Problematising the Role of Personal and Professional Relationships in Early Career Teacher Resilience

Formal processes such as ongoing induction, mentoring and professional development are commonly recorded as factors that can enhance early career teacher resilience. Yet, informal processes, including the support provided by personal and professional networks are not often acknowledged nor made explicit. Drawing on two qualitative studies, we examine teachers’ informal significant relationships as these appeared to play a particularly key role for their resilience. We argue that it is problematic to represent early career teachers’ support providers in two distinct categories – personal and professional, as has often been perpetuated in the literature. The article explores the various types of support provided to groups of early career teachers and concludes with implications for further research and for schools and teacher education programs.