This chapter is based upon a unique mixed methods 4-year research project which focused upon the variations in teachers' work, lives and effectiveness of 300 elementary and secondary school teachers in a range of 100 schools across seven regions of England. Its findings challenge linear conceptions of teacher development and expertise and provide new understandings of the effects of personal, school and broader policy contexts upon professional life phase trajectories and teachers' emotional identities. It finds connections between these and teachers' commitment, resilience and effectiveness. This chapter discusses these in relation to the school standards and teacher retention agendas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Acker, S. (1999). The realities of teachers' work: Never a dull moment. London: Cassell.
Ball, S. J. (2001). Teachers' soul and the terrors of performativity. Research Students' Society, Issue 38. London: University of London, Institute of Education.
Benard, B. (1991). Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family, school, and community. Portland, OR: Western Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 335 781.)
Bernstein, B. (1996). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique. London: Taylor and Francis.
Bryk, A. S., Lee, V. E., & Holland, P. B. (1993). Catholic schools and the common good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Castells, M. (1997). The power of identity. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Crosswell, L. (2006). Understanding teacher commitment in times of change. Submitted thesis for the degree of Doctor of Education, QUT, Australia.
The costs of commitment. In C. Day, A. Fernandez, T. Hauge, & J. Moller (Eds.), The life and work of teachers: International perspectives in changing times (pp. 109–129). London: Falmer Press Day, C. (2000). Stories of change and professional development
Day, C. (2004). A passion for teaching. London: Routledge Falmer.
Day, C. W., Elliott, B., & Kington, A. (2005). Reform, standards and teacher identity: Challenges of sustaining commitment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 563–77, 0742051X.
Day, C., Sammons, P., Kington, A., Gu, Q., & Stobart, G. (2006). Methodological synergy in a national project: The VITAE story. Evaluation and Research in Education, 19(2), 102–125.
Ebmeier, J. & Nicklaus, H. (1999). The impact of peer and principal collaborative supervision on teachers' trust, commitment, desire for collaboration, and efficacy. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 14(4), 351–378.
Elliott, B. & Crosswell, L. (2001). Commitment to teaching: Australian perspectives on the interplays of the professional and the personal in teachers' lives. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Teacher Commitment at the European Conference on Educational Research, Lille, France.
Elkins, T. & Elliott, J. (2004). Competition and control: The impact of government regulation on teaching and learning in English schools. Research Papers in Education, 19(1), 15–30.
Evetts, J. (2005). The management of professionalism: A contemporary paradox. Paper presented to ESRC Seminar Series, Changing Teacher Roles, Identities and Professionalism, Kings College, London.
Firestone, W. A. (1996). Images of teaching and proposals for reform: A comparison of ideas from cognitive and organisational research. Education Administration Quarterly, 32(2), 209–235.
Gewirtz, S., Cribb, A., Mahony, P., & Hextall, I. (2006, June 26). Changing teacher roles, identities and professionalism: A review of key themes from the seminar papers. Paper for discussion at Seminar 9 at the Changing Teacher Roles, Identities and Professionalism seminar series, Kings College, London.
Goodson, I. & Hargreaves, A. (Eds.) (1996). Teachers' professional lives. London: Falmer Press.
Goss, S. (2005). Counselling: A quiet revolution. London: Teacher Support Network.
Guardian (2003). Workload hits teacher morale. (Report on GTC/Guardian/Mori Teacher Survey) 7 January: 8.
Hargreaves, A. (1993). Individualism and individuality: Reinterpreting the teacher culture. In J. W. Little and M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), Teachers' work: Individuals, colleagues, and contexts (pp. 51–76). New York: Teachers College Press.
Hargreaves, A. (2000). Four ages of professionalism and professional learning. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 6(2), 151–82.
Hargreaves, A. (2001). The emotional geographies of teaching. Teachers' College Record, 103, 1056–1080.
Helsby, G. (1999). Changing teachers' work. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Henderson, N. & Milstein, M. M. (1996). Resiliency in schools: Making it happen for students and educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Higgins, G. (1994). Resilient adults: Overcoming a cruel past. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hodkinson, H. & Hodkinson, P. (2005). Improving schoolteachers' workplace learning. Research Papers in Education, 20(20), 109–131.
Huberman, M. (1993). The lives of teachers. London: Cassell.
Huberman, M. (1997). Coda: new paths for bold ventures. In S.A. Raizen and E.D. Britton (Eds.), Bold ventures: Patterns among U.S. innovations in science and mathematics education, Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Kluwer.
Ingersoll, R. M. (2003). Who controls teachers' work? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
James-Wilson, S. (2001). The influence of ethnocultural identity on emotions and teaching. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 2000.
Kelchtermans, G. & Vandenberghe, R. (1994). Teachers' professional development: A biographic perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 26(1), 45–62.
Kelchtermans, G. (1996). Teacher vulnerability: Understanding its moral and political roots. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(1), 307–324.
Kelchtermans, G. (2005). Teachers' emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 995–1006.
Kushman, J. W. (1992). The organisational dynamics of teacher workplace commitment: A study of urban elementary and middle schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 28(1), 5–42.
Kyriacou, C. (2000). Stress busting for teachers. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
Louis, K. S. (1998). Effects of teacher quality worklife in secondary schools on commitment and sense of efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9(1), 1–27.
McLaughlin, M. & Talbert, J. E. (2006). Building school-based teacher learning communities: Professional strategies to improve student achievement. New York: Teachers College Press.
McNess, E., Broadfoot, P., & Osborn, M. (2003). Is the effective compromising the affective? British Educational Research Journal, 29(2), 243–57.
Nash, P. (2005, April 21) Change and challenge. Speech to London Well-Being Conference British Library. Retrieved July 15, 2006 from http://www.teachersupport.info/upload/TeacherSupport/ documents/Speechtowellbeingconference_210405.pdf
Nias, J. (1981). Commitment and motivation in primary school teachers. Educational Review, 33(3), 181–190.
OECD-PISA (2003). PISA 2003 Assessment framework — mathematics, reading, science and problem solving knowledge and skills. http://www.pisa.oecd.org.
Riehl, C. & Sipple, J. W. (1996). Making the most of time taken and talent: Secondary school organisational climates, teaching tasks environments, and teacher commitment. American Educational Research Journal, 33(4), 873–901.
Sachs, J. (2003). The activist teaching profession. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Tatto, M. T. (Ed.) (2007). Reforming teaching globally. Oxford: Symposium Books.
Troman, G. & Woods, P. (2001). Primary teachers' stress. London: Routledge.
Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68, 202–48.
Tsui, K. T. & Cheng, Y. C. (1999). School organisational health and teacher commitment: A contingency study with multi-level analysis. Educational Research and Evaluation, 5(3), 249–265.
UNESCO (1998). World Education Report: Teachers and teaching in a changing world. Paris: UNESCO.
Werner, E. (1990). Protective factors and individual resilience. In S. J. Meisels and J. Shonkoff (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (pp. 97–116). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Woods, P., Jeffrey, B., & Troman, G. (1997). Restructuring schools, reconstructing teachers. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Day, C., Sammons, P., Gu, Q., Kington, A., Stobart, G. (2009). Committed for Life? Variations in Teachers' Work, Lives and Effectiveness. In: Bayer, M., Brinkkjær, U., Plauborg, H., Rolls, S. (eds) Teachers' Career Trajectories and Work Lives. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2358-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2358-2_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2357-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2358-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)