Interventions to Teacher Well-Being and Burnout A Scoping Review

Abstract

Teacher burnout, stress, and turnover are increasing globally, underscoring the need to explore ways to reduce burnout and support teacher well-being. This scoping review identifies the contents, characteristics, and results of interventions to increase teacher well-being and reduce burnout. The search was conducted using two databases (Education Research Complete and ERIC). Out of 958 studies, 46 addressed interventions to support teacher well-being or reduce teacher burnout. The data covered 7369 participants in 15 countries. Of the 46 studies, 14 used mixed methods, four qualitative approaches, and 28 used quantitative approaches. The content of the interventions primarily focused on improving individual well-being, with some interventions incorporating communal activities. The qualitative content analysis revealed a broad spectrum of intervention activities, including physical activity, mindfulness and meditation, professional development, therapy-based techniques, gratitude practices, and a mix of multiple activities. The PERMA-H model of positive psychology is applied to unify the heterogeneous field of teacher well-being intervention research. The PERMA-H model's contents were broadly consistent with the intervention's contents, emphasising engagement (E), positive emotions (P), relationships (R), and health (H). The gratitude interventions, therapy-based interventions, physical activity interventions, and most mindfulness and meditation interventions, professional development and mixed activities interventions positively contributed to teacher well-being. Overall, the review highlights the diverse methods and theoretical frameworks employed to address teacher well-being, which the PERMA-H model can unify.