Demystifying and sustaining the resilience of teacher educators: the perspectives of Teaching–Research Officers in China

Responding to increased global research interest in teacher educators’ professional lives, this study explores the resilience of Teaching–Research Officers, a characteristic type of teacher educators, in the context of mainland China. Based on survey data collected from a nationally representative sample (N = 5489), the results show that the Teaching–Research Officers surveyed generally favourably evaluated their resilience, as measured by their efficacy beliefs and work engagement, and that their resilience was significantly influenced by various personal, situated, and professional factors. This study extends the research on teacher resilience and provides quantitative evidence supporting the existing conceptual framework. The findings call for attention to be paid to the roles of professional development programmes and research-related job requirements for teacher educators. The study’s limitations and directions for future research are discussed.