Teacher Wellbeing in Remote Australian Communities

Willis, Alison; Gainger, Peter

doi:10.14221/ajte.2020v45n5.2

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Findings of this study highlight the need for ongoing professional development in trauma informed practices and on the ground support from knowledgeable others. This is consistent with previous research (Berger and Samuel, 2020;Blitz et al, 2020;Reierson and Becker, 2020;Willis and Grainger, 2020;Miller and Berger, 2021). Training has been linked to increased confidence in working with children living with the effects of complex childhood trauma Loomis and Felt, 2020;Sonsteng-Person and Loomis, 2021).…”

Section: Identifying What They Need To Do the Worksupporting

confidence: 91%

“…This is in line with other research that has found that positive relationships with students enhance teachers' wellbeing, as these relationships enable teachers to see concrete evidence that they are making a difference (Kangas-Dick and O'Shaughnessy, 2020;Miller and Berger, 2021). However, there is limited research on how working conditions in remote schools' impact on the wellbeing of teachers (Willis and Grainger, 2020). Some extant research suggests inadequate support for teachers and administration staff in remote schools makes them vulnerable to the effects of secondary trauma, also referred to as secondary traumatic stress (Lawson et al, 2019;Collier et al, 2020) or type II trauma (Sage et al, 2018) which refers to a person's indirect exposure to traumatic events and "subsequently identifying and empathizing with the victim" (Sage et al, 2018, p. 457).…”

Section: Identifying What They Need To Do the Worksupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Although "culture shock" is a somewhat generic term, placed in context of Australia's remote areas which are "not demographically homogenous" (Willis and Grainger, 2020, p. 32), "culture shock" may be very subtly nuanced for teachers in each unique community. Previous research finds that these nuances can be challenging for teachers in remote communities (Sharplin, 2002;Datta-Roy and Lavery, 2017;Kelly et al, 2019;Lowe et al, 2019;Willis and Grainger, 2020). Differences in environmental and social factors lead teachers to experience new and unexpected situations which then have implications for how they build relationships within communities.…”

Section: Journeying To Remote Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Remote Primary School Teachers’ Experiences With Children Living With the Effects of Complex Childhood Trauma

Brown

Howard²,

Walsh³

2022

Front. Educ.

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The experiences of remote teachers who work with children living with the effects of complex childhood trauma is under explored. Children from remote areas of Australia are vulnerable to complex childhood trauma as their communities can face the effects of colonization, higher rates of disadvantage and exposure to potentially traumatic circumstances, such as natural disasters and family and community violence. This is compounded by the tyranny of distance in accessing effective supports. In such contexts, the roles of schools and teachers in addressing the debilitating impacts of trauma are both vital and amplified. This article summarizes a qualitative study, incorporating constructivist grounded theory, that generated a new theory to explain social processes that teachers in remote schools undergo when working with the effects of complex childhood trauma. Data were collected from teachers in individual interviews (n = 23) and a focus group. Data were analyzed using constant comparative method, emergent themes were categorized, leading to the development of the grounded theory, Building Trauma Informed Teachers. This overarching theory consists of seven categories. This study contributes insights into the scope and nature of the work of teachers in remote schools and recommends ways in which cognate systems can prepare and support teachers for their professional work supporting and educating trauma-impacted children.

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Section: Identifying What They Need To Do the Worksupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Identifying What They Need To Do the Worksupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Journeying To Remote Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Remote Primary School Teachers’ Experiences With Children Living With the Effects of Complex Childhood Trauma

Brown

Howard²,

Walsh³

2022

Front. Educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The majority of the sample were located in an urban setting (69%). It is estimated that 1.9% of Australian teachers are located in remote or rural locations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018;Willis & Grainger, 2020), suggesting that the present study has fairly represented this geographic class with 9% of respondents reporting teaching in a rural or remote region. These statistics concur with the data reported in the National Teaching Workforce Dataset (NTWD) report (Willett et al, 2014), suggesting that the current sample is demographically similar to the profession generally.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Teacher stress and burnout in Australia: examining the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors

et al. 2022

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Concerns regarding high rates of teacher stress and burnout are present globally. Yet there is limited current data regarding the severity of stress, or the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors in relation to teacher stress and burnout within the Australian context. The present study, conducted over an 18-month period, prior to the COVID pandemic, surveyed 749 Australian teachers to explore their experience of work-related stress and burnout; differences in stress and burnout across different demographic groups within the profession; as well as the contributing role of intrapersonal and environmental factors, particularly, emotion regulation, subjective well-being, and workload. Results showed over half of the sample reported being very or extremely stressed and were considering leaving the profession, with early career teachers, primary teachers, and teachers working in rural and remote areas reporting the highest stress and burnout levels. Conditional process analyses highlighted the importance of emotion regulation, workload and subjective well-being in the development of teacher stress and some forms of burnout. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

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“…The focus of the current investigation seeks to fill this gap. It also represents an understanding of wellbeing that may help to mediate the teacher's impact on student outcomes (Benevene et al, 2019;Glazzard & Rose, 2019) and which involves quite distinct elements and characteristics of wellbeing in relation to teaching that require specific examination (O'Connor & Thomas, 2019;Willis & Grainger, 2020).…”

Section: Defining Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher of mathematics identity as a predictor of teacher wellbeing

et al. 2022

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This article reports on original research investigating teacher wellbeing while teaching mathematics in relation to teacher identity. Using survey data from mathematics teachers (N = 402) participating in a teacher of mathematics support initiative, teacher wellbeing was operationally defined as the experience of wellbeing whilst teaching, allowing an applied understanding of wellbeing in relation to the activity of teaching. Teacher identity was construed from prior research by the authors (Willis et al., in: Math Educ Res J, 10.1007/s13394-021-00391-w, 2021) and operationalised for the current study in terms of a specific teacher of mathematics identity (ToMI) construct. The main research question for this investigation was directed at how well the ToMI construct, as a wellbeing variable, was able to predict teacher wellbeing while teaching, viewed as an ‘in situ’ or ‘active’ (applied) measure of wellbeing. Identity-Based Motivation (IBM) theory was used to frame the research, as it helps explain how the degree of congruency between identity and wellbeing may influence motivation to teach. Results indicated that although several important factors relate significantly to teacher of mathematics wellbeing, the ToMI construct predicted teacher wellbeing far above the ability of all other study factors combined, suggesting that a focus on the development of a professional identity for teachers is fundamental to the support of teacher wellbeing in schools. Suggestions for investigating this focus at the school level are also provided.

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Teacher Wellbeing in Remote Australian Communities

Cited by 9 publications

References 11 publications

Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Remote Primary School Teachers’ Experiences With Children Living With the Effects of Complex Childhood Trauma

Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Remote Primary School Teachers’ Experiences With Children Living With the Effects of Complex Childhood Trauma

Teacher stress and burnout in Australia: examining the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors

Teacher of mathematics identity as a predictor of teacher wellbeing

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