As I write this we are in the last days of the end of the
second term of the year, in the middle of winter where it is cold and miserable
and the flu/bug season seems to be incessant. Many schools have mid-year
reporting happening, so there is the added stress and it shows for many of us.
Let’s be honest though, teaching as a profession is
inherently stressful. We are working with people all day and human beings are
complex, sometimes tricky even. And relating to people is only the start of what
a teacher is doing as you all know, but I am not going to spend time talking
about what stresses us for two reasons; 1. There is plenty of research and anecdotal
data to confirm that teaching is stressful and 2. Spending energy on talking
about what stresses us often feeds the problem and doesn’t necessarily provide
any solution to it.
In the last year I have conducted a small study as part of my masters in
education qualification exploring positive wellbeing for primary teachers in
their mid-career. I propose that the findings are likely to be relatively
generic although to confirm that I would obviously need to conduct a much
larger study. I do think however it is worth sharing some of the findings here
as food for thought and a possible contribution to the important conversation
about teacher wellbeing. Don’t think for a second that teacher wellbeing isn’t
important either, there is plenty of research to support the notion that happy
healthy teachers have happier healthier classrooms with happier healthier
learners who appear to achieve better- simply put, your wellbeing is important
to the learners in your care.
So here’s some of what I found out about what may contribute
to positive teacher wellbeing in our current educational climate:
1. People-centred leadership practices.
How the school leaders work with their
staff in the school can make an appreciable difference to teacher wellbeing. In
my research it was noted that it was the small acts of kindness and
appreciation that really mattered such as a sincere thank you, a surprise
coffee or chocolate treat (or appropriate healthier option), noticing when
workload increased and doing what they could to alleviate the stress in small
ways. It really centred around relationships and ethical behaviour.
Consider: How do you enhance your
relationships with your staff if you are in a leadership position? What are the
small acts of kindness that you know will be appreciated by members of your
team? How can you build relationships with the leaders in your school?
2.
Supportive relationships.
It is said that teaching is about the three
R’s, relationships, relationships, relationships. The relationships teachers
have are numerous; students, colleagues, parents/caregivers, leadership, school
management/parent committees, community members, PLD staff etc. The reciprocal
nature of student teacher relationships is really interesting, when teachers
are doing well their students tend to follow suit, and when students are
succeeding that tends to support teacher wellbeing as well. Our relationships
with our colleagues can be protective too, it appears that where teachers work
in a collaborative, supportive environment that still allows for autonomy and
individuality they thrive.
Consider: How do you build and maintain
relationships with your students? What is it about your classroom environment that
enhances wellbeing for all? How do you acknowledge your colleagues positively?
What do you do to create a positive working environment at your school?
3.
Strong sense of purpose.
For the people in my research making a
difference to the learners in their care was clearly a motivating factor and something
they returned to time and time again when speaking about what ‘filled them up”.
Having clear beliefs about teaching and learning, then following them as well
as sharing school values can be empowering for teachers.
Consider: Why did you become a teacher?
What do you believe about teaching and learning? Do you share your school
values?
4.
Self Efficacy
Adopting an “I choose…” mindset appeared to
have a positive impact for the teachers in my research. They acknowledged they
didn’t achieve true balance much of the time, if at all, but they all stated that
the way they worked/lived was a choice they had made. This seemed to be
empowering, they were in control of what they could control and owned it. They
were also clear about what was out of their control and found ways to shift
their focus. Think about a time that was challenging for you, what lessons can
you draw from it? This is one way to reframe negative experiences that appears
to help stop these events eating away at your self esteem. Another way to build
self efficacy is to be self aware, knowing your strengths and weaknesses as
well as addressing your health and wellbeing needs. The teachers I talked to weren’t
afraid to ask for help and could track how they steadily shifted and changed
their teaching practice to meet learner needs and improve management of their
own personal resources.
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| Happy healthy teachers have happier healthier classrooms with happier healthier learners who appear to achieve better. |
Consider: What choices do you make around how
you work and why? Are these choices working for you or do you want to change
anything? If so what? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What can you
share with others to help them improve their practice? Who can you ask for help
when you need it?
Basically teachers, like most people I would suggest, need
belongingness, connection, a sense of identity. This, for me, is like our
essence that we can come back to when we are decision making, when we are under
stress, when something doesn’t go right. The people around us can have a huge
impact on how we feel, as can the stories we tell ourselves.
As I stated earlier, your wellbeing is important to the
learners in your care so I hope that you will do what you can to help yourself
to be the happy healthy teacher you know your learners deserve.
If you would like to read more from my research I am happy to forward a PDF copy to you, please contact me and I will arrange this with you personally.
