As a former education minister and senior system leader, I have a different perspective on educator resilience than teachers do. As a minister, I stood a long way from the classroom. But a minister plays a substantial role in creating and nurturing an education profession and ecosystem that helps to build, protect, and renew educator resilience. 

First, we can minimize how often resilience is tested 

While we can never reduce stress and conflict to zero, we can make sure that educators work in a less stressful environment. That is of course important for workplace safety. But for educators reducing stress and conflict also means giving them more time and space to do what they do best — teach children.   

Leaders also need to be empowered to support educator professionalism. In short: school leaders and system leaders must have educators’ backs. 

We must also bolster respect for teachers’ professionalism 

Ministers have a large part to play in the community perception of teaching and must take that responsibility seriously. They should be constantly enhancing the reputation of the teaching profession by acting and speaking respectfully about it. And they must make sure that professionalism is respected by key stakeholders: parents, co-workers, the media, and other system players such as school board members.   

That’s not to say they can never criticize teachers or the profession. It would be dishonest not to point out areas of improvement or poor performance, but it must be done respectfully and constructively.   

And we need to practically support professional development 

Professional development is a crucial aspect of enhancing resilience in any workforce. So if we want to renew and build resilience, ministers must provide the resources and the time for high-quality professional development.  

As well as traditional training, that should include time for collaboration between educators within schools and between schools. Upgrading content knowledge and skills means educators are armed with the knowledge to minimize moments of stress and failure — and, when they do occur, that they are equipped to handle those moments and move beyond them. 

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The Hon Adrian Piccoli
Former New South Wales (Australia) Minister of Education