A Teacher’s wellbeing and resilience are important aspects of being an effective educator.
There’s no denying it can be a stressful profession and that is why teachers need to make themselves and their wellbeing a priority, as Associate Professor Iain Hay from Macquarie’s School of Education explains.
“For teachers, they are in a demanding profession so it’s vital for them to take that time away from the classroom to give themselves a chance to regenerate, reengage and then reconnect,” says Iain.
“Really, it’s about balancing the demands of work and life. In the sense of teachers setting routines about their own wellbeing, whether that’s through exercise, relaxation, engaging with other people outside of work, as well as taking time to just take stock.”
While many professions can be stressful at times, for teachers, the constant concern for ‘being ready’ can make it hard for them to switch off and focus on their wellbeing.
“The thing about teaching or education more broadly, you’re always thinking about the learning, the planning for learning, the teaching, so it’s always with you and you’re always thinking about it. Sometimes teachers can find it difficult to step away from that and look at their own wellbeing. It’s important they do have an opportunity to disconnect and then reconnect,” explains Iain.
“Even during school holidays, and I don’t tend to call them ‘holidays’ I call them stand down from face-to-face delivery, because while students aren’t in front of them teachers are still planning and thinking about the next content they will be delivering. Also, the wellbeing of the children themselves, teachers are always thinking about the collective good.”
The ‘collective good’ certainly came into the forefront last year when COVID hit, and teachers had a huge weight of responsibility on their shoulders as they were forced to adapt quickly to a vastly different teaching environment.
“There was an initial shock, but teachers were so flexible and adaptive throughout that period. That’s what teachers are, they’re agile, responsive and flexible in what they do, and it was just another challenge,” explains Iain.
“There were some learnings from that, some really creative and innovative ways that schools and systems approached the teaching of students online and I think that’s a positive.”
There’s no denying the teaching profession faces many demands but fortunately teachers are a collegial group and they do support each other well. There are also school-based supports and systems supports for teaching wellbeing, as well as a number of online programs and resources.
For teachers wanting to focus on their wellbeing and building resilience, here are a few excellent online resources:
- Teacher Wellbeing by the NSW Department of Education
- These publications from the NSW Teachers Federation library
- Whole-School Wellbeing by the Association of Independent Schools of NSW