Teacher well-being

Rachel and Chris, along with Judith Hanks of the University of Leeds, were involved in an initial project, conducted jointly between the University of Leeds, the National Education Union, and the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), examining the causes of well-being and burnout in teaching.

There is a crisis in the teaching profession. Teacher absences from work have been increasing, and the Department for Education itself identified in 2017 that nearly one in three teachers leave the profession within five years of qualifying (DfE, 2017), a figure which is likely to have risen. Teachers were found in 2017 to be twice as likely as the average worker to suffer work-related stress and burnout, whilst poor mental health amongst teachers has ben found to be increasing (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2017). Meanwhile, government recruitment initiatives, such as providing financial incentives to enter the teaching profession, appear to be failing. The negative consequences of teacher burnout for children’s education and well-being are far-reaching, affecting the economy and disrupting social cohesion.

This project explored the causes of burnout and poor well-being, rather than the symptoms. We produced a range of practitioner-focused guides and support materials, to be found on the project website, focused on understanding the causes of stress, improving well-being and mental health, and reducing burnout.

The initial research was funded in part by by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Leeds Social Science Institute (LSSI). and continues at TRUE North Education Hub.