I can't imagine doing anything else': why do teachers of children with SEN remain in the profession? Resilience, rewards and realism over time

Abstract

There has been a substantial amount of research on why teachers leave the profession but little on why they stay. The paper will follow Day et al.'s work (2007) in examining the factors that determine which teachers will maintain resilience and stay in the profession, focusing particularly on those who worked as special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCOs), analysing the careers of 19 teachers who had been in the profession for more than 15 years. Data were gathered by focus groups and life history interviews taking a qualitative, narrative enquiry approach. This research found that some situated factors in schools were found to contribute positively and/or negatively to teachers' efficacy, commitment and perceived effectiveness. Personal influences were also significant and included having children, salary requirements and flexible working patterns. An important factor, and unique to this research, was a commitment to working with children with SEN, and all respondents wanted to continue doing this in some capacity in the future. The paper concludes with the implications for policy and practice and considers possible strategies for maintaining teachers' resilience across their careers.