Abstract

It is commonly assumed that how teachers appraise adverse situations plays a crucial role in their emotional states. This paper explores how situations of adversity are reappraised by teachers in ways that allow them to transit from states of suffering and despair to states of restored well-being and commitment. Focusing on two cases of teacher resilience, this study analyzes the transformation of teachers' appraisals at three levels of depth. The results suggest that reappraisals involve important transformations at the deepest level of the appraisal but are driven by the desire to eliminate contradictions at the intermediate level. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.