Conference Agenda

This paper presentation focuses on results from the first two years of pan-Canadian research seeking to examine how teacher education programs support, nurture and sustain well-being. In keeping with antiracist and anti-oppressive calls to action in Teacher Education, a holistic model focusing on mental, emotional, physical and cultural conceptions of wellbeing guided the research questions. In year 1, the questionnaire was disseminated to the Senior Administration of Teacher Education Programs. In year 2, the questionnaire was disseminated to teacher candidates enrolled in Teacher Education programs. The results provide insight on the theory and practice of preparing teachers with well-being as a foundation for their professional lives as leaders in education.

The theoretical framework for this study is interdisciplinary, drawing on research in positive psychology (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008; Ben-Shahar, 2008; Keyes & Annas, 2009; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), positive organizational scholarship (POS) (Carr, 2004; Gallos, 2008; Luthans & Youssef, 2007; Roberts & Dutton, 2009), and work-related learning (Fenwick, 2008; Smith, 2020). Supported by this framework that connects wellbeing and professional learning, this research responds to a need to examine pre-service programs across a variety of educational settings, and to explore future policies and practices from a more holistic perspective (Alexander, Gerofsky & Wideen, 1999; Authors, 2010).

This multi-year research project is designed using a mixed-method approach (McMillan & Wimmer, 2008) to identify and describe programs, practices, and policies for promoting well-being across teacher education sites in Canada. Qualitative data from the questionnaires were inductively analyzed using the constant comparison method (Gay & Airasian, 2003; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Quantitative data analysis included frequency counts, means, standard deviations, and percentages. Finally, the data were compared and contrasted with the themes derived from the review of related research on fostering well-being in teacher education programs.

Based on responses from administrators and students across teacher education programs in Canada, wellbeing is a consideration in the design and delivery of pre-service preparation. While intellectual, social, and emotional wellbeing tend to be the most familiar aspects for including in programs and policies, attention to cultural and spiritual wellbeing emerged through the survey responses emerged as important areas for further consideration. Student responses varied and at times, provided responses that were contrary to the administrators’ responses. Findings from this study highlight the importance of supporting and promoting wellbeing as a foundational part of formative and early professional learning experiences in pre-service teacher education. Overall, the findings inform initial recommendations for a holistic perspective to support and promote teacher well-being during pre-service education that take into account multiple pillars of wellbeing. Survey results provide additional insights on the theory and practice of preparing teachers with well-being as a foundation for their professional lives as leaders in education.

Recognizing the importance of professional learning as pathway towards school effectiveness, the findings from this study inform policy and practice to support teacher development from a foundation of wellbeing as integral to initial teacher education and continuing professional development for teachers.

The under-representation of minority ethnicities in the teaching workforce in Scotland has been a long-standing and persistent issue (e.g. Hartshorn et al 2005; BBC 2015; Hepburn 2017, Arshad, 2021). The aim of the study reported in this paper was to contribute to ongoing discussions about this issue. Informed by semi-structured interviews with minority ethnic teachers in Scottish schools, the study offers insider perspectives into the factors that affect recruitment, retention and progression of teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds, with a specific focus on teacher education and the probation year. Kholi (2021) suggests a need to understand how minority ethnic teachers negotiate their professional identities, and considers whether their personal identities actively or consciously affected their teaching. Whilst schools can be important sites for children and young people to encounter social justice, so too, are they sites for teachers to encounter social justice. Yet some minority ethnic teachers appear to feel confident in utilising their cultural and linguistic skills while others choose to assimilate in order to ‘fit in’. This potentially oppresses minority ethnic teacher’s identity (Beijaard and Meijer, 2017).

This paper draws on qualitative research conducted with minority ethnic teachers from the West of Scotland. All were educated in Britain but selection criteria ensured a mix of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Focus groups enabled their responses to be analysed, in order to explore their experiences and perceptions of their contribution to the profession. It was also important to seek their views on responding to the needs of the minority ethnic children they teach and whether they felt that their cultural, religious and linguistic skills were of benefit to all the children they teach. Critical race theory provided a useful lens to examine the teaching lives of minority ethnic teachers, with respect to the particular issues they face because of their culture, religion and language (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Bhopal, 2018).

Findings throw light into the influences that shape the participants as developing professionals and enable them to negotiate the complexities associated with their minority status. In addition, findings show that equality of opportunity symbolised by the offer of a place in a teacher education programme is not sufficient to ensure that individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have a fair chance at completing the programme and the probation period. Unless the challenges associated with their minority status are recognised and appropriate support is put in place to counteract them, these aspiring teachers are less likely than their majority-status peers to experience success. An unsuccessful outcome can be devastating on a personal level and will contribute to the perpetuation of existing disparities in the representation of minority ethnicities in the teaching workforce in Scottish schools.

The recommendations for Teacher Education Institutions and Local Authorities arising from this study can be useful not only in relation to student teachers and probationers from minority ethnic backgrounds but also in relation to aspiring teachers from other under-represented groups.

The concept of teacher academic optimism (TAO) is gaining importance as a framework for understanding in-school factors that influence student achievement. It emphasizes the interplay between teacher efficacy, teacher trust in students and parents, and academic emphasis, and has been shown to be a crucial determinant of a teacher’s ability to optimize learning opportunities (Chang, 2011; Hoy et al., 2006; Woolfolk Hoy et al., 2008). Even after controlling for background variables such as socioeconomic status (SES) and migration background, research shows a positive correlation between TAO and student outcomes (Ates & Unal, 2021), underscoring the significance of academically optimistic teachers. Despite the potential promise of the concept, there still is limited understanding of the factors that influence TAO and whether teachers are equally optimistic in different classroom contexts. Therefore, this study focuses on the extent to which the subconcepts of TAO vary with classroom composition, educational track, and with teachers’ perception of academic optimism at the school level.

Data were collected in Antwerp, the largest city in Flanders (Belgium) and with a (for this study) relevant variety of secondary schools in terms of ethnicity and SES. Via stratified clustered systematic sampling a total of 1061 teachers from 37 secondary schools participated in the study. The adapted (and validated) Survey for Academic Optimism (Lelieur et al., 2022) was used to map out teacher and school academic optimism (SAO). We also surveyed the compositional features and the educational track of the class group the respondents had in mind answering the TAO items. Data were analysed through Bayesian multilevel structural equitation modelling. Model comparison showed a clear hierarchy of fit, as measured by the dWAIC (McElreath, 2020), in favour of the model with intercepts, school random effects, fixed effects, and school academic optimism effects for each one of the sub-scales within teacher academic optimism.

Our results illuminate the importance of considering the effects of educational track in understanding variations in teacher trust in students and parents. In schools with a similar level of SAO, educational track, rather than students’ background characteristics, plays a determining role. Specifically, students in the vocational finality have teachers with lower levels of TAO compared to students in other finalities. Previous research has highlighted the heightened risk of lower learning achievements among students in vocational tracks (Van Houtte & Demanet, 2016), but the presence of optimistic teachers has the potential to reverse this trend. Additionally, our study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the pivotal relationship between SAO and TAO. To foster inclusive and effective learning environments, policymakers and educators should prioritize investing in SAO. This includes cultivating a teaching team that believes in its ability to educate all children, fostering a trusting environment that actively involves students and parents, and maintaining high expectations for all students, regardless of their background characteristics or educational track.

This proposal is closely related to the subtheme: Leading schools and education systems that promote equity, inclusion, belonging, diversity, social justice, global citizenship and/ or environmental sustainability.