This blog provides an overview of resources REL Appalachia has developed for administrators to plan and implement a training focused on supporting educator well-being, as well as resources to share directly with educators to support their own self-care.
Resources to Support Educator Well-Being
Teaching is a challenging job, historically documented as a profession with one of the lowest levels of psychological well-being.1 Although well-being is important for all professions, educator well-being is particularly important given links to improved student-teacher relationships, more positive school climate, greater teacher effectiveness, and lower rates of teacher turnover.2 In other words, understanding and supporting educator well-being is critical not only to maintain a healthy workforce but also to cultivate school environments where students can learn effectively. Although educator well-being is often affected by factors outside the control of a school or district—such as stressors in their personal lives or secondary stress from supporting their students through difficult experiences—there are actions school and district administrators can take to support the well-being of their educators.
This blog provides an overview of resources REL Appalachia has developed for administrators to plan and implement a training focused on supporting educator well-being, as well as resources to share directly with educators to support their own self-care. Originally developed for Marshall County Schools in Kentucky, the training is applicable and available to other schools and districts within and outside of Appalachia. Its content focuses on the importance of self-care and how supporting students through challenging life experiences may impact educator well-being. The training and companion resources provide administrators with strategies to guide implementation of educator self-care practices and other supports for educator well-being.
To care for students, educators need to care for themselves
The role of an educator goes beyond teaching academic skills like math or literacy, with educators often spending time and energy supporting students through difficult circumstances.3 Therefore, efforts to support self-care should ensure educators understand how this emotional support role can affect their own well-being and that of their colleagues. The training resources provide a description of symptoms of secondary stress that educators and administrators can monitor to inform schoolwide practices and policies that promote staff well‑being.
Figure 1: Training slide on signs and symptoms of secondary stress
Administrators can support educator well-being at multiple levels
Administrators can promote educator well-being through a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), similar to those often used with students. Using a MTSS approach, administrators can offer supports designed for all staff, as well as those targeted to specific groups or individuals. Tier 1 supports may focus on offering staff resources or trainings on self-care practices such as mindfulness, self-reflection, sleep hygiene, or setting healthy boundaries. In particular, two educator-focused mindfulness interventions—the SMART program4 and the CARE program5—show promising evidence of effectiveness. Additionally, Tier 1 supports may move beyond educator self-care to foster a positive work environment through open communication and positive staff relationships.6 In Tiers 2 and 3, more customized supports can be offered through staff buddy systems or partnership with community-based behavioral and mental health services.
Figure 2: Training slide on empirically supported multi-tiered systems of supports for educators
Resources for learning more
REL Appalachia partners with schools and districts to promote educator well-being and sustainable support systems. Explore the following resources to foster a culture of care in your community:
- Watch the training video: Watch the REL Appalachia training video on educator self-care and share with your staff.
- Facilitate a training and coaching meeting: Use the companion agenda, reflection questions, and coaching meeting slide deck to facilitate a training in your school or district.
Share self-care resources with educators: Share resources for educators to support self-care and well-being.
1 Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., & Millet, C. (2005). The experience of work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20(2), 178–187.
2 REL Pacific. (n.d.). How to grow teacher wellbeing in your schools. Infographic. U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/infographics/pdf/REL_PA_How_To_Grow_Teacher_Wellbeing_in_Your_Schools.pdf
3 Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491–525. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325693
4 Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M., Wallace, L., Wilensky, R., Oberle, E., Thomson, K., Taylor, C., & Harrison, J. (2013). Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomized, waitlist-control field trials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032093
5 Jennings, P. A., Doyle, S., Oh, Y., Rasheed, D., Frank, J. L., & Brown, J. L. (2019). Long-term impacts of the CARE program on teachers' self-reported social and emotional competence and well-being. School Psychology Quarterly, 76, 186–202. https://doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2019.07.009
6 Benson, J. (2018). When teacher self-care is not enough. Educational Leadership, 75(4), 38–42.
