Teacher Resilience in South Africa - The Self-Efficacy and Teacher Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers Preparing to Teach in a Challenged Context

Oct 15, 2026

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This publication addresses a gap in high-quality quantitative research on teacher resilience in less-studied Global South contexts. It examines self-efficacy and teacher efficacy across three cohorts of South African final-year pre-service teachers (N=1,193). The study links intrapersonal resilience-enabling pathways with a statistically significant relationship between self-efficacy and teacher efficacy. The authors propose an evidence-based framework explaining how these factors may support prospective teachers in teaching despite chronic and cumulative challenges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Theoretical Underpinning

Contextualising: Challenged Global South Space and Teacher Education

Teacher Resilience in South Africa: The Self-Efficacy and Teacher Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers Preparing to Teach in a Challenged Context Dr Carine Jonker Prof Marien Alet Graham Prof Liesel Ebersöhn University of Pretoria, South Africa Abstract: This publication addresses a gap in high-quality, quantitative studies on teacher resilience within the less-researched context of the Global South. Specifically, it examines the self-efficacy and teacher efficacy of three cohorts offinal-year pre-service teachers in South Africa (N = 1,193). This article aimed to contribute evidence on teacher resilience from an under-researched African context and population. Despite contextual challenges, the pre-service teachers indicated high intrapersonal resilience-enabling pathways, with a statistically significant relationship between their self efficacy and teacher eficacy. The authors propose an evidence based framework of how high levels of self-efficacy and teacher efficacy may enable prospective teachers to teach despite chronic and cumulative challenges. Few teacher resilience studies exist in the Global South and South Africa, and this study contributes to the body of literature in this field and hopes to promote place-based (e.g., Global South) research through contextual lenses to provide necessary needed evidence for teacher resilience. Keywords: Teacher education and resilience, Self-efficacy, Teacher efficacy, Global South, Quantitative, Comparative case study design. Introduction Given the extremely challenged context in which teachers in South Africa – and in other similar Global South countries – teach, it is necessary to understand resources that enable teachers to continue teaching – as much as it is important to understand what constrains their capacity and leads to burnout or leaving the profession. These insights are especially meaningful for teacher education. Evidence on key resilience-enabling resources pertinent for pre-service teachers can inform the design of higher education curricula aimed at preparing teachers to continue teaching. This article aims to contribute evidence on teacher resilience from an underresearched African context and population. Western understandings of resilience may not be applicable to a Global South context (Bosch, 2020; Ebersöhn, 2015; Masten & Wright, 2010) . There is a need for an evidence-based framework for teacher resilience within challenged contexts due to: (i) the dearth of quantitative teacher resilience studies (Ainsworth & Oldfield, 2019; Kidger et al., 2016),(ii) limited knowledge about resilience in teachers overall (Beltman et al., 2018),(iii) an even greater gap in understanding pre-service teacher resilience (Mansfield et al., 2016; Morgan, 2011), particularly in developing countries (Ebersöhn, 2015, 2016; Ebersöhn et al., 2020; Theron, 2016 ; Versfeld et al., 2023) . Accordingly, research implores that contextualisation of resilience should be developed at a local level since context plays a key role in studies of adversity (Shean, 2015) . Such understanding would include an agreed insight into resilience terms so that conceptualisation of resilience is grounded in the local community, such as a Global South context. Therefore, the purpose of the current publication was to investigate – within an under-researched South African context – two intrapersonal protective resources (self-efficacy and teacher efficacy) pertinent to teacher resilience. The research question guiding the article was: How can insight into the self-efficacy and teacher efficacy of three cohorts of final-year teacher education students inform knowledge on teacher resilience? Theoretical Underpinning Contextualising: Challenged Global South Space and Teacher Education Ebersöhn (2017) denoted the plausibility that education as a buffer against adversity may differ from country to country, particularly between the Global South and Global North. Shaped by colonial hist

FAQs

What research gap does this publication target?

It addresses the lack of high-quality quantitative studies on teacher resilience in less-researched Global South contexts, particularly concerning pre-service teachers in South Africa.

How many pre-service teacher participants were included in the study?

The study examined three cohorts of final-year pre-service teachers in South Africa, totaling 1,193 participants.

What is the key relationship the authors report?

The results show a statistically significant relationship between the pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and their teacher efficacy.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz