Conceptualising teacher wellbeing: A qualitative investigation with primary school teachers in England

The ongoing challenges in the teaching profession significantly affect teacher wellbeing, underscoring the need for a comprehensive understanding of it. There is a need to explore teacher wellbeing in depth to deepen our understanding of its conceptualisation in the field, in addition to understanding lived experiences by obtaining teachers' perspectives on the matter. This study explores how primary school teachers in England define, understand and experience wellbeing, aiming to uncover factors influencing their wellbeing. Semi-structured interviews with eight primary teachers underwent analysis using Hybrid Thematic Analysis (HTA), which integrates inductive and deductive approaches to interpret raw data. This methodology facilitated cross-comparison between theory and data, enabling the identification of consistencies and discrepancies with existing knowledge and generating new insights from the collected data. Findings revealed four main themes: perception of being a teacher, understanding of wellbeing by teachers, components of teacher wellbeing, and perceived contributors to teacher wellbeing. The findings highlight diverse dimensions of teacher wellbeing, including commonly acknowledged aspects such as workload, as well as less highlighted factors such as teachers' personal lives. This study enriches our understanding of teacher wellbeing, offering insights into teachers' perspectives and informing future research and policies while adding a further nuance to existing frameworks. • Teachers find their profession rewarding yet challenging, with many considering leaving due to rising stress and evolving roles. • Teachers’ wellbeing is influenced by many internal and external elements such as self-care, autonomy, and work-life balance. • Less-discussed factors, such as teachers' personal lives, play a significant role in their overall sense of wellbeing. • The study highlights the need for well-being frameworks that address both individual and structural factors in teaching.