School Leaders’ Influence on Teacher Wellbeing: Three Case Studies

Abstract

Teacher wellbeing can be advanced through quality leadership both within the educational site and the broader macrosystem influences, which include political agendas and policy, legislative, and curriculum reforms. Teacher wellbeing is best defined by McCallum and Price (2016), who acknowledge the many diverse and fluid factors that influence whether a teacher is feeling and functioning well. They argue that teachers’ wellbeing is both an individual and collective responsibility that can fluctuate across the career continuum due to mitigating circumstances. Leadership, defined here as local and national individuals and bodies, are duty-bound to be involved in the wellbeing of the teaching profession as it ultimately results in learner outcomes, academic achievement, and student satisfaction. Just as learners require dedicated curriculum and policies, explicit wellbeing initiatives for professionals are essential. This chapter draws on three studies to show how leadership can advance teacher wellbeing and teaching effectiveness.

7.1 Introduction

Across the globe, the quality of teachers’ impact on their professional practice to raise student results continues to attract much attention. In Australia, initial teacher education (ITE) is targeted, and the 2021 Initial Teacher Education Review (Department of Education, Skills and Employment [DESE], 2021) is another example of how governments aim to address poor student attainment scores by focusing on one stakeholder—ITE providers. It is acknowledged that ITE is a very important aspect of the teacher quality debate, but with 296,516 full-time equivalent teachers in the Australian workforce (DESE, 2020) and newly qualified graduates only making up about 16,000 of these (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021), the fostering and maintenance of teacher quality is a whole-of-workforce responsibility. Alfayez et al. (2021, p. 1) acknowledge that the wellbeing of teachers is directly related to their teaching quality.

Early career teacher responses to the Staff in Australia’s School Survey 2013: Main Report on the Survey 2014 (McKenzie et al., 2014) indicated that the majority expected teaching would be a lifetime career. However, teachers continue to experience transition challenges as they adjust to the workplace, attempt to accommodate school expectations and workloads, feel pressured in implementing school policy and curriculum, and feel high accountability for student learning outcomes. Thus, teacher wellbeing is increasingly affected by feelings of being overwhelmed, low self-confidence, and oscillating levels of motivation and energy (Viac & Fraser, 2020). Teachers identify enablers to their wellbeing, often citing school leadership as an integral factor in their resilience.

In this chapter, three case studies will be explored that identify the influence of school leadership on the wellbeing of teachers: (1) at the end of their preparation as early career teachers transition to employment; (2) early, mid-career, novice and expert teachers in one schooling sector; and (3) teachers working in times of crisis. The first study was undertaken across two countries—Australia and the UK—and included two ITE providers who had systematically integrated wellbeing education in their teacher preparation courses prior to preservice teachers graduating. The graduates from both institutions were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey that explored the influence of school leadership on early career teachers’ wellbeing. The second study was undertaken in one schooling sector in one state in Australia. It involved an online teacher wellbeing survey using a mixed-methods approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 806 teachers who volunteered to participate. It investigated the perceptions of school leadership on teacher wellbeing. The third case study was undertaken in 2020 during the global pandemic, using an online survey to recruit 322 teachers and leaders across 12 countries. Participants in this study responded to the influences and impact of leadership during the disrupted schooling year in which 1.6 billion learners were affected.

7.1.1 Initial Teacher Education

The complexity of teachers’ work is extensively researched and reported around the globe, and the increasing nature of the role challenges ITE providers who also grapple with significant reforms of their own. In Australia, for example, the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group: Issues Paper (DESE, 2014) suggested 38 recommendations for Australian providers to include: overhauling and strengthening the national accreditation process; making more transparent the academic and non-academic selection criteria for entrants into teaching; measuring the impact of student–teacher performance during and at the end of their courses; and promoting a more integrated approach to teacher education between school systems and higher education providers. The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) sets high standards for providers, student–teachers, teachers, and leaders. Introduced in 2011 and revised again in 2015, all stakeholders must meet seven standards at ‘graduate’, ‘proficient’, ‘highly accomplished’, and ‘lead’ levels to maintain their accreditation and registration. The Initial Teacher Education Review, launched in April 2021 by Federal Education Minister Tudge, addressed the government’s ambition to lift Australian school standards. A new target was set by the Minister, who stated:

To return Australia to the top group of education nations globally by 2030, noting that our school standards have steadily slipped over the last two decades. The review of initial teacher education courses is the most critical element towards lifting standards, noting that the quality of teaching is the most important in-school factor influencing student achievement. The review will address two key questions: how to attract and select high-quality candidates into the teaching profession, and how to prepare them to become effective teachers. (Australian Council of Deans of Education [ACDE], 2021)

The Minister went on to claim that:

The recommendations of this review will help ensure we attract high-quality, motivated candidates into teaching and develop them into teachers with the skills our students need. We want the finest students choosing to be teachers and we also want to make it easier for accomplished mid- and late-career individuals to transition into the profession, bringing their extensive skills and knowledge into our school classrooms. (ACDE, 2021)

Late in 2020 The Report of the Quality ITE Review (QITER) was released but not endorsed (Minister Tudge was asked to step-down temporarily and an acting Minister was in place). However, 17 recommendations were included in QITER, across three priority areas: attraction and retention, ITE program quality, and the early years of teaching. The first area of attraction and retention of teachers seeks to debunk myths about the profession, incentivise, support accelerated programs, and establish a one-year ITE programs. The second area of ITE program quality focuses on supporting graduates to be classroom ready. The third area of supporting the early years of teaching proposes to introduce nationally consistent mentoring during the transition years.

However, the Review Terms of Reference and early messaging have not considered that:

• high-quality, motivated candidates are already attracted into teaching

• ITE providers already develop preservice teachers with the skills our students need

• fine students are choosing to be teachers

• accomplished mid- and late-career individuals are transitioning into the profession, particularly during the global pandemic.

These reforms intend to ensure the profession meets world standards; prepares, employs, and retains high-quality teachers; and positively impacts the learning outcomes of school students. However, teachers report that their work is highly politicised, forever changing, and at times stressful. Recent reports indicate that 40–50% leave the profession within five years, and fewer teachers seek promotion or view the job as a lifelong career (Den Brok et al., 2017; Hugo, 2007; Thomson, 2020; Viac & Fraser, 2020). It is critical that school systems and ITE work in partnership to prepare and sustain teachers in this important work. Teacher wellbeing has recently attracted attention in the education sector after many decades of research and programs focused on learner wellbeing. McCallum and Price (2016) have discussed extensively the factors that inhibit or enable teachers’ wellbeing and identify that school leadership critically influences teacher wellbeing.

7.1.2 Teachers’ Work

It is often stated that teachers are the single most important in-school factor influencing student learning outcomes and satisfaction (Darling-Hammond, 2012; Hattie, 2009, 2015; Rubie-Davies, 2014; Wyn, 2009), with obvious connections that school leadership is an important in-school factor influencing early, mid- and late-career teachers’ effectiveness, overall wellbeing, and productivity.

Teaching is a highly socialised and interactive profession, yet teachers often feel their work is more complex and demanding than the community perceives. Teacher status regarding community standing is declining; however, the 2020/2021 pandemic has imploded this view, with many parents and community stakeholders now acknowledging teachers’ work (McCallum, 2021b, p. 195). The demands arising from their work and increasing complexity (e.g., Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003; DESE, 2014; Quality Initial Teacher Education Review, 2021; Ministerial Council for Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs [MCEETYA], 2003; Senate Employment Education and Training References Committee, 1998) is to be acknowledged. Yet, as teachers are considered the biggest in-school influence on student achievement, they are often blamed for students’ poor performance rather than seen as an asset (Dinham, 2013).

Teachers also educate children and young people about multiple social and economic issues broader than the approved curriculum, embedding learning moments through the school curricula, as witnessed during the pandemic (see UNESCO, 2020). It appears that every time a social problem emerges, it is passed to schools for resolution. Consequently, schools are constantly battling pressures to simultaneously address the ‘basics’ as well as the ‘extras’ society seems unwilling or unable to deal with. School systems are expected to play an important educative role at times of crisis, but rarely is anything removed to balance what is imposed. This results in overcrowded and, at times, unbalanced curriculum placing pressure on teachers and resources. Some of these ‘extras’ include sex and sexuality, drugs, homophobia, healthy living, racism, environmental concerns, body image, bullying, bomb education, dog education, boys’ education, manners, resilience, violence, crime detection, child abuse prevention, depression, and so forth. These issues are significant for a productive and healthy society, but the impact on teachers’ workload and schooling can be overbearing as they struggle to maintain a focus on core business, that of lifting student performance on external measures of achievement.

The changing educational and social landscape places demands on teachers’ work. Shann et al. (2014) suggest teachers need to deal with difficult students; be instructed to build a classroom culture; learn about the needs of diverse student groups; know how to plan outcomes-based lessons; be able to teach students with special needs; scaffold the required literacies to build knowledge on; engage with fellow staff members; cope with increased demands and expectations from parents; be able to collect required evidence that addresses professional standards; use new technologies to a level that engages students in the digital world; and be able to navigate their way out of confusing and challenging classroom events. Of late, recent work identifies that teachers are in the workforce at times of unprecedented change, increasing educational opportunities, and overwhelming complexity (McCallum, 2020). These demands have short- and long-term effects on teachers’ work, with some choosing to leave the profession and others grappling for individual and collective responses to their wellbeing.

7.1.3 Teacher Wellbeing

Wellbeing is emerging as a worldwide priority within educational policy and practice, with a predominant focus on student wellbeing and the role of educational settings in promoting not only academic outcomes but holistic approaches for the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral, spiritual, and aesthetic development and wellbeing of young Australians (MCEETYA, 2009). As Waters (2011) asserts, ‘there is no doubt that teaching for wellbeing is a key aspect of 21st-century education’ (p. 76). In addition to holistic approaches to student wellbeing there is also positive education, positive psychology and flourishing (Seligman, 2011; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Seligman et al., 2009), resilience, emotional intelligence, relational and whole of school approaches. The responsibility for improving student wellbeing commonly falls on the classroom teacher to work with caregivers, students, and relevant support personnel. Expectations of educators are increasingly advocating to ‘teach both the skills of wellbeing and the skills of achievement’ (Seligman et al., 2009, p. 294). Inextricably linked is evidence of how student wellbeing interacts with academic achievement (Durlak et al., 2011). A further view complicates the notion that teacher wellbeing influences student wellbeing and vice versa (McCallum & Price, 2010), with teacher wellbeing and fitness influenced by ecological factors (Price & McCallum, 2015). Given these interconnections, it is argued that at the centre of wellness, achievement, and satisfaction for school children and young people is the teacher’s state of wellness (Kern et al., 2014; Mansfield, 2020; McCallum & Price, 2010, 2016; White & Kern, 2018).

Work plays an important role in most people’s lives, with people in OECD countries spending around a third of their waking hours engaging in paid work (White & McCallum, 2019). Work and workplace quality is a driver of happiness for many people and influences one’s wellbeing. Teaching is a unique profession in that it attracts people with a vocation for caring and wanting to make a difference in children and young people’s worlds, whether it be academic, social, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual. Teaching is one of the most rewarding careers a person can encounter, yet it has increasing workloads; high levels of accountability, measurement, and administration; new challenges in student and parent behaviours; and operates in a rapid, ever-changing digital and global sector. Like student wellbeing, teacher wellbeing is a critical determinant in achieving positive social and academic learning outcomes for all. Wellbeing is of concern locally, nationally, and globally.

Significant and growing attention is being paid to teacher wellbeing research, particularly since the 1960s (McCallum et al., 2017). Key clusters of importance with a deleterious impact on teachers are:

• 1. teachers’ experiences of a lack of autonomy in the workplace (McCallum, 2020; OECD, 2019; Owen, 2016; Song et al., 2020)

• 2. the emotional demands of the teacher’s role and changing aspects to their work; for example, the onset of technology, increased accountability with parents, extreme student behaviour, and the expanding curriculum (Aldrup et al., 2018; Yin et al., 2019; Zee & Koomen, 2016)

• 3. teachers’ feelings of isolation or a lack of identity and not being valued (Day & Gu, 2010; Price & McCallum, 2015)

• 4. limited or irrelevant professional development to assist teachers in keeping up with changes to their work and a lack of a clear pathway for promotion (Ingersoll & May, 2012; Sahito & Vaisanen, 2019).

Teacher wellbeing is being significantly reviewed in various literature of late—see McCallum (2020, pp. 20–27; 2021a, pp. 718–720; 2021b, pp. 184–185).

7.1.4 School Leadership

Schools are in a flux of change around the world with heightened concern for student learning outcomes. As such, school leaders are increasingly being held accountable for how well teachers teach and how much students learn. MacLeod (2020) suggests that leadership is directly impacting student learning. Further, teachers’ continuous professional learning must become more effective if it is to deliver necessary positive growth in student learning—the aspiration of current Australia’s government 2021 Initial Teacher Education Review mentioned earlier. In Australia, AITSL (2015) is charged with upholding the teaching profession, and in 2011 developed the Australian Professional Standard for Principals, which publicly outlines what principals are expected to know, understand and do to achieve their work. As leaders, principals must have high aspirations that inspire staff and establish an environment that enables staff to learn and improve (AITSL, 2015). Unequivocally, ‘school leadership matters greatly in securing better organisational and learner outcomes’ (Leithwood et al., 2019, p. 12).

A growing body of research documents the effects of leadership to include two main functions: providing direction and exercising influence, and effective leaders help the school become a professional learning community to support the performance of all key workers, including teachers and students. Leithwood and Riehl (2003) describe the importance of educational leaders in developing people through offering intellectual stimulation and providing individualised support and an appropriate model. Ultimately, effective leaders influence the whole organisation by strengthening the school culture, building collaborative processes, and managing the entire educational community. Leithwood et al. (2008) make two important claims relating to successful school leadership and teachers work: that school leaders improve teaching and learning indirectly and most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment, and working conditions; and school leadership’s influence on schools and students increases when it is widely distributed. In fact, in this study, which was undertaken across England, it was found that the more lead teachers enacted leadership practices, the greater their influence on teachers’ capacities, motivation, and beliefs regarding the supportiveness of teachers’ working conditions. Similarly, Alfayez et al. (2021) claim that the body of empirical research on leadership in multiple dimensions is established, and the quality of leadership practices significantly determines employees’ wellbeing.

Lately, educational leaders are increasingly asked to be transformational, leading change in organisations and systems at the increasing pace of economic, health, and social change requiring schools to equip students to participate in a rapidly changing workforce (Alfayez et al., 2021; MacLeod, 2020). The impact of COVID-19 was felt across the world in 2020/2021, seriously impacting educational systems globally, with 1.6 billion children and 91% of total enrolled learners in schools worldwide affected at its peak in April 2020 (UNESCO, 2020). Carefully argued by White and McCallum (2021a), COVID-19 may be a crisis the world has grappled with, but unlike earlier pandemics such as the Zika Virus, West African Ebola, AIDS, and Spanish Flu, they also ask if it is a catalyst for change. During these times, school leadership was challenged, and Harris (2020) examined whether school leaders were also in crisis, flagging an important opportunity for change in schools and school systems. Thus, it appears evident that school leaders have a responsibility to support early, mid-, and late-career teachers, and perhaps this is the greatest investment an effective leader can make for improved student learning outcomes, teachers’ wellbeing, and sustained employment. It is also purported that school principals are responsible for ensuring teachers are in good psychological health so they can continue to perform at their best (Alfayez et al., 2021).

The increasing complexity of teachers’ work is impacting teacher wellbeing. As early career teachers transition from university to work, their engagement with the role and their attitudes towards remaining in the profession are influenced by the nature of the work, how they manage it, and the induction and support they receive. Different issues abound for teachers who choose to stay, which can challenge their motivation, energy levels, and productivity. The literature also highlights that perhaps the greatest investment an effective leader can make for improved student learning outcomes, teachers’ wellbeing, and sustained employment is sharing responsibility with school leadership to support early career teachers as they transition to the workplace and having different strategies in place for experienced and expert teachers, especially those aspiring for promotion. In seeking to explore the influences of school leadership on teacher wellbeing, three case studies will be presented in this chapter:

• Study One: Australian and UK Early Career Teachers’ experiences in Transition to the Workforce.

• Study Two: Novice and expert teachers’ experiences of wellbeing in one state in Australia.

• Study Three: Teachers and leaders’ experiences of wellbeing during a crisis.

7.2 Case Study 1: Comparison of Early Career Teachers As They Transition to the Workforce from University/College Courses in Australia and the UK

Two ITE providers committed to integrating wellbeing into teacher preparation programs—one Australian and one British—collaborated in seeking the perspectives of ITE graduates in relation to their wellbeing within their first five years since graduation. This approach was driven by similar concerns regarding initial teacher retention experienced within both geographical contexts. Entrants into teacher education courses is a significant endeavour, with 27,733 recorded in Australia in 2017 (www.aitsl.edu.au) and 34,543 new entrants in the UK in 2019/2020 (www.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk).

7.2.1 Methodology

Case Study 1 Ethics was approved by the University of South Australia (No. H-2015-31412). A comprehensive online survey was developed collaboratively between the two institutions on a range of relevant themes identified in the literature (see below), but the area of relevance to this chapter is the final dot point:

• respondents’ understandings of wellbeing

• career trajectory after qualifying as a teacher

• future career aspirations

• recollections and perceptions of wellbeing education during initial teacher training

• application of wellbeing principles in the workplace

• perceptions of the impact of teacher wellbeing on student wellbeing achievement

• factors that support or challenge teacher wellbeing.

7.2.2 Results and Discussion

A mixed-methods approach elicited both quantitative and qualitative data from both samples in Australia and the UK. The anonymous and voluntary survey targeted past students from a Bachelor of Education or Master of Teaching program through their university’s Alumni Services by email invitation. All graduates completed their initial teacher training in the last five years. The Australian graduates completed an explicit core course on wellbeing in the final year of their Bachelor of Education; for the UK graduates, wellbeing was embedded within professional experience and program content.

A total of 67 graduates responded to the survey, with 63% trained in the UK (7 males and 35 females) and 37% in Australia (4 males and 21 females). Since qualifying to teach, 85% were currently working as a teacher at the time of the survey, 10% were not currently working and 4% disclosed they had never worked as a teacher since graduating. Of those working, 49% held permanent positions, with 44% in fixed term/temporary teaching positions, and 7% in supply teaching roles. Of the participants who responded, 37% described their transition from initial teacher training to being a qualified teacher working in a school as ‘rather’ or ‘very overwhelming’, while only 22% felt well prepared.

The main strategies that supported early career teachers’ transition to teaching were grouped as: (1) receiving personal or professional support; (2) mentoring; and/or (3) formal professional learning. Of these three categories sub-points that related to the value of leadership in their transition were recorded in two of the three categories: (1) receiving personal or professional support (as supportive leadership at the first school) and in (3) formal professional learning (as management structures I can go to)—these two strategies will only be discussed in this paper. However, all strategies were:

• 1. Personal/professional support:

  • supportive leadership staff at the first school I started at

  • supportive colleagues at school

  • establishing a support network within new school

  • supportive department

  • knowing someone else in the new school to help me get settled at the start of a contract at very short notice.

• 2. Mentoring:

  • being mentored by an experienced teacher

  • support from my mentor and other members of my department

  • being able to talk to other teachers for advice

  • having mentors in my department for support and guidance.

• 3. Formal professional learning or policy structures:

  • school induction program for new staff members

  • a slight reduction in the timetable

  • being employed a month before term started to settle in and get to know the children

  • early career teacher release time

  • the school’s management structure and who to go to.

While participants were not asked to describe the value of school leadership on their transition explicitly, the data above indicated that school leadership were identified on two occasions (highlighted in bold font). In total, 28 graduates (52% respondents) saw a sustained career in teaching beyond 10 years, 11 (20%) predicted 6–10 years, 9 (17%) predicted 3–5 years, and 5 (9%) anticipated a limited period of 1–2 years, with one graduate not wanting a career in teaching at all. For those who envisaged a sustained career, there was an acknowledgement of the demanding nature of teachers’ work, and it was mentioned that support was required to maintain an optimistic approach:

I really enjoy working at this school and teaching young adults who like to learn in a different environment. EVERY school should be like this one! The work is overwhelming but the support, especially from the school principal and others in leadership, is great! (Female, 2 years post-graduation, Australia)

However, others found school leadership less effective:

I feel constantly under threat from the senior management team who rarely praise your efforts and constantly seek to find minor issues with which to threaten you. I feel badly paid and under-appreciated. I did not expect even in this type of school to feel so disrespected by both senior staff. I have had no CPD since I started here over 3 years ago. I feel there is no one safe to discuss any queries, or get advice from. Everyone is in the same position here so you feel they discuss you behind your back to curry favour from the management team. I feel so undermined and disillusioned that I can’t even consider going to an interview somewhere else for fear of being rejected, ridiculed and further excluded here. In effect I feel trapped and if it weren’t for the fact that I need the job I would walk out the door in an instant. (Female, 3 years post-graduation, UK)

The impact of leadership on early career teachers is seemingly compounded by government and national agendas of accountability and performance. This participant described how important a positive relationship was with school leaders if you were to maintain your job, and even get a pay increase:

The government are complicating/have complicated everything they possibly can for teachers, instead of facilitating. Workload became almost impossible to manage, performance management is now related to pay progression and judgements can often be unfair, targets and objectives for teachers are not realistically achievable, all is very subjective particularly lesson observations as observers can grade whatever they want. It’s all down to the person with the highest power and authority in the school, the headteacher. If he/she likes you, it’s all good, if he/she doesn’t like you, it’s all bad. (Male, 5 years post-graduation, UK)

Factors that impacted the quality of early career teachers’ teaching were: 31 (65%) school leadership, 40 (41%) workload, and 39 (81%) their own level of wellbeing.

Participants provided positive and negative examples of leadership that impacted their wellbeing (see Tables 7.1 and 7.2). The examples reflect many factors described in the literature relating to issues affecting teachers’ cognitive, physical, and emotional wellbeing, for example autonomy, workload, relationships, support, and reporting lines. Where these were dealt with supportively, early career teachers coped with the work, and this positively impacted their wellbeing. On occasions where there was poor management or differing power relations, early career teachers experienced ill-being or left the school altogether. The mentor role was identified as a positive influence, but those in leadership positions were ultimately responsible for how well the early career teachers performed.

Table 7.1 Positive examples of leadership impacting teacher’s wellbeing

Table 7.2 Negative examples of leadership impacting teacher’s wellbeing

The significance of the examples shared here mirrors what is reported in the literature. The practice of leadership performed by school principals and senior staff in facilitating enabling factors for teachers leads to greater teacher effectiveness and better outcomes for students (Alfayez et al., 2021; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2018). Strategies to improve early career teacher wellbeing recommended by participants in this study included:

• Senior management prioritising teacher wellbeing when designing and implementing school policies, projects, designing curriculum and timetables etc. (Female, qualified 3–5 years ago, UK).

• There should be open, anonymous forums to allow teachers to discuss strategies for managing difficult students, difficult managers, difficult parents, different teaching approaches/resources/strategies to support and help each other without fear of having it thrown back in your face (Female, qualified 3–5 years ago, UK).

• The stigma around teachers not coping is alienating so I think having open communication within a confidential forum could enable teachers to share their feelings while feeling valued. Establishing trust between staff and leadership in schools is vital and cannot be underestimated (Female, qualified over 5 years ago, Australia).

• Resources such as links to mindfulness courses; opportunity and encouragement to exercise, e.g., staff yoga/other exercise classes available after school; subsidised healthy lunch options; regular workload audit (Female, qualified 3–5 years ago, UK).

• I think the responsibility lies with the employer. While working as an accountant my employer was fully invested in ensuring that I succeeded and received full support to do so. I believe that hard-working teachers should be rewarded to show that the employer appreciates the hard work. This would certainly help with my wellbeing. (Female, qualified 1–2 years ago, UK).

• I think a lot of the problems come from the continued pressures caused by the constant changes at government level which are filtered down to school leadership and then the teaching staff. In addition, the lack of funding/understanding of the demands on the teaching profession means that teachers are overstretched. (Female, qualified 3–5 years ago, UK)

• I was very tired at one point in my first year which made me feel very overwhelmed and emotional. I spoke to my HoD who went through my to do list with me and helped me prioritise/put some tasks to one side for a while/helped me plan for the rest of the week, which helped to create a bit of head space for me to relax. (Female, qualified 3–5 years ago, UK)

7.3 Case Study 2: Novice and Expert Teachers’ Experiences of Wellbeing in One State in Australia

This case study is drawn from a research project undertaken from 2017 to 2019 in one schooling sector in one state in Australia to investigate teachers’ wellbeing. Ethics approval was given by the University of South Australia (H-2017-202) and the independent education sector which commissioned the research.

7.3.1 Methodology

This appreciative study involved an online teacher wellbeing 47-item survey that captured quantitative and qualitative responses using a mixed-methods approach. The survey was co-designed based on the findings from an extensive literature review on teachers’ wellbeing (see McCallum et al., 2017) to ensure the unique educational context was reflected in the project aim and focus. The question set was adapted from published wellbeing scales, and drafted, reviewed, and built using SurveyMonkey. It included 770 participants and involved teachers (66%), non-teaching staff (15%), and leaders (19%).

7.3.2 Results and Discussion

Teacher participants (24% male, 75% female, 1% DND) were located across metropolitan (65%), regional (32%, and remote/rural settings (3%) in K-12 settings (4%), secondary (23%), primary (14%), and early learning centres (0.4%). Of these, 74% had a religious affiliation and 73% were in co-educational settings. School size was determined by enrolment numbers: less than 200 students (10%), 200–600 students (20%), 601–1000 students (28%), 1001–2000 students (37%), and more than 2000 students (5%). Years of teaching experience ranged from 0 to 5 years (16%), 6–10 years (25%) and 11–15 years (19%) to 16 years and above (40%).

In the ‘leadership/management’ model ANOVA analysis, two of the three variables showed significant effects; that is, teacher wellbeing was a priority in the school and the main role of leadership at the school. Accounts of supportive leadership and leadership’s awareness of teachers’ workload were reported. Participants shared examples of principals who expressed their care for teachers as professionals:

• I feel that if there was a serious issue, I needed support with, I would be able to turn to her for guidance and support regardless of the outcome (#266).

• Wellbeing coordinator addresses this at meetings and is very supportive. So is our Head of Primary, where he checks up on people and staff (#465).

• I have a lot of control. If I’m not coping with work, I have a responsibility to discuss this with my leadership team. Also, I choose when and how I use my down time to help recover my wellbeing (#500).

However, teachers reported self-managing their workload at busy times, which affected their wellbeing. Despite leadership’s awareness of these demands, leaders responded differently towards teachers and their wellbeing:

• In the busiest periods (when school concert, reports, programs, and organisation peak, and when home has its own pressures) I have very little control over my wellbeing as my time is not my own to control. There is nothing I hate worse at those intense periods than getting an email from our principal telling me how to look after my wellbeing, or that I should! (#77)

• I have started at a new school this year and have been surprised by the number of emails from executive supporting our choice not to answer emails after hours and openly supporting staff who are working parents. These things did not happen at my previous school. In fact, emails were sent in the evening and expected to be actioned by the following morning (#510).

The ANOVA analysis in the ‘leadership/management’ model indicated that when wellbeing was a school priority, it showed a significant main effect: F(1, 574) = 174.97, p < 0.0001. That is, when teachers felt that wellbeing was a priority at school, it led to higher levels of leadership influence (see Fig. 7.1). Therefore, the higher participants scored the leadership /management within their setting—that is, working together to solve problems, being valued for their work by leadership, encouraging and supporting achievements, provision of time and resources—the higher the probability of teachers feeling that wellbeing was a priority at the school.

Fig. 7.1

Leadership/management when wellbeing was identified as a school priority

The analysis of deviance of the logistic model indicated that leadership/management (deviance = 160.28, p < 0.001) had significant effects on teachers’ feelings of wellbeing as being a priority in school (see Fig. 7.2).

Fig. 7.2

Logistic regression of leadership and wellbeing as a school priority

Teachers responded to leadership when their wellbeing reported three positive influences: (1) supporting staff, (2) socialising, and (3) rewarding and acknowledging teachers’ work. For example:

• People are valued and backed up by the leadership team. They are thanked for their hard work and everyone is acknowledged carefully. Small events are organised. Boundaries are modelled by the Primary Leadership Team (#42).

• Communication is supportive and positive. We are informed of how changes in the school will be managed and how decisions are made with staff wellbeing in mind (#87).

• School Chaplain for staff takes primary role. Councillors are also available. Leadership have also recently cut back staff meetings in order to assist time management of things like report writing—so thoughtful decisions in managing workloads (#175).

The three determinants of leadership, wellbeing, and school priority presented mixed responses related to key points (highlighted in bold) evident in the teacher wellbeing literature that can have a deleterious impact, such as stress, lack of autonomy, workload, out of my control, and feeling under-valued (see McCallum, 2021a):

• If things are not going well, I also have my husband. It is rare that anyone in the leadership team would recognise if I was stressed. I don’t think they really do actually care how I am feeling—they always seem stressed themselves (#325).

• School leadership, workload and other external factors are not in my control (#598)

• I have a lot of control over my wellbeing but not as a teacher as there are too many task masters. Right now, I can get orders from as many as 7 executive and lead staff—and all ask for different things on different timelines at the same time. Any one is reasonable but the combination is hectic. The number of government bodies and the demands create a weighted blanket of demands and timelines that the feeble wellbeing meeting once a year, that says look after yourself, just does not address (#621).

• I have some control over my work flow, but when I am overloaded with coordination jobs that there is insufficient loading for, and when extra high maintenance students are in my classes, my work becomes stressful. I think with allocations and timetables being decided by people above me, and the demand to be on site for the full 8 h of the day whether I am teaching or not, there is a very paternalistic attitude to my work! So much of what I do is decided by others that control is not really what I have over my work. I merely have the control over how well I do it in the time available (#77).

• I feel optimistic and in control of my personal and emotional wellbeing. However, I went through a period where my contribution to school life was not valued by educational leaders and my functions were undermined. It had a very detrimental impact on my mental and physical health. During that time, I felt I had little control over my wellbeing and I almost left the profession (#536).

• I am locked into a number of things that influence my wellbeing negatively and there is not much I can do about that right now. When you make suggestions to management that stress is an issue, they don’t want to know, and I have been doing this for over a decade (#712).

The ANOVA analysis in the ‘leadership/management’ model indicated no significant effect with teaching experience: F(3, 574) = 2.37, p = 0.06. However, teachers with more experience (11–15 years) reported the highest levels of leadership/management support within their setting. This was characterised as leadership and teachers working together to solve problems; teachers being valued for their work by leadership; achievements were encouraged and supported; and provision was made for time and resources (see Fig. 7.3). For early career teachers and teachers with 0–10 years of experience, there were indications of reduced support from leadership and school management. Teachers commented on the changing nature of attitude towards teacher wellbeing in recent years and the importance of maintaining a positive school culture:

Fig. 7.3

Total years of teaching experience and influence of leadership

• There has been a culture shift in my time at the school. It was woeful for many years. Now staff are actually cared for as people and not just used for their ability. Management at all levels are aware, thoughtful and pastoral (#43).

• In the past it wasn’t, but I have felt a shift in the last two years. There have been a number of social events that are designed to encourage colleagues to have fun. Also, the ‘tone’ of the leadership team has changed. I feel like the school leaders value their staff and encourage them (#68).

In addition to recent attitudinal shifts from leaders in awareness and support of teacher’s wellbeing participants identified that practical support and investment in the workplace also helped. The present study provided examples of this:

In recent years the school has invested a lot of time and money conducting independent surveys surrounding staff wellbeing and on the basis of these finding have attempted to implement strategies throughout the year to assist in developing and maintaining a high level of satisfaction/wellbeing among all staff. (#182)

Positive school environments and supportive leaders enable teachers to have a better sense of wellbeing and feel good about themselves, be less stressed, and lead to professional effectiveness (Ryan & Deci, 2000). And others (Alfayez et al., 2021; Leithwood et al., 2010) have advocated for vision enactment, providing learning support, management of learning programs, and setting examples through modelling as positive influences on teachers’ wellbeing. Teacher wellbeing was identified as an individual and collective responsibility, summed up well by this teacher:

I realise I need to take responsibility for my own wellbeing, but I know that when I am not appreciated, or people are critical of me, or when parents are not happy with me, etc I quickly fall apart and my equilibrium is thrown. It is hard for me to stay happy and positive in an environment that is not happy and positive. So, I believe that we also have a responsibility to provide the best environment we can to support the wellbeing of others. In saying that, resilience is also important and we should be able to weather the storm and come through the other side without harm and possibly better for the journey. (#542)

This study has identified that when teacher wellbeing is prioritised at school, teachers show higher levels of wellbeing, which contributes to sustained best practice. However, it must be specific, contextual, and a part of school culture. This is where school leaders can have an influence on teacher satisfaction and effectiveness. In this study, experienced teachers showed the highest levels of wellbeing; however, they continued to seek support and guidance from leaders and established school policies. Teachers reported needing greater autonomy in their work, as this directly relates to teachers’ wellbeing, satisfaction, happiness, and effectiveness. There are further implications for early career teachers from this study that add to the findings of Study 1, as evidenced by this early career teacher:

I never used to think I was going to be one of ‘those’ teachers who burned out or who reached a point where I needed a career change. But it turns out I am. Years ago, I would have dismissed this whole ‘teacher wellbeing thing’ as a bit soft and irrelevant given that if you signed up to teach in a school like this, then you knew what you were getting yourself in for and that this job drives your entire life. This might have worked for me 15 years ago when I was regularly working 70 hours a week but not now. I can see so many mid-career teachers who need care. Those with young families, people who are carers or who just need some flexibility in how they spend their time. The young ones will sort themselves (although we need to not burn them out) but it’s us who need care to keep going lest they end up like those snarky teachers who hide in the back and do the minimum. (#128)

7.4 Case Study 3: Teachers’ and Leaders’ Experiences of Wellbeing During a Crisis

The rapid development of world economies, threats to climate change, political interference, and debilitating health factors are on the increase across the globe. As detailed in Chap. 5, schools are central to the communities where these catastrophes occur and can contribute to their rebuilding and provide hope for children and their families. Often, it is teachers who play a pivotal role during this recovery phase. As I write this chapter, the world continues to struggle with the impact of the pandemic and continual school closures and community restrictions. The Taliban have seized control of Afghanistan with deleterious effects on children and young people. Australia experienced a series of catastrophic events in 2019/2020, backed up by the pandemic in 2020–2022. With an estimated 1400 schools impacted by the 2019–2020 bushfires, these events highlighted the effects of such trauma on school communities (Cahill et al., 2020). Thus, school leaders and teachers are challenged to foster wellbeing in the aftermath of catastrophic events. For many parents, school leaders and teachers can be the lighthouse in calamitous times. Unfortunately, disasters seem to be a more frequent occurrence, and there is an increased need to be resilient in times of adversity. Schools respond with programs to teach children, teachers strive to cater for all children’s wellbeing needs, and leaders have a role to support teachers in this quest.

The pandemic has been a global event, shared by 148 countries (UNESCO, 2020) experiencing different levels of disruption. One common element has been the pandemic’s impact on teachers’ work as overwhelming, and it continues to affect teachers and learners. The rapid transition to fully online learning because of the pandemic has seen schools rapidly change to online education in the space of days and weeks. McCallum (2021b) discusses the extent of disruption to teachers’ work in-depth (see pp. 186–187). Disruptions include unduly excessive workload demands; change of pedagogical practices from predominantly face-to-face teaching to online; disruption to daily routines; teaching in dual mode to children in class and others online; change in normal practices of planning and assessment; seeking out new ways to maintain relationships with children and their parents; and a rapid challenge to teach digitally, which challenged teachers’ skills as there was no time for professional development to learn new ways of doing things. Teachers experienced increased anxiety, tiredness, stress, confusion, isolation, and anger, which impacted their levels of wellbeing in social, physical, emotional, spiritual, and cognitive ways. Azevedo et al. (2020) claim that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant disruptions to education globally since the Second World War.

7.4.1 Methodology

This study was undertaken in 2020 during the global pandemic. Initially presented as a health crisis, which soon became a social and economic crisis, learners missed many hours, days, weeks, and months of tuition and teachers became frontline workers (see White & McCallum, 2021b, pp. 1–5). Ethics approval was given by the University of Adelaide (H-2020-065). Qualitative and quantitative data was collected between 11 May and 13 August 2020 from teachers who were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. A total of 322 respondents from across the globe participated from 12 countries and included teachers (49%), school leaders (48%), and 3% in non-teaching roles. Of these, 75% were permanently employed, 71% were female, and 51% had greater than 15 years of teaching experience. This case study reports on the impact of leaders on teachers’ experiences during this crisis in relation to their work.

7.4.2 Results and Discussion

Despite the disruption, teachers provided examples of workplace activities or strategies that positively impacted their wellbeing during this time. Threaded through the qualitative results were incidents of how leaders influenced teachers’ wellbeing and helped them to keep going despite the adversities of the crisis. These are collated in Table 7.3 in areas of leaders’ personal disposition or values; leaders providing support strategies; and school culture.

Table 7.3 School leaders’ influence on teachers during times of crisis

One response considered five important aspects to school leadership that assisted wellbeing at her school:

• 1. positive and supportive team and leaders

• 2. good times with staff, i.e., social events or dress up days

• 3. people expressing gratitude for things you have done

• 4. staff band

• 5. professional development opportunities which align with your own teaching and personal learning goals.

School responses to the pandemic took many leaders by surprise, and the rapid switch to alternative ways of working did not always support teachers’ work and wellbeing, as evidenced by these responses:

• A leader who is the opposite to me and evokes anxiety in me.

• One who doesn’t have faith in my capacity.

• Unanswered questions from leadership.

• Ideas not being received positively by leadership.

• Instructions from uninformed or obstinate leadership that deters me in teaching and providing my best for my students.

• Micro-management from leadership (lack of autonomy).

• Failure to be recognised.

• Perceived lack of trust.

• Over-work, pressure, unrealistic managerial expectations.

• Constant demands to add more to our daily workload without taking anything away.

• Misalignment of values with those of my managers.

• Teaching staff is not supported, leadership backs parents and students so people are scared to seek support and mental health is at an all-time low.

Leaders’ positive and negative experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic had varied impacts on teachers’ work. Participants were asked to identify the role taken by their school leaders towards their wellbeing, which were categorised as:

• Structural—a wellbeing position on leadership, structured into meetings, and formal professional development

• Communication—we are kept informed

• Literacy—we talk about our wellbeing, it’s part of our language and culture

• Assistance programs—referrals to external support packages and agencies

• Policy—embedded in whole-school strategic plans and resourced appropriately

• Cultural—an expected school value and demonstrated by collaboration, teamwork, caring staff, and positive attitudes.

Participants who responded to this study during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 experienced different contexts and challenges, yet many shared similar scenarios. There have been heartening stories of resilience and survival, and others of shame, despair, hopelessness, and loss. White and McCallum (2021b) question whether COVID-19 has been a crisis or catalyst for change in education (see, pp. 1–7). Harris (2020) argues that the impact COVID-19 will have on educational systems is still unclear. For leaders who lived through these extraordinary times, there are learnings that can influence future ways of leading and caring for staff wellbeing. These can contribute to how teaching is conceptualised within the next decade (or two) and will create more resilient, robust, flourishing education systems and teachers to assist our children and young people.

7.5 Conclusion

A key finding from these three studies is that the wellbeing of teachers in the workplace is partially reliant on school leaders, who have a role to support and nurture teachers to achieve the aims of preparing children and young people for a robust ever-changing world. The impact of poor leadership towards teacher wellbeing has been reported here as:

• Study one—teacher’s experiencing ill-being and actively leaving the school.

• Study two—teacher burn out and considering a career change.

• Study three—low staff morale, negative and stressful school culture, and increased anxiety.

There are numerous reports that identify the negative and deleterious impact that leaders can have on teacher’s wellbeing. This chapter seeks to share the experiences of leaders’ impact on teachers’ wellbeing from various perspectives including those of early and mid-career, across schooling sectors, and in challenging times. Participants reported both positive and negative factors, summarised in Table 7.4.

Table 7.4 Leader’s impact on teacher wellbeing

Table 7.5 Summary: Implications for school leaders and teachers’ wellbeing

Alfayez et al’s. (2021) work indicated that principals’ leadership practices could determine teacher wellbeing through the fulfilment of professionals in organisational cultures as a potential way forward for educational leadership development. They suggest that a learning-centred leader can fulfil teacher needs by providing an environment in which teachers feel empowered to make decisions related to the teaching and learning process and improve their skills through open, transparent, caring, formal, and informal learning. They claim that if individuals experience the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs, they experience positive wellbeing (Alfayez et al., 2021). A UK male participant in the present study summarises this clear message to school leaders when he states:

Looking out for a teacher’s wellbeing is as important amongst colleagues as it is for a teacher to look out for a student’s wellbeing.

Jesacher-Roessler and Agostini (2021) advocate that a central role of leadership is for individual and inter-organisational learning for sustainable professional learning networks and suggest that new organisational responses are needed to meet urgent institutional requests. They highlight the notion of responsiveness as a key strategy used by leaders to support teachers in their ongoing professional learning resulting from inter-organisational practices within their individual schools, such as networking. They assert that this ensures sustainable organisational leadership capabilities (Jesacher-Roessler & Agostini, 2021) and further supports teachers to stay well, productive, and energised. MacLeod (2020) also argues that the principal’s leadership role in professional learning enhances student learning and is a crucial strategy in impactful teacher professional learning. Alfayez et al. (2021) found that when their basic psychological needs are met, teachers feel autonomous, positively disposed, and develop an increased self-perception of their wellbeing status. This provides an important insight with implications for school leadership.

Moving away from traditional, hierarchical leadership styles to create school environments that satisfy teachers’ basic psychological needs leads to better wellbeing, resulting in better educational outcomes (Alfayez et al., 2021). Teachers should be more involved in school decision-making on learning and improving the school environment. It is fundamental that the classroom teacher is happy to be at school, demonstrates interest and care for students, and has sound wellbeing. It is affirmed that teachers are at their best when their wellbeing is catered for. Measures of whole-school wellbeing in students and staff have shown that happy, optimistic students have increased vitality. Kern et al. (2014) report that highly engaged staff employed in meaningful activity are happier at school and have increased commitment to the organisation and greater job satisfaction. On a cautionary note, while school leaders have an important role in teachers’ wellbeing, it is a shared responsibility with systems that govern schools. Rather than focusing on negative aspects like reducing work-related stress and burnout, efforts should be made to create a positive school climate and sense of empowerment among teachers, which will lead to a better sense of wellbeing for all (Alfayez et al., 2021) (Table 7.5).