How teachers can increase their sense of wellbeing from the start of the term
Many schools have just started the third term of the year prompting the question: how do teachers begin the term in a way that will increase their sense of wellbeing?
Research shows the way teachers relate to their students at the beginning of the term is a determining factor on their sense of wellbeing over the course of the term.
A recent study published in Teacher and Teaching Education found that while teacher wellbeing normally declines over a school term, teachers who cultivate good student-teacher relationships end the term with a higher sense of wellbeing.
Conducted by professors Rebecca Collie and Andrew Martin from the University of New South Wales, the study followed 401 teachers across Australia, examining their vitality, engagement, and professional growth during weeks 2, 5, and 8 of a school term.
Collie and Martin wrote, “Importantly though, teachers who started the term with more positive teacher-student relationships ended the term with higher wellbeing than teachers who started the term with lower levels of teacher-student relationships. […] our findings highlight the interconnectedness of teacher wellbeing and teacher-student relationships, and underscore the importance of practice efforts to address both.”[KS1] [KS2]
While the study emphasises the importance of initial teacher-student relationships, it also suggests that maintaining this sense of relatedness [KS3] to students throughout the term is crucial for sustaining a good sense of wellbeing.
The study also links relatedness as a predictor of wellbeing. To increase this sense of relatedness, teachers can participate in professional learning which is effective for building high quality teacher-student relationships.
Ideas for effective professional learning includes building teachers’ awareness of the nature of their student interactions, offering relational support and feedback about their interactions, and encouraging teachers to set goals to improve their interactions with students.
What are your thoughts on beginning the term with positive student relationships? Let us know in the comments below!
Rebecca J. Collie, Andrew J. Martin, Teacher well-being and sense of relatedness with students: Examining associations over one school term, Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 132, 2023.
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