Practical Applications for Building Teacher WellBeing in Education

UNESCO states the world must recruit 69 million new teachers to reach the 2030 educational goals, but unfortunately, 80% of the current teachers are considering leaving the profession. Teachers are the greatest resource in education and therefore, must be given opportunities to learn skills in resilience to ensure the profession’s sustainability. This chapter will highlight the threats to teacher wellbeing and resilience and suggest skills, strategies and practices to support the wellbeing of teachers in schools. Given the increasing burnout and attrition rates of teachers, it seems reasonable to suggest that the same careful planning that goes into developing student wellbeing programmes should be applied in the development of teacher wellbeing programmes. Through the research of Positive Psychology, this chapter explores evidence-based interventions teachers can learn to develop protective factors to buffer against excessive stress. We explore the application of positive psychology in the workplace and the need for professional learning to focus on the development of the Psychological Capital of our teachers. This includes building their inner HERO with hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism.