Toward a Coherent and Comprehensive Approach to Teacher Well-Being: A Synthesis of Theory and Review of Intervention Research

Abstract

Teachers in the United States report persistently high levels of stress and burnout. In response, teacher well-being interventions have become increasingly prevalent in educational settings. To advance the development of a rigorous science of teacher well-being, our chapter offers a bioecological framework for understanding this construct; synthesizes findings from 15 years of peer-reviewed, published interventions; and critiques gaps in the literature. Of the 24 studies reviewed, most used experimental methodologies to evaluate mindfulness-based approaches aimed at bolstering teachers’ individual skills of both a positive and negative valence. Ultimately, far more attention to the unique experiences of teachers of color is needed, as is more focus on essential components of interventions and contextual-level factors related to the school system.