industry & reform
Thrive at work
New study gives insight into teacher wellbeing
By Rebecca J . Collie
Teacher well-being is an important topic , as it not only affects teachers ’ personal lives but also has significant implications for their work with students . However , low teacher well-being and high teacher turnover are persistent issues in many schools .
Pinpointing job supports linked with greater well-being and lower attrition among teachers is critical .
In my recent study , published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology , this was the focus .
The study examined the associations between various job supports and challenges , and different aspects of teacher well-being and turnover intentions .
The study found that positive interpersonal relationships were important for the outcomes , whereas time pressure was linked with poorer outcomes .
These results provide insights into how schools can support teachers to enhance well-being and ultimately improve the quality of schooling systems for teachers and students .
JOB SUPPORTS AND JOB CHALLENGES Four factors appeared to play an important role in the study . Three of the factors are job supports , which help teachers to thrive at work , and are related to positive interpersonal relationships :
• Autonomy-supportive leadership refers to teachers ’ perceptions that their principal encourages their selfinitiative and self-empowerment
• Relatedness with colleagues reflects teachers ’ sense of feeling connected with colleagues
• Relatedness with students reflects teachers ’ sense of feeling close and connected to their students The job challenge , which makes it harder for teacher to thrive at work , relates to teachers ’ sense of time pressure :
• Time pressure ( also called workload pressure ) refers to the burden felt by teachers to complete tasks within a given timeframe
TEACHERS ’ OUTCOMES Alongside those job supports and challenges , three types of well-being were examined :
• Vitality refers to teachers ’ energy and enthusiasm for their work
• Engagement refers to the effort teachers put into their work tasks
• Professional growth refers to teachers ’ investment in developing their professional skills and abilities The final outcome is relevant to teacher attrition :
• Turnover intentions refer to teachers ’ intentions to leave their job
WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND ? Among a sample of 426 Australian teachers , the study showed that autonomy-supportive leadership and relatedness with students were linked positively with all well-being factors .
Promoting teachers ’ self-initiative and self-empowerment , and fostering close and connected relationships with students appear crucial for teacher well-being . Relatedness with colleagues was linked with greater professional growth , suggesting that a sense of belonging with co-workers cultivates a positive attitude towards the profession and motivates teachers to enhance their expertise .
Relatedness with colleagues was also linked with lower turnover intentions , highlighting the importance of strong collegial networks for teacher retention . Time pressure was associated with lower vitality , but it was also associated with greater engagement . Although this latter finding seems counterintuitive , it has been supported in prior work and likely occurred because a sense of urgency can be motivating in certain circumstances .
However , time pressure over the longer-term may have negative impacts . In fact , time pressure was also linked with greater turnover intentions in this study — indicating that while it might result in higher engagement at work , it may be problematic for retention .
WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO ? The study results highlight key factors that are implicated in teacher well-being and turnover intentions , and provide insights into the practices that schools can implement to support teachers .
In particular , school leaders may want to apply the following strategies :
• Encourage teachers ’ self-initiative and self-empowerment by offering teachers the freedom to decide how they will carry out their work , encouraging teachers to provide input in decision-making processes and school policies , and providing reasons for why work tasks are assigned .
• Promote a sense of closeness and connection between teachers and students by implementing school-wide social-emotional learning programs , making positive interactions a focus of the school mission , and developing a professional learning focus on boosting positive interactions in the classroom .
• Streamline teachers ’ workloads wherever possible , such as by decreasing the number of administrative tasks and face-to-face teaching time required of teachers . Encouraging teamwork and cooperation among teachers within schools can also be beneficial for sharing responsibilities . ■
educationreview . com . au | 11