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Building Teacher and Middle Management Resilience to Sustain School Effectiveness Under
Volatile and Uncertain Conditions
1) Introduction
Teachers and middle managers in schools increasingly operate under conditions of volatility,
uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA)—characterised by rapid policy shifts, unpredictable
resource availability, contested stakeholder expectations, and external disruptions such as the
COVID-19 pandemic (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014; Harris & Jones, 2020). Prolonged exposure to
VUCA conditions without adequate support leads to teacher stress, burnout, emotional exhaustion,
reduced self-efficacy, and attrition from the profession, with significant negative consequences for
school effectiveness and learner outcomes (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Sokal,
Trudel, & Babb, 2020). Conversely, resilient teachers and middle managers can withstand, adapt to,
and recover from VUCA challenges while maintaining professional effectiveness.
The problem this study addresses is the persistent gap between the recognition that teacher resilience
is essential for sustaining school effectiveness under VUCA conditions and the limited empirical
understanding of how senior leaders and middle managers can effectively build this resilience. While
leadership practices that support resilience have been identified in general terms, there is limited
research on how these practices should be adapted for VUCA conditions specifically, and on the role
of middle managers as resilience builders (Day & Gu, 2014; Mansfield, Beltman, Broadley, &
Weatherby-Fell, 2016). The central research question guiding this study is: How can senior leaders
and middle managers build teacher and middle manager resilience to sustain school effectiveness
under VUCA conditions?
This question is examined through three sub-questions:
(1) What leadership practices do teachers and middle managers identify as most supportive of their
resilience under VUCA conditions?
(2) How do middle managers understand and enact their role in building teacher resilience under
VUCA conditions? and
(3) What are the mechanisms through which leadership practices translate into teacher resilience
outcomes?
The purpose of this study is to investigate how senior leaders and middle managers can build teacher
and middle manager resilience to sustain school effectiveness under VUCA conditions, with a
particular focus on understanding the perspectives of teachers and middle managers, identifying
enabling and inhibiting factors, and examining the mechanisms through which leadership practices
translate into resilience outcomes. The study aims to generate evidence-informed recommendations
for leadership preparation, professional development, and policy in ways that better support teacher
wellbeing and retention, particularly in under-resourced contexts.
Building Teacher and Middle Management Resilience to Sustain School Effectiveness Under
Volatile and Uncertain Conditions
1) Introduction
Teachers and middle managers in schools increasingly operate under conditions of volatility,
uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA)—characterised by rapid policy shifts, unpredictable
resource availability, contested stakeholder expectations, and external disruptions such as the
COVID-19 pandemic (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014; Harris & Jones, 2020). Prolonged exposure to
VUCA conditions without adequate support leads to teacher stress, burnout, emotional exhaustion,
reduced self-efficacy, and attrition from the profession, with significant negative consequences for
school effectiveness and learner outcomes (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Sokal,
Trudel, & Babb, 2020). Conversely, resilient teachers and middle managers can withstand, adapt to,
and recover from VUCA challenges while maintaining professional effectiveness.
The problem this study addresses is the persistent gap between the recognition that teacher resilience
is essential for sustaining school effectiveness under VUCA conditions and the limited empirical
understanding of how senior leaders and middle managers can effectively build this resilience. While
leadership practices that support resilience have been identified in general terms, there is limited
research on how these practices should be adapted for VUCA conditions specifically, and on the role
of middle managers as resilience builders (Day & Gu, 2014; Mansfield, Beltman, Broadley, &
Weatherby-Fell, 2016). The central research question guiding this study is: How can senior leaders
and middle managers build teacher and middle manager resilience to sustain school effectiveness
under VUCA conditions?
This question is examined through three sub-questions:
(1) What leadership practices do teachers and middle managers identify as most supportive of their
resilience under VUCA conditions?
(2) How do middle managers understand and enact their role in building teacher resilience under
VUCA conditions? and
(3) What are the mechanisms through which leadership practices translate into teacher resilience
outcomes?
The purpose of this study is to investigate how senior leaders and middle managers can build teacher
and middle manager resilience to sustain school effectiveness under VUCA conditions, with a
particular focus on understanding the perspectives of teachers and middle managers, identifying
enabling and inhibiting factors, and examining the mechanisms through which leadership practices
translate into resilience outcomes. The study aims to generate evidence-informed recommendations
for leadership preparation, professional development, and policy in ways that better support teacher
wellbeing and retention, particularly in under-resourced contexts.
