scholarly journals “So I had to give it up”: The role of social support for career persistence or attrition in a qualitative sample of second career teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-475
Author(s):  
Catherine Bauer ◽  
Larissa Maria Trösch ◽  
Dilan Aksoy
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Second Career ◽  
Second Career Teachers ◽  
Career Persistence ◽  
Career Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Sample

This qualitative study uses the Job Demands-Resources framework to examine social support and its role in career retention or attrition among Swiss second career teachers (SCTs). In many countries, including Switzerland, great efforts are made to bring professionals from other occupational fields into teaching. As a result, the number of SCTs is growing, as are speculations about their skills, resources, and career persistence. A qualitative content analysis of 23 semi-structured interviews shows that support from colleagues and principals is a crucial job resource for SCTs, but seems to be positively associated with work engagement and career retention only if it is offered in forms that are sensitive to SCTs’ own needs and skills. Implications for SCT training and job induction are discussed.

scholarly journals Older Adult Caregivers’ Experiences in an Online, Interactive Mindfulness Intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 2515690X2096065
Author(s):  
Janella Hudson ◽  
Rachel Ungar ◽  
Laurie Albright ◽  
Rifky Tkatch ◽  
James Schaeffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mindfulness Intervention ◽  
Adult Caregivers ◽  
Older Adult Caregivers

Background. While today’s older adults experience longevity, they often manage several chronic conditions and increasingly serve as informal caregivers for aging parents, children with life-long disabilities, and spouses. Older adult caregivers managing personal chronic illness often experience significant psychosocial hardships. Objective. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of older adult caregivers in an online, interactive mindfulness intervention. Methods. Self-reported older caregivers who participated in an online-based mindfulness program (n = 20) were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked to provide feedback about any previous experience with mindfulness and/or meditation, hopes or goals held prior to the start of the program, desired expectations, motivation for joining, impressions of sessions, most beneficial topics, potential application of content, and any perceived effects. Participants’ responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results. Five themes emerged from the analysis: Managing the Comprehensive Effects of Caregiving, Openness to Meditation and Mindfulness, Course Engagement and Incremental Growth, Building Rapport through Shared Experiences, and Ongoing Application and Opportunities for Refinement. Participants reported both short-term post-exercise benefits such as increased calm, relaxation, and stress relief, as well as long-term positive outcomes. Notably, participants found the program’s unique interactive feature to be particularly beneficial as a form of perceived social support. Conclusions. Caregivers for older adults may derive benefit and potentially experience reduced subjective caregiver burden as a result of participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, particularly when the program is augmented with a self-compassion approach and perceived social support.

scholarly journals “This Isn’t Just about Things, It’s about People and Their Future”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Working Conditions and Strains of Social Workers in Refugee and Homeless Aid

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 3858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Wirth ◽  
Janika Mette ◽  
Albert Nienhaus ◽  
Zita Schillmöller ◽  
Volker Harth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychological Strain ◽  
Job Content

Large parts of Europe have been affected by an influx of refugees and increasing homelessness in recent years. Social workers provide care services for refugees and homeless people, but little is known about their working conditions. The aim of this study was to examine their job demands, resources and health strains. 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers in refugee and homeless aid in Hamburg and Berlin between October and December 2017. The interviews were analysed following Mayring’s qualitative content analysis. Additionally, the job demands and resources of social workers with and without long-term psychological strain were compared. Respondents particularly experienced demands concerning their job content and work organisation, including emotional and quantitative demands. Appreciation expressed by clients and social support from the team served as key resources. Respondents had problems switching off from work, were exhausted and exhibited signs of long-term psychological strain, such as symptoms of burnout or depressive states. Workers reporting long-term psychological strain were more likely to consider themselves as being adversely constrained by legal requirements and to describe inadequate supervision offers and team conflicts. In conclusion, the results indicate the need for job-specific health promotion measures reducing particularly demands concerning social workers’ job content and work organisation and further strengthening their social support.

Transition to the School as Workplace: Challenges of second career teachers

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Haggard ◽  
Frances Slostad ◽  
Sally Winterton
Keyword(s):  
Second Career ◽  
Second Career Teachers ◽  
Workplace Challenges ◽  
Career Teachers

scholarly journals Learning Transformation Perceptions of Preservice Second Career Teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 75-90
Author(s):  
Shosh Leshem ◽  
◽  
Rivi Carmel ◽  
Merav Badash ◽  
Beverley Topaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
Second Career ◽  
Second Career Teachers ◽  
Adult Career ◽  
Education College ◽  
Career Teachers

Teachers’ shortage has become a critical issue in most countries in the world. One of the solutions has been the initiation of short-term teacher education programmes which attract adult career changers who enter the programme with prior working experiences and world knowledge. However, the process of transferring previous knowledge is challenging and teachers need to navigate new horizons. The aim of the study is to identify shifts in students’ perceptions regarding the teaching profession, and what experiences prompted the shifts. The research was conducted among 15 students in a teacher education college in Israel. The analysis of interviews exposed five main themes where students displayed shifts of perceptions. The themes relate directly to the two interrelated key concepts of second career teachers and transformative learning. The synergy between the two concepts created tension, dilemmas and dissonances which generated spaces for learning and fertile ground for shifting in frame of reference.

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