Interventions to address teacher well-being

By Nathan Storey, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University

Given the immense professional and emotional demands placed on teachers, it is important to improve teacher well-being and hopefully, as a result, retention and effectiveness. Well-being interventions have been shown to positively influence personal and professional development, student learning and achievement, and school environment. These interventions can take multiple approaches, including those that focus on mindfulness or psychological support. In a recent study, Li and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effect of comprehensive teacher well-being interventions and the factors that impact or support their effectiveness.

Based on 44 studies, the authors found a statistically significant positive effect of comprehensive teacher well-being interventions (ES = +0.35). They also noted that intervention type and duration impacted the effects. Interventions lasting more than 8 weeks had the largest effect on teacher well-being, though the relationship was not linear, as 3-4 week-long interventions had the second largest effect. Meanwhile, interventions lasting less than 2 weeks did not demonstrate a significant effect. Of the types of interventions examined, only mindfulness-based interventions had a significant effect. While in-person interventions had a large effect, this result was not statistically significant.