Supporting teachers’ mental wellbeing:A structured review of interventions

Concern about teacher wellbeing is especially high since the coronavirus pandemic. It is widely acknowledged that teaching is a highly stressful profession. Stress and burnout are deemed critical factors in the recruitment and retention of teachers. Therefore, addressing teacher wellbeing is an important strategy in overcoming teacher shortages. This review summarises findings from evaluations that focused on interventions to support teacher wellbeing. Many interventions have been tested and almost all claimed positive results. But when examined closely the evidence is weak. A total of 49 studies on stress management and psychological interventions were identified from a systematic search of five large databases and other sources. The review followed a conventional protocol, beginning with a search of key educational, psychological and sociological databases, intensive screening and weighting the strength of evidence of each included report. Overall, there is no evidence that any of the strategies worked or had lasting impact. This is perhaps largely because wellbeing is a multidimensional and subjective concept, making it difficult to measure objectively. Positive results may be found for some constructs (e.g. stress and burnout) but not for others (e.g. anxiety, self-efficacy). Even studies conducted by the same authors report positive effects for the same construct in one study, but not in subsequent ones. In summary, better conceptualisation and more targeted measures of wellbeing are needed. For now, stakeholders should be cautious about recommending any stress management and psychological interventions for teachers until more robust, independent studies can confirm their efficacy.