Brittany Branand and Jeanne Nakamura
Educators perform an important role in cultures across the world, as the generative nature of their work provides them a unique opportunity. As Henry Adams observed, “A teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops” (Adams, 1999, Ch. 20, para. 5). Thus, the examination of factors that contribute to the well‐being of teachers and faculty, and therefore, their thriving, is a worthwhile and beneficial endeavor.
To provide context for our well‐being analysis, we will describe generativity as it relates to educators and then briefly look at a serious challenge to persistence and well‐being – burnout. We will then review the literature on teacher and faculty well‐being at work and examine how their well‐being is impacted from both hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives. The hedonic viewpoint emphasizes maximizing pleasure (Diener & Lucas, 1999; Huta & Ryan, 2010; Seligman, 2002) and focuses on subjective experiences of well‐being (e.g., positive affect, life satisfaction, and low negative affect; Diener & Lucas, 1999, Fowers, Mollica, & Procacci, 2010; Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). In contrast, the eudaimonic perspective emphasizes a life of meaning (Knoop, 2011; Knoop & Delle Fave, 2013; Seligman, 2002) and engagement (Delle Fave, Massimini, & Bassi, 2011; Vitterso, 2013a, 2013b) and focuses on psychological aspects of well‐being, for example, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations with others, and self‐acceptance (Ryff, 1989). In addition, we will examine character strengths and personality traits that positively relate to well‐being. We will also review what attempts at intervention have been advanced, highlighting mentoring, and suggest future directions that might lead to improved work environments and increased teacher well‐being.
Generative adults are leaders, teachers, mentors, and what George Vaillant has called the “keepers of the meaning” (Vaillant & Milofsky, 1980). Erikson (1950), who introduced the multifaceted psychosocial construct of generativity, stated that it is “primarily the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation” (p. 276). Generativity, as described, certainly instructs, if not drives, teaching. Teachers are uniquely dedicated to helping the next generation. In particular, they embody cultural generativity (Kotre, 1984); they are essential to the preservation and dissemination of the knowledge, beliefs, ethics, and standards that define a culture.
Although their role is a profoundly important and generative one, a recent international survey of teachers and leaders conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) in 34 countries, found that teachers love their job, but feel undervalued, unsupported, and unrecognized (OECD, 2014). Acknowledging this disparity, at least the rhetoric, if not the actions, of political leaders from across the world’s cultures calls to venerate the role of teacher. England’s Education Secretary, Michael Gove, in a speech outlining his goals for the Department of Education, said “teachers hold in their hands the success of our country and the well‐being of its citizens” (2013), although these public statements have not always been supported by similar positive actions in teacher policy. Xi Jinping, President of China, in a speech honoring Teachers Day, urged the government to make teaching the most respected job in China and stated “The importance of teachers lies in shaping souls, forging lives and crafting humans” (“Xi calls,” 2014). President of the United States, Barack Obama, commenting on studies that showed what most influenced student success, posited “The single most important factor in determining student achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from. It’s not who their parents are or how much money they have. It’s who their teacher is” (Education Week, 2009). Given what should be the elevated role of teachers across the globe, the safeguarding of their well‐being is both a political and a practical priority.
The education literature has documented the generative gifts of teachers, showing that the success and well‐being of students is influenced by the success and well‐being of their teachers. For example, teacher enthusiasm was found to promote student intrinsic motivation to learn (Cordova & Lepper, 1996; Patrick, Hisley, & Kempler, 2000; Stenlund, 1995). In another example, music students of teachers in the Netherlands who were experiencing flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), measured as absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation, experienced higher frequency of flow themselves (Bakker, 2005; Bakker & Schaufeli, 2000). Positive teachers (those who exhibit optimistic explanatory style, grit, and life satisfaction) were shown to be more effective and their students showed greater academic gains (Duckworth, Quinn, & Seligman, 2009). Additionally, teachers’ positive emotions were shown to influence student motivations and behaviors (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). In a final example, teachers’ social and emotional competence was demonstrated to promote positive developmental outcomes in students (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). In short, engaged, happy teachers foster engaged, happy students.
To best understand teacher and faculty well‐being in the workplace, it is instructive to first briefly look at what the literature shows as a universally salient challenge to states of teacher well‐being – burnout. By first considering the scope and nature of this pervasive condition, we will have the context to better contrast its positive antithesis – teacher well‐being.
The term “burnout” was first used by Herbert Freudenberger, a U.S. psychologist, to describe the complete physical depletion experienced by workers (1974). Research on burnout heightened in the 1970s when it expanded from a phenomenon observed in the blue‐collar workforce to the helping professions such as nursing, law enforcement, and teaching (Bardo, 1979). Rather than emanating from understimulation and physical exhaustion, as seen in the blue‐collar workers, teacher burnout was associated with emotional overload, overstimulation, and mental exhaustion (Edelwich & Brodsky, 1980; Hamann & Daugherty, 1984). Maslach and Leiter (1999) examined teacher burnout specifically and described burnout factors and influences for the profession. Maslach and Jackson (1981) developed a tripartite model, the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey (MBI–HSS) that has been used widely in teacher burnout research since its inception (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996; Schaufeli, Maslach, & Marek, 1993; van Dick & Wagner, 2001).
An international survey study conducted by the OECD (OECD, 2013) identified many of the factors that influence burnout and its related attrition problem across diverse cultures. In a study entitled “Teachers Matter,” a survey of teachers in 25 countries found burnout to be a universal problem and showed that workload stress was a serious and increasing indicator (McKenzie, Santiago, Sliwka, & Hiroyuki, 2005). The study found that teacher roles across cultures have expanded; not only are they charged with the individual development and learning of their students, but they must manage the learning process in the classroom, the development of the larger school into a “learning community,” and they are expected to establish and maintain connections with the local community and the wider world. The study also suggests that, with no corresponding increase in support services, teachers are experiencing decreasing job satisfaction and increasing burnout.
The problem of teacher burnout has been widely investigated in the education scholarly literature from many perspectives. Studies have shown that burnout is prevalent in beginning teachers and in experienced teachers (e.g., Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Friedman, 2000; Goddard, O’Brien, & Goddard, 2006). It is a universal challenge found in diverse cultures (e.g., Jackson, Rothmann, & van de Vijver, 2006; Jiang, 2005; Li, Li, & Sun, 2013; Liu & Onwuegbuzie, 2012). It has been found to affect both genders (Purvanova & Muros, 2010). Researchers have studied it at primary and secondary levels (e.g., Ben‐Ari, Krole, & Har‐Even, 2003; McCarthy, Lambert, O’Donnell, & Melendres, 2009) and the post‐secondary level (e.g., Bakker, Demerouti, de Boer, & Schaufeli, 2003; Bartlett, 1994; Gonzalez & Bernard, 2006; Hamann & Daugherty, 1984; Watts & Robertson, 2011). It has been viewed as an individual stress problem (Schwartz, Pickering, & Landsbergis, 1996) and as a systemic organizational one with situational factors that impact work environments (Maslach, 2003; Maslach & Leiter, 1999).
The conceptualization of the construct of burnout is metaphorical – the smothering of a fire or the expiration of a candle; something that was vital and alive with light and heat is now dark and cold. Appreciating both the breadth and depth of the problem from this negative view, we will now consider theoretical and empirical research from the positive psychology perspective. To extend the metaphor, we will examine how to keep the fires of passion and creativity burning so that teachers and faculty, and those whose lives they impact, can shine. That is, rather than study only burnout, its causes, and implications, a more fruitful and effective path also studies how to enhance well‐being. This strengths‐based approach includes examining factors that promote well‐being and efforts that encourage positive emotions and develop positive strengths.
In examining teacher well‐being we will look at hedonic well‐being, commonly referred to as subjective well‐being, which acknowledges that people react and respond differently to similar experiences and that the judgment of their life is filtered through distinctive expectations and values (Diener & Lucas, 1999). Therefore, the subjective aspect of well‐being is a multidimensional construct encompassing a cognitive component that assesses our life satisfaction and an affective component that relates to our positive or negative reactions (positive and negative affect) (Diener & Lucas, 1999). The formula advanced is that subjective well‐being is a result of experiencing a high degree of personal satisfaction, a high‐level of positive affect, and a low level of negative affect (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Diener, 2000).
Distinct from hedonic well‐being, we will also examine teacher well‐being comprised of eudaimonic factors that include meaning, authenticity, personal growth, competence, relatedness, and engagement (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff, 1989). These psychological well‐being aspects combine the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia with elements of lifespan developmental theory (Erikson, 1959), self‐actualization (Maslow, 1968), and full‐functioning (Rogers, 1961). Eudaimonic well‐being focuses on and explains teachers’ positive psychological functioning, an essential attribute of a successful teacher. Both aspects of well‐being, hedonic and eudaimonic, contribute to the overall state of positive teacher well‐being and, therefore, their success and that of those they teach.
Many theoretical frameworks inform the study of well‐being in teachers; however, from a positive psychology perspective four warrant highlighting in the context of this chapter: the social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), the job demands‐resources model (JD‐R; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), the self‐determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), and the theory of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975/2000). We will discuss the tenets of these theories and review studies that confirm and enhance their findings, so that we can best identify the factors that protect and increase well‐being in teachers.
Lent and Brown’s (2006) integrated social cognitive model of work satisfaction combines many of the oft‐studied components of job satisfaction, such as trait and work‐related fit, into a unified framework that is conceptually aligned with the SCCT (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). SCCT proposes that career choice is influenced by the beliefs the person develops through four major sources: (1) personal performance accomplishments, (2) vicarious learning, (3) social persuasion, and (4) physiological states. The ongoing process through which one develops expertise for a particular endeavor and experiences success reinforces one’s self‐efficacy or belief that one will continue to be successful in similar future pursuits. As a result, one is more likely to develop goals that involve continuing participation in that pursuit. In their 2006 model, Lent and Brown featured five classes of predictor variables that are relatively modifiable (self‐efficacy, goal participation, personality/affective traits, work conditions, and support resources) along with the outcome variable of job satisfaction.
To test the Lent and Brown (2006) model, Duffy and Lent (2009) surveyed a sample of 336 full‐time school teachers in North Carolina via the Internet. They hoped to identify modifiable precursors to their work satisfaction. Their findings confirmed that teachers with more confidence in performing their work‐related tasks and fulfilling their work‐related goals may be more satisfied at work. They also found, consistent with other studies (Connolly & Viswesvaran, 2000; Thoresen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, & de Chermont, 2003), that teachers with higher levels of trait‐positive affect are more likely to have positive attitudes toward their job. Also significant was the link between perceived organizational support and work satisfaction. These three predictors accounted for 75% of the variance in work satisfaction. The authors suggest that working with teachers to strengthen their self‐efficacy and design achievable work‐related goals and then rewarding their progress could help teachers gain positive work experiences and increased hedonic well‐being.
Using a sample of 235 Italian school teachers, researchers found additional support for the Lent and Brown (2006) social cognitive model predicting job satisfaction in teachers (Lent et al., 2011). Their survey results identified that, just as in the North Carolina study above, the two strongest predictors were perceived organizational support and trait‐positive affect.
In a further test of the Lent and Brown model, Badri, Mohaidat, Ferrandino, and El Mourad (2013) surveyed 5,022 teachers in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates via the Internet. Results revealed that the model was a strong fit for the data and accounted for 82% of the variance in work satisfaction, and thus the model received support as applied to explaining teacher job satisfaction. However, this study differed from the Duffy and Lent (2009) study in that it did not find a direct path between self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. The authors suggest that this is because in Abu Dhabi there was no performance‐based pay system, only job tenure determined a teacher’s salary; however, recent school reforms have modified this system. In suggesting implications and future directions, this study suggests prioritizing teacher development programs to strengthen skills, but also the necessity of accompanying them with appropriate organizational support.
The JD‐R model posits that every job has two classes of characteristics: job demands and job resources. Job demands are the physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that require physical or psychological effort (costs). Job resources are the physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that are needed to achieve work goals, reduce job demands and the related costs, and stimulate personal growth and development (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014).
The basic premise of the JD‐R model is that these two categories of work characteristics induce two relatively independent psychological processes that impact teachers’ well‐being: an energetic or health impairment process, in which high job demands exhaust mental, physical, and emotional resources leading to ill health and burnout; and a motivational process, in which job resources foster growth, learning, and development and influence teachers to achieve their work goals, which in turn leads to work engagement (absorption, vigor, and dedication). Thus job resources can buffer the impact of high job demands, as they provide support for the realization of the highly demanding work activities involved in the teaching profession (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014).
The JD‐R model has been supported in a number of studies. For example, in an effort to examine the energetic process of the JD‐R model, researchers surveyed 697 Italian teachers looking to identify the determinants of teachers’ well‐being (Guglielmi, Panari, & Simbula, 2012). The study looked at mental fatigue as a mediator between three job demands of teachers (workload, inequity, and work/family conflict) and three consequences of stress (psychological, physical symptoms, and work satisfaction). The results confirmed that mental fatigue has a mediating role.
In another test of the JD‐R, Simbula (2010) examined whether the daily fluctuations of co‐worker support and the daily fluctuations of work/family conflict would predict day levels of job satisfaction and mental health through work engagement and exhaustion. A total of 61 Italian teachers completed a general questionnaire and daily surveys over five consecutive work days. With regard to the motivational process, social support benefited individual well‐being and job satisfaction. The results also confirmed that social support acts as an important job resource because, despite fluctuations daily, it was shown to relate to work engagement, job satisfaction, and mental health. Teachers who reported receiving adequate support from colleagues were more likely to be engaged, and in turn they reported more job satisfaction and better mental health. With regard to the health impairment (energetic) process, the results confirmed that teachers who were unable to manage their family and teacher roles were more likely to be exhausted, which negatively affected their job satisfaction.
SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2000) is particularly salient from the perspective of positive psychology. SDT suggests that people inherently possess a need to grow personally and gain fulfillment; people are actively directed toward gaining mastery over challenges and taking in new experiences. According to the theory, this dynamic is essential for developing a cohesive sense of self and eudaimonic well‐being. While many people are motivated to act by external rewards such as money and acclaim (extrinsic motivation), SDT focuses on internal sources of motivation such as independence and a need to gain knowledge (intrinsic motivation). SDT suggests that teachers, like other workers, have basic human needs that must be met to achieve this growth. The three essential needs are: competence – the need to gain mastery and understanding of one’s environment and develop the needed skills; connection or relatedness – a universal need to belong and have an attachment to other people and to experience caring for others; and autonomy – the sense that one is in control of one’s own behavior and goals. Deci and Ryan (2000) argued that in the work environment, job resources support the worker’s pursuit of need fulfillment through their work activity and, as such, are essential. Although growth is a basic human drive, they hold that it does not happen automatically; rather, social support is the key. Through relationships and interactions with others, we can either build or stunt well‐being and personal growth. Applying the theory to the teaching domain argues strongly for supplying resources that not only balance the job’s demands, but stimulate growth so that teachers can thrive.
In a study testing the application of SDT, researchers in Israel (Eyal & Roth, 2011) found that leadership styles of school principals (heads) greatly impacted teachers’ motivation and well‐being. The researchers concluded that if school principals are delegated power and trained to be autonomy supportive towards their teachers, then the teachers demonstrate increased autonomous motivation, satisfaction, and well‐being, perceiving their engagement in various tasks as interesting and meaningful. As a further benefit, Roth, Assor, Kanat‐Maymon, and Kaplan (2007) found that autonomous motivation was negatively related to burnout and that teachers’ autonomous motivation toward teaching predicted students’ autonomous motivation toward learning.
A further SDT study hypothesized that, at the momentary level, self‐concordance buffers the negative impact of work demands on happiness (Tadić, Bakker, & Oerlemans, 2013). Using diaries, 132 teachers participated for three consecutive work days. Results partially explained why teachers can remain happy and satisfied in their work even though they simultaneously report high levels of stress. When there is self‐concordance motivation, which comes from one’s authentic choices, personal values, and interests, teachers remain happy even during stressful tasks. Positive motivation and the sense that one is in control of one’s own behavior and goals, as SDT posits, increases well‐being and averts burnout.
Finally, the theory of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975/2000) describes an experiential state of deep absorption in the present moment that is intrinsically rewarding, promotes growth, and can give value and meaning to one’s experiences, thus increasing eudaimonic well‐being. Flow theory suggests that people experience an extreme form of well‐being when engaged in highly challenging tasks, but their resources and skills must be equal to the challenge of that task. The conditions for flow, or optimal human experience, include: perceived challenges, or opportunities for action, that stretch (neither overmatching nor underutilizing) existing skills; a sense that one is engaging challenges at a level appropriate to one’s capacities; and clear proximal goals and immediate feedback about the progress being made. Under these conditions one enters a subjective state with the following characteristics: intense and focused concentration on what one is doing in the present moment, merging actions and awareness, loss of reflective self‐consciousness, a sense that one can control one’s actions, distortion of temporal experience, and experiencing the activity as intrinsically rewarding. Because the flow state is intrinsically rewarding, individuals seek to replicate and enhance flow experiences. As individuals seek to master new challenges, they develop greater levels of skills. Once mastered, they seek progressively more complex challenges, thus fostering growth (e.g., Jones, 2013), in line with the eudaimonic perspective on well‐being.
Considerable research has been conducted applying the theory of flow to educators. Descriptively, teaching in the classroom and individual work such as lesson preparation (two core aspects of the teaching role) were identified as the main contexts for experiencing flow at work by a sample of 184 teachers in Italy (Bassi & Delle Fave, 2012). In terms of occupational differences in flow, in two studies conducted in Spain university lecturers reported experiencing flow at work as much as managers did, and both university lecturers and secondary school teachers reported experiencing flow more than production workers (Llorens, Salanova, & Rodríguez, 2013; Salanova Martinez, Cifre, & Schaufeli, 2005, cited in Llorens et al., 2013). In contrast, flow was associated with work (vs. other activities, notably leisure) by fewer teachers than physicians in a study in Italy (Delle Fave & Massimini, 2003).
It has been suggested that an essential goal of teaching is to cultivate students’ love of learning and this is fostered by teachers’ own experience of joy in learning (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997; Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2005). Both teachers and faculty appear to find flow in learning. Delle Fave and Massimini (2003) found that teachers most often mentioned reading as a source of flow. Neumann (2006) distilled descriptions of flow from interviews with 40 U.S. professors about their scholarly work. Teachers’ frequency of flow has been shown to correlate with the proportion of their students who are cognitively engaged (Basom & Frase, 2004; cf. Bakker, 2005).
Researchers have identified factors that make it more likely teachers will experience flow. In several studies, teachers perceived relatively high skill and challenge in their work, and perceiving high challenge and high skill was associated with experiencing flow (Bakker, 2005; Bassi & Delle Fave, 2012; Beard & Hoy, 2010; Rodríguez‐Sánchez, Salanova, Cifre, & Schaufeli, 2011). Beyond proximal conditions, in U.S. studies teachers’ frequency of flow experience was associated with their perception of the effectiveness of their school and fellow teachers and with the frequency of classroom visits by the school head (Basom & Frase, 2004). In the JD‐R research cited earlier (Bakker, 2005), job resources of music teachers in the Netherlands, including autonomy, social support, performance feedback, and supervisory coaching, were associated with flow. Consistent with prediction, the impact of job resources on teachers’ experience of flow was mediated by the perceived balance of challenge and skill. The study of teachers in Spain (Salanova, Bakker, & Llorens, 2006) also found an association between organizational resources and flow. The resources included goal‐directedness, social support, and an orientation toward innovation.
Finally, the longitudinal study conducted in Spain provided evidence of an “upward spiral” in which available personal and organizational resources were associated with flow at work, and flow at work was associated with subsequent levels of resources (Rodríguez‐Sánchez et al., 2011; Salanova et al., 2006).
Consistent and central across the theoretical frameworks regarding teacher well‐being is the necessity of having resources to meet the significant challenges associated with teaching. We will look at various resources cited in the literature as contributors to teacher well‐being. Resources can be external and organizational, such as having a supportive climate in which teachers perceive they have autonomy and development opportunities. They can also include procedural and distributive justice, where teachers feel that the decision‐making process is fair and transparent and that rewards are given based on individual merit and responsibility. Important additional resources include internal or personal ones such as optimism and resilience.
Turning first to external resources, insight into the relationship between several organizational resources and teacher well‐being was demonstrated in a large online survey study of Croatian university teachers (Slišković, Seršić, & Burić, 2011). Specifically, the researchers examined the relationship between distinct sources of occupational stress, work locus of control (control over and possibility of decision‐making about events in the workplace), and well‐being. They considered the importance of a supportive environment and feeling control over one’s work environment. Difficulty teaching students (e.g., due to lack of motivation or interest) and poor relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and/or mentors (e.g., excessive power of supervisor) were found to have direct negative effects on job satisfaction. However, these relationships were further explained by teachers’ perception of work locus of control. Interpersonal pressures related to relationships with students and colleagues were found to impact job satisfaction indirectly, via work locus of control. In other words, the association between poor interpersonal relationships at work and job satisfaction can be partially explained by the perception of lack of control and decision‐making in the workplace.
In another study, Turkish elementary school teachers’ perceptions about quality of school life and supportive environment along with burnout levels were examined as predictors of subjective well‐being (Cenkseven‐Onder & Sari, 2009). The Quality of School Life Scale (QSLS) assessed teachers’ perceptions of their administrator, status, other teachers, student–student relationships, curriculum, and affect toward school. The Teacher Burnout Scales provided data on perceived administrative support, career satisfaction, attitudes toward students, and ability to cope with job‐related stress. In general, results revealed that teachers’ subjective well‐being was predicted by their perceptions of status, the administrator, the curriculum, other teachers, affects toward the school, and their ability to cope with job‐related stress. These findings suggest several different routes for improving teacher well‐being. The significance of a teacher’s perceptions of interpersonal relationships with other teachers suggests creating a work environment conducive to positive relationships that bring about development and growth.
Job enrichment occurs when employees are able to gain more self‐sufficiency, responsibility, achievement, and control over the tasks they perform (Riches, 1993). Rashid and Rashid (2011) investigated the role of job enrichment factors in faculty job satisfaction in a sample of Pakistani academic faculty members. Specifically, they looked at the factors of responsibility, achievement, and career development (i.e., opportunities for promotion and professional development). While career development was not found to be a significant predictor (possibly due to an overall lack of it), faculty members’ perceived levels of responsibility and achievement were positively and significantly related to their job satisfaction.
Du, Lai, and Lo (2010) investigated the relationship between job satisfaction of Chinese university professors and the organizational characteristics of the university. Organizational climate was found to be a strong and significant predictor of job satisfaction. Specifically, greater participation in both school policymaking and curriculum development led to higher job satisfaction. Furthermore, interpersonal relationships were also found to impact faculty job satisfaction. If professors felt that staff–professor coordination was good, then they experienced greater satisfaction. In a study of school culture in China (Zhu, Devos, & Li, 2011), goal orientation, leadership, and shared vision affected teacher commitment to a large degree. This finding further credits the importance of organizational resources and the impact of school leadership and teacher participation on commitment and teacher well‐being.
In addition to organizational and environmental resources, teachers draw on personal resources. Personal resources are those psychological underpinnings that help a teacher to more easily adapt to change and demands (Hobfoll, 2002). For example, optimism and resilience were found to be personal characteristics that can contribute to the reduction of stress at work (van den Heuvel, Demerouti, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2010). Resilience refers to one’s ability to “bounce back” despite being continuously exposed to stressors and adversity (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). Optimism can be described as a generalized expectation of positive events and outcomes in one’s life (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 2001). Resilient and optimistic individuals possess personal strengths that allow them to view their environment positively in a more active way. In the workplace, resilient and optimistic people have been found to perceive job demands as challenges rather than as threats (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). Their positive view has even been demonstrated to register less perceived demands at work (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
In a study testing an integrated model of psychological health at work (Boudrias et al., 2011), researchers in France found that personal resources show important direct and indirect impact on teachers’ psychological health. They measured well‐being, satisfaction of needs, individual resources of optimism and resilience, social organizational resources, and job demands. School teachers with high levels of optimism and resilience tended to perceive the demands of their jobs as less taxing. These individuals perceived more social‐organizational resources and also took more personal action to make sure their needs were met. To see if the results of this study generalized across cultures, the researchers then asked Canadian teachers to complete the same questionnaires (Boudrias et al., 2011). Results from structural equation modeling analyses showed that the studies’ findings were invariant across the two samples from different cultures, thus verifying and extending the original study’s findings.
In terms of teachers’ personal resources for experiencing flow at work, a longitudinal study of 258 secondary school teachers in Spain showed a relationship between teacher self‐efficacy and flow, mediated by the combination of perceived challenges and skills (Rodríguez‐Sánchez et al., 2011; cf. Basom & Frase, 2004). Relatedly, academic optimism – one element of which is teacher self‐efficacy – was related to flow at work in a sample of 260 U.S. elementary school teachers, while dispositional optimism was not (Beard & Hoy, 2010).
Given the constant challenges teachers face, such as high workload, lack of control, and emotional exhaustion, the role of resilience was examined in another study. Pretsch, Flunger, and Schmitt (2012) tested whether resilience would predict well‐being (i.e., job satisfaction, general health perception) above and beyond neuroticism in a sample of teachers and non‐teachers. The findings showed that among teachers, resilience was a better predictor of general health perception than neuroticism; however, job satisfaction was explained equally well by both resilience and neuroticism.
In a further study of personal resources, Parker and Martin (2009) examined the roles of coping and buoyancy in predicting teacher well‐being. They found that “direct” coping strategies, such as mastery orientation and planning, predicted high levels of buoyancy (everyday resilience), well‐being, and engagement. They also reported that “palliative” coping strategies, such as self‐handicapping and failure avoidance, predicted low levels of these measures.
Beyond these oft‐studied personal resources, a major initiative in positive psychology was to develop a classification of strengths and virtues that contribute to optimal human development and, therefore, may function as a personal resource for teachers. The Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths and Virtues provides a vocabulary and framework for understanding positive human strengths – what people do well. The strengths are classified under six overarching virtues: wisdom/knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence (Seligman, Park, & Peterson, 2004).
Studies have found that certain character strengths positively relate to life satisfaction (Park, Peterson & Seligman, 2004), and when individuals’ signature strengths are used in new ways as interventions they can increase happiness (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). In a study of Chinese school teachers, the researcher examined the relationship between subjective well‐being and the 24 VIA character strengths (Chan, 2009). The courage strengths of integrity, bravery, persistence, and zest, as well as the specific strengths of forgiveness, hope, self‐regulation, and love of learning, were all associated strongly with the three components of subjective well‐being. Additionally, the transcendence strengths (appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope) seemed to add significantly to greater life satisfaction, while the wisdom/knowledge (creativity, curiosity, open‐mindedness, love of learning, perspective) and justice (fairness, leadership, teamwork) strengths added significantly to the experience of more positive emotions.
In contrast to a large Internet sample of adults in the UK (Linley et al., 2007), this sample of Chinese teachers seemed to endorse the humanity (kindness, love, social intelligence) and the transcendence domains (hope, gratitude, appreciation of beauty) to a greater degree, and reported higher levels of the specific strengths of love, hope, gratitude, teamwork, and spirituality. Per Park and Peterson’s (2008) explanations of the individual character strengths, these specific strengths suggest that these teachers valued close relations with others, expected the best and worked to achieve it, were aware of and thankful for good things that happen, worked well as members of a group or team, and had coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of life – all seemingly key characteristics for teachers to cultivate and embrace.
In a further study, Chan (2013a) examined the joint contribution of two specific character strengths – gratitude and forgiveness – to teachers’ subjective well‐being. The two are conceptually linked as prosocial, relational, and empathy‐based character strengths that are closely associated with both psychological and physical health (Breen, Kashdan, Lenser, & Fincham, 2010). Furthermore, the combination of the two character strengths has particular relevance and potential in Chinese society due to Confucian teachings that emphasize both. In the Chan study, a sample of Chinese school teachers completed five self‐report questionnaires including the gratitude questionnaire. Above and beyond the contributions of the orientations to happiness (known to be associated with subjective well‐being [Vella‐Brodrick, Park & Peterson, 2009]), both gratitude and forgiveness were found to be strong and significant predictors of teachers’ life satisfaction and positive affect. Furthermore, forgiveness contributed significantly to the prediction of negative affect, far above all other predictors. While forgiveness could help reduce the harmful consequences of teachers’ interpersonal conflicts through the reduction of negative emotions, gratitude could assist teachers in savoring the benefits from their relations with others and enhancing the positive emotions felt.
In addition to focusing on character strengths that encourage well‐being, studies have also examined individual personality characteristics that are associated with well‐being and also function as personal resources. In a study of Norwegian high school teachers, the extent to which teacher and school socio‐demographic characteristics (e.g., age, tenure, school location, school size), organizational climate (e.g., work demands, goal congruence), and personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) were related to a teacher’s subjective well‐being (PANAS) was examined. Multilevel analyses, with teachers grouped within rural, suburban and city school locations, indicated that it was personality that was most strongly associated with employee well‐being. Specifically, extraversion was associated with positive affect, while neuroticism was associated with negative affect. These findings suggest teachers have some control over their well‐being: the less easily upset and emotionally reactive, and more sociable and outgoing, they can be, the greater their well‐being – unsurprising given the interpersonal nature of their work (Burns & Machin, 2013).
Corroborating these findings, Albuquerque, de Lima, Matos, and Figueiredo (2012) found that for a sample of Portuguese primary and high school teachers, the personality facets of extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness differentially predicted the three components of teachers’ subjective well‐being. Results revealed that neuroticism facets were the strongest predictors of negative affect, but were also strongly associated with positive affect and life satisfaction. Extraversion and conscientiousness facets were the most related to positive affect, but still significantly related to negative affect, and life satisfaction to a lesser degree. Given these results, all aspects of teacher’s subjective well‐being may benefit from lessening neuroticism and increasing extraversion and conscientiousness.
The underlying attitude with which teachers approach their work influences their performance, their sense of well‐being, and the meaning they attach to their pursuits. As posited in the theories and documented in the empirical research, the intense challenges faced by teachers must be balanced with productive and consistently available resources. One of the major impacts of availability of resources is its influence on the mindset of the teachers. The ideal attitude is one of engagement, defined as a positive, fulfilling, work‐related mind‐set that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Bakker, Hakanen, Demerouti, & Xanthopoulou, 2007). Vigor in this context relates to high energy levels and mental focus while working, and the willingness to invest effort in one’s work even when facing difficulty. Dedication refers to feeling a sense of significance, pride, challenge, and enthusiasm for one’s work. The third aspect, absorption, is characterized by the feeling of full concentration on one’s work and being happily engrossed, during which time flies by and one has difficulty stopping work. This dimension mirrors the positive psychology construct of flow.
Looking at work engagement, in a study of 805 Finnish teachers researchers were able to discern that supervisory support, opportunity for innovation, appreciation by colleagues, and a supportive school environment are all considered impactful resources for teachers, because each was shown to buffer the negative impact of pupil misbehavior on teacher engagement (Bakker et al., 2007). Further, they discovered that these job resources are particularly relevant to engagement in times of high stress. They found that the school environment and innovativeness may be crucial for work engagement, because they keep teachers’ work interesting and challenging and provide growth opportunities. Their study further confirmed the JD‐R model in that it suggested that teachers facing demanding work situations can be helped to be more engaged by providing these resources.
In another study of engagement, the intra‐individual relationship between job resources, work engagement, and job performance of Dutch teachers was examined (Bakker & Bal, 2010). Findings showed that weekly job resources can provide motivation and enhance teachers’ week‐levels of engagement. Week‐levels of autonomy and development opportunities were positively related to this and next week’s engagement levels. This finding also further supports both the JD‐R and the SDT models in showing that a work environment that provides appropriate and supportive resources creates confidence in teachers that their goals can be accomplished and also fulfills their need to belong (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). This satisfaction of needs increases work engagement in teachers and the study found that it does so on a weekly basis.
Finally, insight into the importance of engagement in teachers is found in a Finnish study that sought to discern what kinds of situations teachers experienced that empowered them and engaged rather than burdened them (Soini, Pyhalto, & Pietarinen, 2010), and what strategies they adopted when challenged that they reported were empowering and engaging. The results showed that the operative situations were interaction with their pupils, their colleagues, and their pupils’ parents. While these situations can also burden teachers, it was suggested that flexible and reflective strategies in dealing with challenges on these fronts generated feelings of empowerment and engagement. When the school environment and the interaction between teachers is supportive and collaborative, teachers have the resources they need and their interactions are reported as empowered and engaged.
Thus, as the literature vividly demonstrates, empowered and engaged teachers, ones who persist and positively impact the lives of the many students they teach, are teachers whose jobs challenge them enough to keep their creative interests burning and who also possess the needed support and other resources to meet those challenges. Recognizing the importance of this balance, and the assets that allow it to dynamically function, there have been many attempts at planning and implementing interventions. Interventions can take the form of primary, secondary, and tertiary levels (Cartwright & Cooper, 2005). Primary interventions focus on eliminating sources of work stress or modifying the workplace environment, while secondary interventions focus on developing the personal resources of individuals to arm them with tools to prevent stress overload or improve their coping mechanisms. Tertiary interventions deal with the rehabilitation of individuals who have already suffered stress‐related health problems. From a positive psychology vantage point, secondary interventions hold particular promise.
For example, in an intervention study designed to investigate the impact of a gratitude program on the life satisfaction and burnout of Hong Kong Chinese school teachers, the “count‐your‐blessings” exercise was shown to be an effective strategy (Chan, 2013a). The count‐your‐blessings approach (Emmons & McCullough, 2003) required teachers to record a weekly log of three good things or events that happened to them during the week and then reflect on them with three Naikan‐meditation like questions (e.g., “What did I receive and what did the receiving tell about me?”) for an 8‐week time period. A pre‐test and a post‐test questionnaire were completed that included the Satisfaction with Life Scale as a measure of well‐being (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) and the three components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach et al., 1996). Significant increases in life satisfaction and sense of personal satisfaction were observed, as well as significant decreases in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Furthermore, at pre‐test, teachers were asked to complete the three orientations to happiness scales (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005) – the life of pleasure, meaning, and engagement scales – to assess their views on happiness. A significant interaction was found between the meaningful‐life orientation and the intervention, such that those teachers who placed more value on the meaningful life as contributing to happiness had greater changes in life satisfaction and emotional exhaustion throughout the 8‐week intervention. These findings suggest that interventions targeting both weekly gratitude and meaning in life could be effective in combating teacher burnout.
As an extension of the previous study, Chan (2013b) conducted a follow‐up study that included two 8‐week positive intervention approaches with the goal of promoting subjective well‐being – the coping approach (count‐your‐misfortunes condition) and the gratitude approach (count‐your blessings condition). Hong Kong Chinese school teachers were randomly assigned to the two conditions. Teachers in the gratitude approach condition would focus on journaling the good things or events that happened to them in that past week, while teachers in the coping approach condition would focus on bad things or events. The two groups again used three Naikan‐meditation‐like questions to reflect on their experiences. However, in the gratitude approach condition, teachers concentrated on the benefits they received and on cultivating appreciation and gratitude, whereas in the coping approach condition, teachers concentrated on finding benefits and the lessons they learned from the bad or adverse events. While both the gratitude and coping approaches resulted in increased life satisfaction, only the gratitude approach led to statistically significant changes in life satisfaction and in the experience of negative emotions. This study suggests that counting misfortunes, as well as counting blessings, could be successful in enhancing life satisfaction, although the meaning‐making, gratitude approach appears more effective than the benefit‐finding, coping approach.
Also in Hong Kong, 50 primary and secondary teachers participated in a study assessing the effectiveness of a stress management training program that focused on teaching recovery strategies (Siu, Cooper, & Phillips, 2014). This entailed learning to participate in meaningful activities outside of work. This exercise encourages periods of psychological detachment from work and participating in mastering experiences that do not involve teaching. The study used a quasi‐experimental method with a control group, using a pre‐ and post‐test design. Teachers in the experimental group scored significantly higher in recovery experiences (mastery) compared to the control group. They also scored higher on positive emotions, lower on emotional exhaustion, and reported fewer physical and/or psychological symptoms. The implications of this study include the findings that recovery experiences can be trained by teaching strategies. Learning nonwork new skills leading to a feeling of mastery is a personal resource that can be developed. This study corroborates the recent study on recovery in the United States (Hahn, Binnewies, Sonnentag, & Mojza, 2011).
A study analyzing the relationship between outcomes of teacher well‐being and the implementation of school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) was conducted at elementary schools in Oregon (Ross, Romer, & Horner, 2012). This intervention is designed to improve school climate and social behavior through the implementation of various support resources. The intervention worked on, among many other resources, the development of team skills, collaboration, positive relationships, and the use of effective practices. When 184 teachers completed a 54‐item survey that covered aspects of the school‐wide interventions, results indicated strong relationships between SWPBIS implementation and teacher perceptions of efficacy and well‐being. An interesting further finding was that the well‐being of teachers in schools of lower economic status may benefit the most from this type of intervention.
Mindfulness interventions build on the personal resource of present‐moment awareness and have been successfully utilized to reduce work‐related stress. A mixed‐method study in Germany examined the outcomes of a mindfulness‐based intervention for teachers (Taylor et al., 2015). In it, 59 public school teachers participated in pre‐ and post‐training, and follow‐up interviews. The training included increasing their efficacy for regulating emotion on the job, improving their coping skills, improving their efficacy for forgiving colleagues and students, and increasing their capacity to feel compassion. Results showed that efficacy beliefs and the tendency to forgive improved for teachers, and partially mediated reductions in stress from baseline to a 4‐month follow‐up. Teachers also reported utilizing more adaptive strategies for coping.
A recent study in the United States reports results from a randomized controlled pilot trial of a modified Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction course (mMBSR) adapted specifically for teachers (Flook, Goldberg, Pinger, Bonus, & Davidson, 2013). Results suggest that the course may be a promising intervention, with participants showing significant reductions in psychological symptoms and burnout, improvements in observer‐rated classroom organization and performance on a computer task of affective attentional bias, and increases in self‐compassion.
In a quantitative study in Wales investigating the effect of teaching a mindfulness‐based stress relief course to primary school teachers, researchers measured its effect on anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as movement toward a stated goal and changes in awareness (Gold et al., 2010). The results showed statistically significant improvement for most participants and also an increase in mindfulness skills inventory. This study adds further corroboration that mindfulness interventions for teachers are a productive and beneficial tool that can positively impact teacher well‐being.
Finally in our review of intervention strategies, we now turn to an examination of mentoring, one of the more widely utilized, easily adapted, and flexible intervention programs for teachers. Because of its broad appeal and potential for mentors to function as a source of referrals to other resources needed by teachers and faculty, an in‐depth review of this important intervention is warranted. As previous sections showed, teaching holds promise of great satisfaction, but its considerable challenges, especially during the early career, can be hard to navigate. Attention has been devoted to identifying possible supports for early‐career educators that may smooth the transition. One intervention fostered in many countries as a component of teacher induction, and to a lesser extent faculty development, is the formal mentoring program. This section addresses mentoring in and beyond the field of education and indicates what is known about its impact on teacher and faculty well‐being. Supporting the relevance of mentoring to worker well‐being, Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, and Lima (2004) conducted a meta‐analysis of organizational studies examining both objective and subjective benefits of being mentored and concluded that “the most consistent benefits of mentoring may be the impact on affective reactions to the workplace and positive psychological feelings regarding one’s career” (p. 133).
Mentoring occurs in many contexts and definitional consensus is lacking within as well as across contexts. Eby, Rhodes, and Allen (2007) suggested that five defining features apply to mentoring at work: there is (1) a dyadic relationship, (2) characterized by learning and (3) defined by the “types of support [centrally, psychosocial and instrumental] provided by the mentor to the protégé”; the relationship is (4) “reciprocal, yet asymmetrical … the primary goal is protégé growth and development” and it (5) changes over time (p. 10).
One key distinction is between informal, spontaneously occurring mentor–protégé relationships, and the formal, organizationally initiated ones intended to institutionalize and broaden access to the benefits of mentoring. A second distinction is between the goals of providing support to the individual (mentee well‐being may be a closely associated outcome) and strengthening the profession or organization by reducing attrition (mentee well‐being may be a mediator).
Because mentoring occurs in different contexts, takes different forms, and may serve different goals in different fields, caution is called for in drawing on knowledge about mentoring outside education. However, as others have noted (e.g., Ghosh, 2013; Zellers, Howard, & Barcic, 2008), the field of education should not ignore organizational studies, in which knowledge about mentoring began early (e.g., Kram, 1985) and is more fully developed (see Passmore, Peterson, & Freire, 2013 for a wide‐ranging review on mentoring). Major differences from the organizational context are the greater emphasis on formal mentoring and the goal of reducing early‐career attrition, in the mentoring of teachers.
Concerning the benefits of mentoring in work organizations and focusing specifically on protégé well‐being, systematic reviews suggest that mentoring at work has modest but consistent associations with positive outcomes (Allen et al., 2004; Dougherty & Dreher, 2007; Kammeyer‐Mueller & Judge, 2008). Allen et al. (2004) reported that having a mentor is associated with protégé career satisfaction and career commitment. Further, protégé job and career satisfaction are significantly associated with the amount of mentoring that is received. Kammeyer‐Mueller and Judge’s (2008) meta‐analysis showed that small but significant positive relationships between mentoring and both job and career satisfaction persist even when multiple covariates are taken into account. There is some evidence that mentoring fosters positive job attitudes in part by reducing the impact of work role ambiguity and conflict (Lankau, Carlson, & Nielson, 2006).
Relevant to the teacher attrition problem, Allen et al. (2004) also examined research on intention to stay with an organization, finding a significant positive association with mentoring. Longitudinal studies of other occupations have linked mentoring to both intentions to continue and (negatively) actual turnover (Higgins & Thomas, 2001; Payne & Huffman, 2005). Payne and Huffman’s longitudinal study of a large sample of army officers highlighted the significance of worker well‐being in this context, finding that affective commitment to the workplace partially mediated the impact of mentoring on turnover.
Organizational researchers traditionally have focused on naturally occurring, informal mentoring relationships. In general, based on longitudinal as well as correlational research, they have concluded that naturally occurring relationships are more beneficial than those established as part of formal mentoring programs (e.g., Tong & Kram, 2013; Underhill, 2006). However, some reasons for the differences seem remediable, including the lower frequency of contact, lack of participant input into the pairings made, and obligatory nature of participation that can characterize formal programs. Increasingly, research and evaluation aim to identify characteristics of effective programs. For example, in a randomized controlled trial, Egan and Song (2008) found that with respect to job satisfaction and other work outcomes, the participants in a facilitated formal program benefited more than those in an unfacilitated program (both benefited more than those in the control group).
Turning to early‐career benefits of being mentored that focus specifically on the field of education, modest associations with well‐being are also found for teachers and faculty. In a study in Israel (Alhija & Fresko, 2010), for example, the formal mentoring received during the teachers’ first year in the classroom correlated with their satisfaction with socialization. Similarly, in a survey of female faculty in the United States (August & Waltman, 2004), mentoring (formal or informal) was a marginally significant predictor of satisfaction among untenured faculty, while it was not a significant predictor for tenured faculty.
Correlational research has also linked mentoring to novice educators’ sense of self‐efficacy at work. In a U.S. survey of junior medical faculty, Feldman, Arean, Marshall, Lovett, and O’Sullivan (2010) found that having a mentor (formal or informal) was associated with self‐efficacy. Among student teachers (Moulding, Stewart, & Dunmeyer, 2014), extent of perceived support from the formal workplace mentor correlated with self‐efficacy.
In a survey of faculty in the Netherlands (van Emmerik, 2004a), having a mentor (formal or informal) showed small but significant relations with intrinsic job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and (negatively) burnout, over and above other factors. In addition, having a mentor buffered the impact of role conflict on work satisfaction and there was some evidence that it also moderated the impact on burnout.
With respect to teachers, formal mentoring programs have been incorporated into the induction process in many countries since the 1980s (Hobson, Ashby, Malderez, & Tomlinson, 2009; Howe, 2006). Based on an analysis of exemplary teacher induction programs in eight countries, Howe (2006) concluded that the most effective programs include the use of expert mentors. Features associated with effective programs include setting clear program goals and evaluating program effectiveness, establishing methods for selecting, training, and supporting mentors, matching mentors with teacher‐mentees, emphasizing support (rather than assessment) of the mentee, and arranging regular meetings of the dyads (Hobson et al., 2009; Howe, 2006). Given the strong interest in formal programs that provide mentoring, it is not surprising that there is also growing interest in formal mentor training. It has been suggested that mentor training programs should present a conceptual model of mentoring and mentoring functions (e.g., definition, philosophy, aims, roles and responsibilities, organizational considerations), provide experience using effective mentoring practices, and formalize support for new mentors (Garvey & Westlander, 2013). Similar features appear to characterize effective faculty mentoring programs (Lumpkin, 2011).
As noted, a major goal of formal teacher mentoring programs in the United States and other countries has been improved retention (Hobson et al., 2009). Regarding retention concerns, Ingersoll and Strong (2012) reviewed U.S. research and found that among the strongest predictors of continuation beyond the first year was having a mentor who was teaching the same subject. Ingersoll and Strong (2011) also examined studies of programs in three U.S. states and reported that mentoring affected new teachers’ job satisfaction as well as their commitment to continuing in the teaching profession.
Finally, because organizational research tends to show that formal mentoring is less effective than organically formed relationships (see, e.g., Baugh & Fagenson‐Eland, 2007), comparison of how teachers perceive formal and informal mentors is instructive. Desimone et al. (2014) found that student teachers reported interacting more often with their informal mentors, getting more emotional support from them, and viewing these relationships as somewhat more positive. However, they also viewed the relationships with their formal mentors as very positive. In addition, formal mentors provided more lesson observation/feedback, one of the mentoring functions most valued by new teachers (Hobson et al., 2009); thus, in some respects, the two relationships may be complementary.
Given barriers to forming and sustaining traditional mentor/protégé dyadic relationships, the most frequently mentioned being lack of time on both sides (Ehrich, Hansford, & Tennent, 2004), other possible kinds of developmental relationships have been discussed. For new faculty, distributing the role across multiple mentors may be an effective substitute for a single sustained mentoring relationship (de Janasz & Sullivan, 2004; van Emmerik, 2004b). This alternative also may accommodate rising institutional mobility in academia. Illustrating the other end of the spectrum is the position that to be beneficial, teacher‐mentoring must be embedded within an “integrated professional culture” (Kardos & Johnson, 2007). Research indicates that the various supports for new teachers do tend to co‐occur empirically (Ingersoll & Strong, 2012) and a collegial school context benefits both mentors and mentees (Hobson et al., 2009).
Although serving as a formal mentor has potential dangers for teachers, notably work overload and attendant stress, educators frequently report benefiting from the role. Hobson et al. (2009) reviewed the literature on the rewards that teachers report deriving from being a mentor. In terms of well‐being, self‐reported benefits included pride and satisfaction in contributing to mentees’ development, enhanced confidence, and renewed professional commitment.
This is supported by a larger body of organizational research. In addition to possible objective outcomes of being a mentor (gains in expertise, productivity, career success), Ghosh and Reio’s (2013) meta‐analysis indicates that being a mentor (vs. not) – and more specifically providing psychosocial support and role modeling to one’s mentees – is associated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Chun, Sosik, and Yun (2012) found longitudinal effects on mentors’ organizational commitment in a sample of Korean white‐collar workers. Such research is needed to clarify to what extent worker well‐being is enhanced by being a mentor, and to what extent positive feelings about one’s job and workplace make one more inclined to mentor others. Less ambiguous is the contribution of being a mentor to mentors’ feelings of personal satisfaction, meaning and purpose, and generativity or sense of contribution to future generations (Allen, Poteet, & Burroughs, 1997; Nakamura, Shernoff, & Hooker, 2009).
Mentoring is not a panacea. Its potential for harm as well as benefit has been documented (Tong & Kram, 2013), and measured benefits for mentee and mentor well‐being are typically moderate. With respect to formal mentoring programs, more research is needed to identify effective practices and moderators of their effect on teacher/faculty well‐being, and to compare the costs and benefits of mentoring programs to other forms of support. Nevertheless, mentoring has shown great promise as an intervention in diverse cultural contexts.
While the education literature contains considerable research on how teachers burn out, there is relatively little available on how to engage teachers to prevent burnout. Further, within the current educator well‐being literature, there are studies documenting support for enhancing well‐being and engaging teachers, but at the faculty level, more research is needed. Addressing that gap is particularly important, given the benefits of designing programs that provide resources to foster fully engaged, top‐performing educators at the higher education level.
Further research is needed to define those resources that best support educators as they tackle the inherent challenges in their demanding jobs. This should include examining organizational structures, policies, and environmental resources that support well‐being, and also further examining the roles personal resources play. Here positive psychology offers many relevant constructs as yet relatively unexplored in educational contexts, such as organizational virtuousness and job crafting. Academic institutions would be well served by initiating and documenting varied experiential interventions. Additionally, research on teacher and faculty well‐being needs to involve investigations into various forms of secondary interventions that will help teachers to buffer the stress, meet the challenges, and thrive in worthwhile and meaningful careers. Moreover, longitudinal studies are needed to measure how the benefits of interventions and training are sustained or depleted over time. In the mentoring arena, more research is needed to identify the different means by which informal mentoring and formal mentoring foster teacher well‐being; formal programs then might be designed that glean the benefits of informal mentoring.
In sum, it would be instructive to see research directed toward further identification and enhancement of those practices, policies, personal qualities, leadership styles, and other factors that not only allow, but encourage, the teaching profession to thrive.
In concluding our chapter on well‐being, we note again that teachers and faculty are important because of the work they do, because “they transform individual lives and improve the quality of life of the entire society” (Johnsrud, 2008, p. 489). Across cultures, their pivotal role and contributions are documented, along with the heavy demands they face and the lack of respect they perceive. We have demonstrated that to avoid “burnout,” to fully thrive in their positions, teachers and faculty must deeply and fruitfully engage. We examined relevant theories and models and explored existing empirical research that tests both hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being precursors. Theory and research we have reviewed suggest that the important and dynamic states of teacher and faculty well‐being are a reflection of the adequacy of resources available to meet the significant challenges of the profession. Those resources have been shown to be both external or organizational and internal or personal, and a number of interventions designed to protect and promote those resources were reviewed.
There are some specific indications for action that emanate from this review. For example, based on the findings in several studies, suggestions for university management include: involving faculty members in decision‐making processes, especially aspects that impact them directly; awarding faculty with acknowledgment and incentives; and ensuring adequate funds are set aside to support career development programs. Other efforts should be expended to ensure teachers have developed personal resources, such as optimism and resilience, that can help buoy them against the known stress of their position. To support well‐being, mentoring programs could be instituted to help alleviate the pervasive stress found in the first few years of a teacher’s career.
Finally, in an article celebrating deeply engaged faculty members, author Eugene Rice (1986) highlights 50 professors who were nominated by their institution presidents and faculty leaders. It is a diverse group, recipients of major awards, and all sharing in the joys of teaching and a lifetime of learning. Not surprisingly, these engaged and highly motivated educators see their job as one of motivation, to help others to learn and live full lives. They are deeply convinced that their teaching has significance in contexts far beyond their classrooms and further that their professional lives have meaning. It is this powerful feeling of engagement that we must strive to promote and enhance in our teachers so that those in the position of teaching can also inspire.