Teacher Well-Being and Living Schools

Abstract

Teacher well-being is a growing concern in the education field as teachers are the foundation of our education system. Unfortunately, teachers are burning out at alarming rates due to the low priority of their well-being in the current hierarchical system. The focus of this research study was to determine factors that influence the state of teacher well-being throughout schools in Manitoba and to determine how the presence of Living School Attributes and Practices (Howard & O’Brien, 2018) can contribute to the well-being of teachers. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was implemented in two phases. The first was a quantitative electronic survey to acquire initial information on teacher well-being variables with 83 participants; a well-being scale based upon Carney’s (2015) well-being model was developed for the survey. The data revealed significant correlations between teacher well-being and Living Schools, Living Schools and New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), and Well-Being and NPDL. The second phase employed qualitative one-on-one interviews based upon results from the first survey, with a focus on seven teachers who are thriving within their school environments. Four themes developed from this data and are all inter-related and connected to one another. The four identified themes are: 1) School Climate; 2) Teacher Resilience and Personal Competency, 3) Relationships; 4) Living School Attributes and Practices and Well-Being. The study supported the use of the Living School Framework to help enhance teacher well-being. It indicated that teacher well-being is a very complex topic and can be very individualized for specific teachers, therefore there is not one single solution to enhance teacher well-being; instead using the Living Schools Framework can enhance well-being for all, sustainably.