Teacher Resiliency: Nature or Nurture?
David S. Benders, Flodonna A. Jackson

Abstract
This analysis of previous research and data is designed to explore the idea of teacher retention issues that are a major area of concern within the K-12 educational system. This paper will offer a new direction to studying the issue of teacher retention by exploring whether the resiliency in teachers is a part of the nature versus nurture argument. The findings suggest that teacher resiliency is a personal, internally developed characteristic that fosters an optimistic view of teaching and learning that results in a teacher “sticking with it” regardless of the challenges faced each academic year. It is anticipated that this paper will impart new knowledge to the reader and initiate subsequent research that will aim at identifying the specific personality trait that one may need to exhibit perseverance in the field of K-12 education.

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