Does Attachment Security Priming Enhance Resilience in Early Career Teachers?

The first chapter in this paper introduces the researcher's background and theoretical orientation. The second chapter of this paper outlines a systematic review which synthesized and integrated the research that investigates the links between the quality of Early Career Teachers' (ECTs') personal and professional relationships and feelings of resilience in the workplace. 

Within the UK attrition rates for ECTs are high, 33% of ECTs leave within the first five years of teaching (DFE, 2018), therefore further understanding of resilience factors is required to support retention in the profession. Within this review, resilience is defined as "a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity" (Luthar et al., 2000, p. 543). 

Based on the literature, I define the current context of teaching for ECTs as 'adverse' and their ability to overcome the daily challenges as a resilience outcome (Gu & Day, 2013). A systematic review of the literature revealed a total of 18 studies which originated from Europe, the United States and Australasia. Studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists. 

To support synthesis of results, the research was categorised to answer three questions: Which relationships have capacity to build resilience? How do these relationships build resilience? What impacts the development of ECTs' relationships? Eighteen studies reported a positive impact of either personal or professional relationships in sustaining ECTs' resilience. 

Relationships were found to support resilience via the process of enhancing: wellbeing, teaching commitment, and teacher identity. Furthermore, a range of individual (adaptive functioning and help-seeking behaviours) and contextual factors (school leadership and school culture) were found to impact teachers' capacity to build and use these relationships in a manner that sustains resilience. 

The third chapter in this paper reports on experimental research examining the impact of attachment security priming on early career teacher (ECT) resilience. The study also measured the relationship between resilience and attachment orientation whilst aiming to understand if colleagues or mentors were fulfilling attachment functions for ECTs. 

Participants completed two online questionnaires three days apart. ECTs (n=116) were allocated to either the intervention (n = 58) or control condition (n = 58). A mixed model ANOVA was used to understand the difference between the intervention and control conditions for total resilience and social resilience scores at times 1(pre-prime) and 2 (post-prime). 

Differences in total resilience scores were found to be marginally significant at time 2 (p = .077) and significant for social resilience scores at time 2 (p = .017). Regression analysis found that those with higher attachment avoidance scores reported higher resilience scores prior to the manipulation. 

It is thought that this finding could be attributed to the isolated nature of COVID-related working practices. Regression analysis also found that those who scored higher (versus lower) on attachment anxiety were more likely to include a colleague or mentor within their attachment network. 

Finally, t-test analysis found that those who included a colleague or mentor within their attachment network had significantly higher resilience scores (p = .003) at time one compared to those who did not. The extent to which colleagues and mentors fulfilled different attachment functions for ECTs is explored and implications for key stakeholders are considered.