings than us. Be a team player, work with in your team and the school
community (Ferrier-Kerr, 2012) and (Harrison, 2008).
C = Confident, Know your giftings and abilities and be confident in who you are
and how you work (Capel, 2009), (Gibbs, 2002), (Harrison, 2008) and (Tait,
2008).
E = Effective, make a difference, impact people, touch lives, change history and
leave a legacy (Gibbs, 2002) and (Tait, 2008).
In summary, resilience, personal efficacy and emotional competence each
contribute to the success of novice teachers in their work and may lead to

greater commitment to teaching as a career (Tait, 2008, p. 60-61). In addition I

believe that adding these skills does not just add to your teaching career, but
adds to your balance to life. Too often I see careers become the be-all and end-all
of a persons life and there is no time for family and the enjoyment of life. So
take note and be aware that self-care is your number one priority, because when
you are well, you will work well.