This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol 27 number 4,
Author(s): Denise G. Meister and Patricia Ahrens, " Resisting Plateauing: Four Veteran Teachers’ Stories", Pages 770–778, Copyright Elsevier (May 2011).
This article describes and interprets the career experiences of four veteran secondary teachers and their ability to resist plateauing.
Three areas of veteran teacher research informed this study: career stages, plateauing, and resiliency.
In-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted to investigate and depict the meanings these teachers attached to their career experiences.
Several factors emerged for each participant’s resilience.
First, building leaders influenced their enthusiasm and professional growth.
Second, positive effects on students’ lives affirmed their work.
Third, interactions with colleagues promoted growth, and individual support systems helped them bounce back from career frustrations.
The authors conclude that administrators can help teachers overcome plateauing if they understand the career cycles. Furthermore, teachers need time to collaborate with each other.
Add comment: