What is teacher wellness?
The stress and uncertainty of teaching has taken a tremendous toll on educator mental health. Put simply, teachers and school staff are exhausted and stressed out, and that impacts their students. Teacher wellness correlates with teaching effectiveness and student achievement. And with research showing that teacher stress may lead to reduced job satisfaction, burnout, and poor work performance, it’s become critical that districts prioritize teacher wellness for the sake of both educators and their students.
What is Teacher Wellness?
Teacher wellness, or well-being, is a “measure” of an educator’s social, physical, and mental health, as well as their belief that they can do their job effectively. Some of these factors directly impact a teacher’s wellness or well-being:
- Working conditions
- Feeling empowered to do their jobs effectively
- Compensation
- Recognition for their work
- Workload
- Professional development
- Work-life balance
- Mental health and well-being support
Teachers who are valued, supported, paid well, and not overworked are often happy with their jobs. However, it’s becoming increasingly rare for teachers that all of these boxes are being checked. That explains why 59% of teachers experience burnout, compared to 48% of people in other professions.
The Importance of Teacher Wellness
Teacher well-being directly impacts student performance. If teachers are not in the proper headspace to effectively do their jobs because of stress, exhaustion, or burnout, how are students supposed to learn? The bottom line is, if student success and wellness are top priorities for districts, teacher wellness must be an equally important priority.
How Is Teacher Well-Being Measured?
While each teacher has individual needs and thresholds for stress and burnout, there are a few ways for school administrators to get a gauge on how their teachers are feeling from a wellness perspective:
- Questionnaires: Tools like the Teacher Subjective Well-being Questionnaire measure teacher well-being specific to their jobs.
- Individual Feedback: One-on-one sessions encourage open dialogue and provide specific feedback.
- Focus Groups: Gather a small group of teachers to discuss key concerns regarding teacher wellness.
Tips for Teacher Well-Being
- Stay focused on goals to maintain motivation.
- Rediscover the purpose of teaching to avoid burnout.
- Build relationships with students, colleagues, and parents.
- Maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as eating well and getting enough sleep.
- Talk to someone, whether it’s a therapist, counselor, or trusted friend.
How Can Schools Support Teacher Well-Being?
- Offer professional development: Access to learning tools, workshops, and training makes teachers feel valued.
- Provide a strong support system: Encourage a healthy work-life balance, and offer wellness resources and emotional support.
- Create a positive school culture: Build a safe, respectful, and valued environment for educators.
How Catapult Learning Can Help
As a leader in educator professional development for more than 45 years, Catapult Learning offers solutions to support teacher wellness, including:
- A three-day wellness institute focused on teacher self-care
- Instructor-led workshops on topics such as Promoting Teacher Self-Care and Wellness
- A virtual portal with 1:1 coaching from a wellness expert
- Educator Resilience Training with 12+ hours of self-care and wellness training
By providing educators with resources and support, districts can reduce teacher stress and increase engagement through improved educator wellness.
Learn more about our Educator Well-Being PD services package.
