Professional learning opportunities that enhanced teachers’role effectiveness
were of value. However, greater support from knowledgeable head teachers and
colleagues in whom they could trust which focussed upon maintaining and
increasing teachers’morale and capacities to manage work–life tensions and sus-
taining their commitment and effectiveness was important also.
3.5.3 Alison’s Story: Managing Personal
and Professional Challenges
Alison was 30 years old and had taught for 11 year. She had been teaching in her
current primary school for 9 years, having previously worked in one other as a
temporary‘supply’teacher. Her workline indicates that her two promotions over a
3-year period positively impacted on her work life as a teacher. However, because
of a challenging class, coupled with her failure to obtain an internal promotion and
her stressful experience with an Ofsted inspection, Alison experienced a dip in her
motivation and job satisfaction. A year later, her success in gaining further pro-
motion in the school and her new‘lovely’class re-ignited her motivation and
self-esteem and ultimately made a significant contribution to the rise in her sense of
efficacy and commitment. Reflecting on her recent divorce, Alison felt that she had
Fig. 3.2 Alison’s workline: moving onwards and upwards
46 Q. Gu