An important first step to supporting student well-being is supporting the well-being of the teachers and staff working with them – the well-being of teachers and students goes hand in hand. Teachers play a key role in creating positive classroom environments, which then contribute to the social, emotional, and academic growth of students. Recent research demonstrates that increased teacher well-being leads to more supportive teacher-student relationships. On the other hand, teachers’ self-reported stress levels have been linked to students’ biological stress levels.
There are many things that can be done to support teacher and staff well-being. This includes looking at three interconnected parts:
- What teachers can do to support their own well-being (e.g. self-care practices such as sleep and physical activity, as well as social emotional practices like managing emotions),
- What teachers can do to support each other (e.g. ensuring that there is a sense of belonging and connectedness within teams), and
- What can be done in the ‘system’ to support wellbeing (the policies, practices, and rules that can support well-being).
Below find some key resources for promoting teacher and staff well-being.