Teacher Wellbeing
by Inst. Esra Meşe
“Teachers make more minute by minute decisions than brain surgeons,” said Dr. Tina Boogren (2018), who was shocked at going viral after using these exact words during a teacher training session. Despite the disputes that undermine the job of a teacher, it is indeed one of the stressful jobs that extends beyond the classroom or staffroom. For many reasons including the one mentioned above, teacher wellbeing is a serious topic that needs more attention.
Teacher and learner wellbeing are “two sides of the same coin,” according to Roffey (2012), who added that teachers’ wellbeing is vital for whole school wellbeing as well as public purse (p. 9). Teacher wellbeing should be an important consideration for the organizations as it affects their job commitment and teachers are agents of change and role models for learners (Spilt et. al, 2011). It is an “honorable” endeavor in its own right without any further consideration according to Holmes (2005, p.1). If the aim is to create effective learning environments, positive student outcomes and teachers’ using their resources efficiently, then it becomes crucial to raise awareness of teacher wellbeing, what affects it and how it can be improved.
What is teacher wellbeing?
Amidst a myriad of distractions that leaves us little time or energy to care for our wellbeing, it is important to recognize our wants and needs to become more efficient in our jobs as well as our personal lives. A starting point could be to review the factors that contribute to our overall wellbeing. There are several suggestions in the literature regarding what wellbeing is composed of. One such example is offered by Seligman (2011).
Language teacher wellbeing can be considered through the lenses of Seligman’s (2011) PERMA framework:
Positive emotion
Engagement
Relationships
Meaning
Accomplishment
According to this framework, a teacher can have high levels of wellbeing should they host a set of positive emotions, are engaged in the task at hand, find meaning in the day-to-day teaching experiences, feel accomplished and have a relatively sufficient level of social relationships.
Other approaches have also been offered in the literature to break wellbeing down into categories for a better understanding. One of them could be Holmes’ classification of wellbeing types, which concern one’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing (Holmes, 2005). Another is offered by Spilt et. al (2011), who posited needs for autonomy, belonging and competence (as suggested by Self Determination Theory) could also be considered in analyzing our wellbeing as language teachers.
What affects teacher wellbeing?
Arguably, for many teachers, it is hard to switch off our roles as a teacher right after a class, nor is it easy to leave everyday frustrations behind and be totally present in the moment. There are personal and daily-life factors that may affect a language teacher’s wellbeing. Mercer and Gregersen’s (2020) book “Teacher Wellbeing” tackles the subject as language teachers’ relationships with their workplace, mind, motivation, relationships, emotions, physical wellbeing and future as elements influencing our wellbeing. Such a classification offers a plausible roadmap to approach the question of how we can improve our wellbeing.
How can it be improved?
After we define wellbeing and pay conscious attention to the factors that contribute to it, one can set off for a wellbeing journey, which is not easy and needs to be ongoing to have a long-term impact (Holmes, 2005; Mercer & Gregersen, 2020). Mercer and Gregersen’s (2020) classification will guide the following section.