Supporting teacher wellbeing (coaching workshop)

Supporting (student) teachers’ wellbeing through coaching support and guidance

Speakers Dr Leslie Blanchard, Louisana State University and Kulwinder Maude, Durham University 

The aim of this workshop is to address two important issues faced by schools today: teacher wellbeing and teacher retention. For decades, persistent policy changes, highly prescriptive curriculum, school performativity and accountability have slowly eroded much of teacher autonomy. Consequently, education systems across the world are now facing persistent shortages of teachers (UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2023). According to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, teaching staff and education professionals report the highest rates of work-related stress, depression and anxiety compared to the non-teaching general population (Health and Safety Executive 2018). Around 86 per cent of teachers reported that their mental health in the last year had been adversely affected by their job, prompting a call for a suicide prevention strategy (Independent, 7 May 2024), and over 35% of the education workforce had a wellbeing score of 40 or below indicating probable depression.

Three-quarters of teachers in UK reported that their Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses did not prepare them well to manage their own wellbeing. The situation is now serious and urgent. Preparing teachers and student teachers well could help insulate them from the adverse effects of the challenging work environment (Hulme & Wood 2022). While teachers individually cannot change their working conditions and the culture of their work environment, they can alter the way they respond to their environment.

LADDER is designed to be used for preservice training and professional development of schoolteachers. It addresses teachers’ internal dispositions and habits of mind that might affect the way they manage stress. In this workshop participants will have a chance to practise LADDER© (Leadership Alphabet of Disposition Development Engagement and Reflection) - a comprehensive model of assessment, coaching support and guided reflective practice based on cognitive behaviour therapy. Why LADDER? Current interventions to address teachers’ wellbeing have not been shown to be effective (See et al. 2023). Unlike most previous approaches, LADDER explicitly supports teachers as agents of change by enhancing their awareness of their internal dispositions, building resilience and coping strategies that will support them in dealing with the demands of teaching.

Our pilot study involving teacher trainees at Durham University has shown promising results. The intervention group showed bigger improvements than the matched comparison group over a three-month period in self-efficacy (ES = +0.51), mental wellbeing (ES = +1.67) and intention to stay in teaching, after receiving the coaching (ES = +0.46). 

Biography

Dr. Leslie Blanchard is an internationally recognized leadership and workforce development specialist with 30 years of experience in coaching, training, counseling, advising, teaching, and developing the leaders of the future. For the last decade, she has focused her efforts on improving the mental health, wellbeing, and career readiness of teachers through her LADDER Framework. Dr. Blanchard served as the first Executive Director of the LSU Leadership Development Institute for 6 years before transitioning to the Cain Center for STEM Literacy. She has directed her research and practice efforts toward strengthening educational leadership and workforce effectiveness, reducing burnout and turnover in hard-to-staff agencies, increasing retention, and stress management through improving leadership at all levels of organizations. Scholars have spent many decades investigating the problem of teacher workforce retention, and the LADDER system provides a practical solution to that problem. 

Kulwinder Maude is an Assistant Professor (Teaching) at Durham University. She has over 24 years’ experience working in different sectors of education, including extensive experience of teaching and learning in primary schools (England and India) as well as in UK higher education. Kulwinder teaches English on undergraduate and postgraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes along with teaching at master’s level. Her research interests include writing about beginning teacher educators and their experiences in the academy, English as an Additional Language and issues related to teacher wellbeing and retention. She has also written articles and chapters on many aspects of primary English for ITE and primary school practitioners. Kulwinder is currently undertaking a doctoral study on the addressing teacher mental health and wellbeing at Durham University.

This event is open to the public, staff and students. Registration is essential to receive full details of the event and location. 

Please note, this event will be recorded, if you wish to attend and have any concerns please contact Professor Beng Huat See directly.