More than ever, early-career teachers are struggling to survive within the contemporary schooling environment. Current data suggests that up to 45% of American teachers abandon the profession within 5 years, with almost a third of Australian and UK teachers also leaving. The intention here is to propose a coherent set of strategies to reverse this trend – strategies founded within the philosophy of Stoicism. Largely based upon Epictetus’ familiar three-part approach to Stoicism, this paper will demonstrate how the philosophy can offer greater resilience within the demanding modern classroom. However, we will go beyond the familiar boundaries of the ‘teaching resilience’ literature to offer an approach to classroom flourishing which supports and enriches the professional world of teachers, as well as provides a template for the broader cultivation of a good and manageable life. Importantly, this paper will propose a particular approach, one which we are referring to as ‘Social Stoicism’. As a form of Virtue Ethics, Stoicism is open to a range of interpretations, with the dominant contemporary reading being one which prioritises individuality, self-reliance and mental toughness, traits which are of most often associated with traditional models of masculinity. An alternative approach, one which will be supported and expanded upon within this paper, emphasises its cosmopolitan foundations, and its belief that effective Stoic selves are actually formed within social environments. As such, ‘Social Stoicism’ has the potential to appeal to a far wider, less male-dominated, audience – arguably an important issue within a profession such as teaching.

Authors:
Gordon Tait, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Michael Gard, University of Queensland, Australia
Belinda Carpenter, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Gordon Tait is a professor in the Faculty of Creative Industry, Education and Social Justice, at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He has published widely in the areas of education, philosophy, ethics, and cultural studies.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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