Conference Agenda

Insufficient physical activity among adolescents represents a significant challenge for public health and education systems across Europe and globally. This issue is particularly evident in academically demanding school environments, where increased cognitive load often leads to sedentary lifestyles. European health education research highlights that low levels of physical activity negatively affect adolescents’ physical health, mental wellbeing, self-esteem, and self-regulation capacities (WHO, 2017; OECD, 2019). Consequently, schools are increasingly recognized as key settings for promoting health literacy, wellbeing, and sustainable health-related behaviors.

Despite this recognition, traditional physical education (PE) practices often prioritize standardized performance norms and competitive outcomes. Such approaches may insufficiently address individual differences in physical abilities and health conditions, limiting student motivation and long-term engagement. This has led to calls within the European educational context for innovative, inclusive, and health-oriented pedagogical models that emphasize personalization, reflection, and student agency.

Study wellbeing has become an increasingly important area of research due to its strong links with students’ academic success, healthy development, and long‑term life outcomes. Although many adolescents in Finland are generally doing well, recent national and European data show a worrying increase in study burnout, highlighting a need for deeper examination of factors that may protect or undermine student wellbeing (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 2023; WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2020).

The study draws on a bivariate model of study wellbeing, which conceptualizes engagement and burnout not as opposite ends of a single continuum but as related yet distinct constructs that may coexist in complex ways. Study burnout comprises exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy, while study engagement consists of vigor, dedication, and absorption (Bakker et al., 2008; Schaufeli et al., 2002). Previous work has identified several distinct latent profiles, in which these dimensions combine, such as highly engaged students with low burnout, highly burned‑out students with low engagement, and mixed profiles where engagement coexists with exhaustion or inadequacy (Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2020; Räihä et al., 2024).

Previous study show that study wellbeing is shaped by a complex interplay of individual and environmental factors (Salmela-Aro et al., 2022). While age and gender differences in study wellbeing have previously been identified (Read et al., 2022; Vansoeterstede et al., 2023), study engagement and study burnout are also socially embedded and can spread within the school community (Mendoza & King, 2020). Accordingly, socially embedded practices such as social media use and lifestyle habits like physical activity (Owen et al., 2016; Jussila et al., 2023), are likely to contribute to variations in students’ overall experiences of study wellbeing. Evidence consistently shows that regular physical activity benefits mental health, emotional functioning, and academic performance, and may protect against burnout by increasing energy, positive affect, and social connectedness (Owen et al., 2016; Tang et al., 2021). In contrast, accumulating research links heavy social media use with psychological distress, reduced school engagement, and elevated burnout (Huang, 2022; Riehm et al., 2019; Srisarajivakul et al., 2025, Sohn et al., 2019).

Despite the importance of these behaviors, we have limited understanding of how physical activity and social media use relate to person centered wellbeing profiles rather than isolated indicators. Moreover, we have a lack of insight into how class-level contexts shape the distribution of these profiles.

To address these gaps, this study examines:

1. Which study wellbeing profiles—based on combinations of engagement, exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy—can be identified among Finnish 5th and 8th graders?
2. Whether students’ social media use and physical activity are associated with the likelihood of membership in the study wellbeing profiles
3. Whether gender and grade level relate to profile membership?
4. Whether classrooms differ in their distribution of wellbeing profiles, and can broader class‑level profiles be identified?

Teacher turnover remains a critical challenge across European and international early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems. It´s consistently identified as a threat to educational quality, equity, and workforce sustainability (European Commission, 2019; Grant et al., 2019; OECD, 2019, 2020; Sirvio et al., 2023; UNESCO, 2021). Despite this recognition, turnover is predominantly explained through individualised frameworks focusing on stress, burnout, or resilience. While such approaches provide important insights, they risk obscuring the structural and ethical dimensions of professional well-being, particularly in care-oriented professions such as ECEC.

In line with ECER Network 8’s focus on health, well-being, and the working lives of education professionals, this study advances a theoretically grounded approach that conceptualises teacher turnover as an ethically meaningful response to working conditions rather than an individual failure to cope. The study brings together three interrelated theoretical concepts, intensified work life, demoralization, and the calling discourse, to examine how contemporary ECEC systems shape the moral sustainability of professional life.

Research question:
How do former ECE teachers in Finland discursively construct their decisions to leave the profession?

The concept of intensified work life provides a critical lens for understanding educators’ well-being within contemporary ECEC systems. Intensification refers to the cumulative expansion of workload, responsibility, pace, and emotional demands without corresponding increases in resources, time, or professional autonomy (Jakonen, 2014; Kubicek et al., 2015; Mauno et al., 2022). Across Europe, ECEC teachers face growing expectations related to pedagogical quality, documentation, inclusion, and accountability, often under conditions of staff shortages and constrained funding (European Commission, 2019; OECD, 2019; Sirvio et al. 2023).

Within Network 8 research traditions, work intensification is understood not only as a quantitative increase in tasks but also as a qualitative and moral intensification. ECEC teachers are expected to ensure children’s holistic well-being, compensate for systemic shortcomings, and maintainhigh ethical standards despite structural limitations. Such conditions place educators in ethically vulnerable positions, where professional responsibility increasingly relies on individual endurance and self-sacrifice (UNESCO, 2021; Young & Rushton, 2017). Over time, intensified work life undermines occupational well-being and the sustainability of professional engagement.

To theorise the moral consequences of intensified work life, the study draws on demoralization as articulated by Santoro (2011, 2018). Demoralization differs from burnout in that it centres on ethical conflict rather than emotional exhaustion. Demoralized teachers remaincommitted to children, education, and care, yet experience persistent distress when institutional conditions prevent them from enacting what they believe constitutes good and ethical practice.

Within European ECEC contexts, demoralization emerges when teachers are held morally accountable for quality and outcomes while lacking the structural conditions required to fulfil these responsibilities (Santoro, 2011, 2018). OECD analyses of workforce sustainability suggest that such value–practice incongruence undermines retention across education systems (OECD, 2020). From this perspective, leaving the profession can be understood as a morally reasoned response to sustained ethical strain rather than reduced commitment.

A further theoretical lens is the construction of ECEC teaching as calling work. International research shows that early childhood teaching is frequently framed as intrinsically meaningful, altruistic, and rooted in care, particularly within European welfare-state traditions (Duffy & Autin, 2013). While this discourse can strengthen professional identity and purpose, it also functions as a normative framework that legitimises excessive demands, low material rewards, and blurred professional boundaries (Maczulskij, 2013). Policy discussions increasingly acknowledge that reliance on vocational commitment can mask structural problems and shift responsibility for systemic shortcomings onto individual educators (European Commission, 2019; OECD, 2020). When dedication becomes equated with endurance, teachers may normalise overwork and ethical compromise as indicators of professional worth, intensifying moral strain and contributing to decisions to leave the profession.

Returning to work after maternity leave represents a significant professional and emotional transition for teachers. This period is often accompanied by stress, anxiety, temporary loss of confidence, and the challenge of reintegrating into established school routines and expectations (Wiese & Heidemeier, 2012). Successful reintegration is influenced by teachers’ self-regulatory skills and the level of support provided by the school community (Franzoi et al., 2024; Kokubo et al., 2021). Although teacher well-being has gained global attention, this specific transition remains understudied in Kazakhstan, where the profession is predominantly female and maternity leave is a common career break for early- and mid-career teachers (Chernobay & Tashibaeva, 2020). Therefore, there is a clear need for support mechanisms that recognise both the professional and emotional challenges of returning teachers.

Teacher professional development is recognised as a key driver of educational quality in Kazakhstan (Orleu, 2023; 2024). However, existing programmes seldom address the unique reintegration needs of post-maternity teachers, who are often expected to resume full responsibilities immediately upon their return. To address this gap, this study explores an integrated support approach incorporating Lesson Study and mentoring. Lesson Study encourages collaborative instructional design and reflection, enabling teachers to analyse student learning more deeply (Lewis, 2016; Saito & Atencio, 2020). At the same time, mentoring helps rebuild confidence, provides emotional reassurance, and supports professional identity restoration (O’Sullivan,2020).

This action research project (Timperley et al., 2007) was conducted in a secondary school and included seven teachers: four returning teachers (two chemistry and two mathematics) and three experienced mentors in the same subjects. The intervention combined collaborative lesson planning, observation, and reflection through Lesson Study cycles, together with personalised mentoring sessions tailored to individual needs. Returning teachers were supported as capable professionals re-entering the field, rather than as novices starting again.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, surveys, classroom observations, and reflective journals. Thematic analysis indicated several positive outcomes. First, teachers reported increased professional confidence as they regained trust in their instructional competencies. Second, teaching quality improved due to more student-centred and evidence-based decision-making. Third, collegial relationships strengthened, reducing isolation and fostering a supportive environment. Fourth, teachers experienced renewed purpose and a stronger sense of belonging in the school community. Fifth, emotional well-being increased as anxiety decreased and coping skills improved during the transition period (Rakhimbekova, 2024; Trent & Gao,2020).

The findings highlight the critical role of school-based support systems in addressing both pedagogical and emotional aspects of post-maternity return. The integrated model developed in this study demonstrated its potential to enhance teacher retention and promote a more inclusive professional culture that values personal life transitions. It also emphasises that maternity leave should be viewed as a temporary pause rather than a professional setback, and that teachers returning from such breaks should be empowered through structured support (Aitjanov et al.,2025).

This study provides meaningful implications for educational leaders and policymakers. Supporting returning teachers should become a recognised component of teacher development policy in Kazakhstan, ensuring a stable and motivated workforce. Additionally, the model can be adapted across different subject areas and schools to build sustainable professional learning systems that respond to diverse career pathways.

In conclusion, combining Lesson Study with mentoring offers an effective mechanism to facilitate the successful reintegration of teachers returning from maternity leave. The model strengthens instructional practice, enhances collegiality, and improves teacher well-being. By addressing a previously overlooked aspect of professional life, this research contributes to more responsive and humane approaches to teacher professional development, both in Kazakhstan and internationally. Ensuring that returning teachers feel respected, supported, and professionally valued enables them to thrive and continue contributing meaningfully to student learning and school improvement.