ERIC Number: EJ1059856
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1359-866X
EISSN: N/A
Ecological Influences on Teachers' Well-Being and "Fitness"
Price, Deborah; McCallum, Faye
Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, v43 n3 p195-209 2015
The complex and ever-changing nature of teachers' work challenges their well-being. Teacher well-being and "fitness" includes versatility, mental strength, and commitment to promote effective teaching and learning. In framing this notion, we seek to understand the ecological influences impacting on teacher well-being and "fitness" in the twenty-first century. Drawing on the ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner, this interpretive qualitative study explored the perceptions of pre-service teachers in relation to their teacher well-being and "fitness." Data were collected from a teacher well-being survey completed by 120 final-year undergraduate pre-service teachers. The survey shed light on themes at four levels: the microsystem (individual and collective capacities); mesosystem (interrelationships between contexts); exosystem (organisational); and macrosystem (societal and legislative influences), compounded by the influence of time at the chronosystem level. These ecological influences were perceived to impact on teacher well-being and ability to be "fit" for sustained performance.
Descriptors: Well Being, Teacher Characteristics, Psychological Patterns, Mental Health, Teacher Persistence, Teacher Effectiveness, Ecology, Environmental Influences, Preservice Teachers, Student Surveys, Context Effect, Institutional Characteristics, Social Influences, Teacher Education Programs, Qualitative Research, Foreign Countries, Emotional Response, Physical Fitness, Communities of Practice, Time
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A