Teacher wellbeing: Its effects on teaching practice and student learning

Kristina Turner and Monica Thielking
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

In recent years, while there has been a considerable amount of research examining teacher wellbeing, the focus has largely been on negative states, such as burnout and stress. There are also only a limited number of studies examining the effect of positive teacher wellbeing on teaching practices and student learning. At the same time, there has been a considerable rise in the application of positive psychology strategies in professional contexts to improve wellbeing. One such strategy is the promotion of the PERMA framework, which was designed to provide a framework for human flourishing and wellbeing. The effect on teaching practice and student learning when teachers consciously use PERMA positive psychology strategies has not been examined. This research took a qualitative phenomenological approach to address a gap in current literature by exploring teachers' perspectives on the effect of consciously using positive psychology strategies on their teaching practice and student learning. Findings revealed impacts in both areas, providing support for more research into the relationship between teachers' use of positive psychology principles, teacher wellbeing, teaching practice and student learning. These findings may have applicability in other similar contexts, both nationally and internationally.
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Authors: Dr Kristina Turner is a lecturer in Primary Education at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests are in teacher and student wellbeing, student engagement, student learning outcomes, pedagogical practice, how teachers find meaning in their work, teachers' character strengths, and twenty-first century pedagogical practices. Email: kcturner@swin.edu.au Web: https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/our-research/access-our-research/find-a-researcher-or-supervisor/researcher-profile/?id=kcturner Dr Monica Thielking's applied research tackles complex psychosocial issues and has achieved outstanding research end-user impact and engagement for professionals working in education and other youth settings. Monica co-edited Australia's first Handbook of Australian School Psychology and leads programs designed to enhance collaboration, wellbeing and ethical practice in schools. Email: mthielking@swin.edu.au Web: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/health-arts-design/staff/profile/index.php?id=mthielking Please cite as: Turner, K. & Thielking, M. (2019). Teacher wellbeing: Its effects on teaching practice and student learning. Issues in Educational Research, 29(3), 938-960. http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/turner2.pdf