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Investing in teacher well-being benefits teachers, students and society more broadly, says a UNSW educational psychology researcher.

Supporting teacher well-being at the start of term is integral to sustaining their well-being long term, according to a . Understanding how we can better support teacher well-being and how it changes over time will help reduce the current high burnout and attrition rates, says Scientia Associate Professor Rebecca Collie from UNSW’s School of Education. 

“Teacher well-being is of critical importance to healthy functioning at work and to students’ academic development,” says the world-leading educational psychology researcher. “The research found teachers’ levels of well-being at these starting points, as well as the perceived quality of their connection with students are significant in shaping subsequent patterns of well-being.”

The study, conducted with Scientia Professor Andrew Martin from UNSW, examined how teacher well-being changes over one school term, and the role of teacher-student relationships in how these changes unfold. It followed 401 primary (56%) secondary (38%) kindergarten to year 12 (6%) schoolteachers from all Australian states and territories, during Term 3 in 2021. 

Teachers reported on their well-being and their sense of connection with students in weeks two, five and eight of the 10-week term. Teachers reported declines in well-being over the term, the research found. 

“Importantly though, teachers who reported more positive teacher-student relationships at the start of term ended the term with higher [rates of] well-being than those teachers who started the term with less positive teacher-student relationships,” she says. 

“Our findings highlight the interconnectedness of teacher well-being and teacher-student relationships and underscore the importance of introducing efforts to bolster both.”

A/Prof. Collie conducts research into motivation, wellbeing and social-emotional development using quantitative research methods. She works with unions, government and researchers in and to promote evidence-led change in educational policy and practice. Her research is regularly cited in and referenced in . It aims to identify how to support teachers and students to thrive socially, emotionally and academically.

“Our findings highlight the interconnectedness of teacher well-being and teacher-student relationships and underscore the importance of introducing efforts to bolster both,” says A/Prof. Collie.

Teacher well-being can be understood as a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively at work, says A/Prof. Collie. “The ‘feeling good’ part is captured by factors, such as job satisfaction, a sense of vitality, and low stress or burnout at work. In contrast, the ‘functioning effectively’ part of the definition is captured by factors like work engagement and occupational commitment.”

These emotional, cognitive and behavioural elements of well-being were examined in the study using the , developed by A/Prof. Collie. The scale identifies three types of well-being as key to teachers’ healthy and effective functioning: vitality – the energy and vibrancy that teachers feel in their work; engagement – the dedication and exertion that teachers channel into their job; and professional growth – teachers’ commitment to enhancing their expertise and competencies. 

The research found all three types of well-being declined over the course of the term. “This applied to all different types of teachers [regardless of age, gender and experience], highlighting the need for ongoing efforts to support teacher well-being,” A/Prof. Collie says. 

The research did, however, reveal some interesting minor variations. For example, female teachers started the term with lower vitality, but higher engagement than male teachers. More experienced teachers started the term with higher engagement than less experienced teachers. These insights will help guide further research to help us tailor responses to improve teacher well-being, she says.

Teachers report some of the highest rates of psychological stress. , conducted by the Black Dog Institute in 2023, found 70 per cent reported having unmanageable workloads. In the survey, 52 per cent reported moderate to extremely severe symptoms of depression and 59.7 per cent reported feeling stressed (compared to 12.1 per cent and 11.4 per cent of the general population respectively).

Additionally, , only exacerbated by the pressures of the COVID pandemic. has suggested shortages could worsen over the coming years, with the demand for secondary teachers to exceed the supply of new graduate teachers by around 4,100 between 2021 to 2025.

“Historically, teaching has had a high rate of early-career attrition – teaching is a very rewarding profession, but it can also be challenging – however, this has now grown in all career-stage categories,” A/Prof. Collie says. “The issue is sector-wide – affecting both public and private schools – and is a recognised problem internationally.”

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Teacher shortage has a huge cost to schools and to society more broadly, she says. As such, teacher well-being is receiving increasing attention in current reviews of the education sector, including within the Australian Government’s and the initiative, jointly funded by the Australian Government and state and territory governments.