Resilience, Job Demands, and Job Resources: Examining the Professional Experiences of English Language Teacher Educators in Turkish Faculties of Education

This study, using an exploratory qualitative approach with an interpretative phenomenological orientation, involved in-depth interviews with eight academics working in English Language Teaching departments within faculties of education at public and private universities in Turkey, and analysed the transcripts using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis alongside thematic analysis. In offering insights into these experiences, the study shows that academics are exposed to substantial instructional, administrative and emotional demands related to processes such as the implementation of the Teacher Academies, which are perceived by some stakeholders as a structural shift that necessitates a re-definition of the institutional role of education faculties. The availability of job resources is patchy and typically ineffective, with students constituting the primary resource that enables academic performance. Resilience is viewed as multifaceted and related to career stage, personal resources, colleagues, and meaning-making activities. The findings carry theoretical, practical, and policy-related significance. Theoretically, they signify that resilience is at once a personal resource and an outcome according to the JD–R 2.0 model. Practically, they suggest that academics need protection from unnecessary bureaucratic requirements and that they should have access to limited resources that will support their performance and support their autonomy as academics. Implications for practice, policy, and future studies are outlined.