Doran, Annemarie (2021) An exploration of how teacher wellbeing is conceptualised and supported by the main stakeholders in post-primary schools in Ireland. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
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Abstract
This study focused on the gap in research on teacher wellbeing and how it is
conceptualised and supported by the ‘three voices’ i.e., the managerial agencies,
principals/deputy principals, and teachers in post-primary schools in Ireland. Through the
lens of dialectical pluralism, Phase one used an online survey to investigate if there were
differences in opinion in how teachers and school leaders viewed wellbeing in relation to,
policy, management caring about them, wellbeing being on meetings’ agendas, support
strategies in place, and wellbeing related continuous professional development. It also
examined how much of the variance in wellbeing scores could be explained by the same
variables, after controlling for age. The T-Test for opinion showed statistically significant
differences with principals/deputy principals scoring higher overall wellbeing than
teachers. The Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) was used, with results
showing that having a wellbeing policy and/or reinforcing it did not make a difference to
teachers’ personal wellbeing. The difference in participants’ wellbeing scores was due to
support strategies for teachers and the attitude of school management to teachers. Six
interviews and a focus group (7 participants) were used in Phase two to gather further
data with thematic analysis utilised to determine the key themes including accountability,
visibility, and perceptions. Analysis showed that an emphasis on student wellbeing
adversely affected the wellbeing of teachers as they feel left behind. The results indicated
that while there has been extensive circulars and guidelines issued, there is evidence of
inadequate provision for teacher wellbeing in the Wellbeing Framework. While the focus
on wellbeing has created more awareness of wellbeing among teachers, the evidence of
supports for them is lacking. The researcher concludes that there is more work required
at policy level for this to be effective.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
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Keywords: | exploration; teacher; wellbeing; conceptualised and supported; post-primary schools; Ireland; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Education |
Item ID: | 16494 |
Depositing User: | IR eTheses |
Date Deposited: | 08 Sep 2022 14:49 |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/16494 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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