Developing teacher resilience by modifying cognitive appraisals: What is reappraised in teacher reappraisal?

Abstract

Today it is well established that the modification of cognitive appraisals –i.e. the way people represent the situations they face- is central to the development of teacher resilience. However, the understanding of the specific transformations in the appraisals that lead to this development is still incipient. This paper investigates a teacher’s spontaneous process of reappraisal –i.e. modification of appraisals-, occurring over a period of approximately two years, and identifies two narrative mechanisms of reappraisal connected to her improvement in teacher depersonalization. The understanding of these two mechanisms, called “elaboration of antecedents” and “identification,” enriches the existing research on reappraisal and has important implications for fostering the development of teacher resilience.