Health-Promoting Schools in Nova Scotia: Exploring the Well-being of Rural Teachers

Abstract

Globally, teachers are experiencing a well-being crisis. Educators are overburdened at work and experiencing high levels of stress/burnout causing them to leave or contemplate leaving the profession. Rural teachers face additional unique place-specific well-being challenges. This study aimed to explore the well-being experiences of teachers in rural Nova Scotia (NS), Canada. Additional objectives were to discover the ways in which a Health-Promoting Schools (HPS) framework may function in rural schools and to gain a better understanding of the types of support available for teacher well-being (TWB). Participants were n=11 full-time, licensed teachers living and working at least 30 minutes driving distance to the nearest town of 10, 000 or more people. Basic demographic data was collected, and one-on-one interviews were conducted. Teachers in rural NS described negative well-being experiences, affected by four main themes: unsupportive administrators/system, unachievable workload, poor student well-being, and issues accessing well-being supports. Rurality interacted with and enhanced the well-being effects of the last three themes to varying degrees. Rural teachers in NS had no knowledge of HPS functioning to support them and noted a lack of system-specific well-being supports. Teachers looked after their own well-being via self-care, social connections, and boundary setting. Rural living was a benefit to TWB for some participants via nature/outdoor pursuits and enhancing student-teacher relationships through community. This study corroborated mainly quantitative research on TWB and added nuanced, participant voice. Additional qualitative research is needed that expounds upon the factors influencing rural TWB. Identifying the barriers to TWB and strategies to improve it are crucial for the health and functioning of education systems.