Strategies teachers use to maintain motivation

This paper examines how teachers sustain their motivation for teaching in challenging times. Teachers ( N= 209) primarily from Australia and the US nominated 606 strategies to maintain their motivation within online modules designed to enhance capacity for resilience. Inductively coded higher-order categories were: Intrapersonal (e.g. remember original motivation for teaching); Interpersonal (e.g. focus on the students); Professional (e.g. create exciting lessons); and Personal Life (e.g. maintain health and wellbeing). Strategies align with social-ecological understandings of resilience and motivation where both personal and contextual resources are harnessed. Findings provide a basis for employers, leaders and teachers to support teacher motivation and resilience. • Uses a social-ecological framework. • Analyses qualitative data from experienced teachers completing online modules to build resilience. • Identifies four higher order categories of strategies used to maintain motivation. • Discusses implications for employers, school leaders and teachers themselves.