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Teachersā confidence in their instructional skills is known to be an important contributor to healthy and effective functioning as a teacher. It has been linked with a range of positive teacher outcomes, including teachersā engagement and wellbeing at work.
More recently, there has been growing interest in teachersā confidence in their social-emotional experiences and interactions at work. This focus is important because teaching has many social and emotional aspects to it. Teachers need to navigate their own and studentsā emotional reactions, along with differing social dynamics in the classroom, the staffroom, and the schoolyard.
Teachersā social-emotional confidence is also critical to examine because it may be linked with their wellbeing, which is known to decline across a school term.
In a newly published study in Educational Psychology, I set out to examine teachersā social-emotional confidence and how it is associated with work-related wellbeing and quitting intentions.
What the study examined
The study involved 492 Australian schoolteachers who filled out an online survey at the start of a school term and again at the end of the same term.
'Social-emotional confidence', which is known in academic research as perceived social-emotional competence, is a particular type of confidence that describes a teacher's beliefs in their ability to manage their social-emotional responses and interactions effectively.Ā
For example, it might involve feeling confident to ask for extra resources from supervisors or feeling able to understand and manage any emotions we experience after a challenging altercation in the schoolyard. Social-emotional confidence comes into play for all the social and emotional aspects of teaching work.
In the study, social-emotional confidence was examined in relation to three types of teacher wellbeing:
- Vitality The enthusiasm and energy that teachers experience in relation to their work
- Engagement The effort that teachers invest in their work
- Professional growth Teachers' dedication to improving their skills and knowledge.
'Quitting intentions' was also examined; this reflects teachers' plans to seek out other work and resign from their current position.
What the study found
The study showed that teachersā levels of social-emotional confidence at the start of the school term was linked with greater levels of all three wellbeing factors at the end of the term.
This means that teachers who felt more able to navigate their social and emotional experiences at work when the term started went on to report greater vitality, engagement, and professional growth several weeks later.
This might mean that having high social-emotional confidence means that teachers are able to better handle the inevitable ups and downs of a school term. For example, feeling confident about advocating for oneself in a staff meeting, or reigning in feelings of frustration in the face of disruptive behaviour in the classroom, appear important for greater levels of wellbeing at the end of the term.Ā Ā
These findings are important in light of research showing that teachersā wellbeing usually decreases across the school term. Social-emotional confidence might be one way to help reduce these declines.Ā
Results also demonstrated that social-emotional confidence was linked with lower quitting intentions at the end of the term. So, feeling confident to manage social and emotional experiences likely helps teachers to have more positive experiences at work, which means they are less likely to want to seek out a different workplace.
Alongside those main findings, the study also showed that vitality was linked with lower turnover. This finding aligns with prior research and highlights just how important it is that teachers feel enthusiastic and energised at work to ensure they want to stay in their jobs.
How to put it into practice
The study results suggest that efforts to boost social-emotional confidence might be valuable.
One strategy teachers might want to use for this involves reflecting on successes. Teachers can reflect on a recent social-emotional interaction at work that they believe they managed successfully. Reflecting on these positive experiences can boost confidence and belief in oneās abilities.
Another potential strategy involves efforts to learn from challenges.
The first step in this process is to consider a recent social-emotional interaction at work that didn't go as planned. Teachers can then reflect on how they could have responded differently and identify resources or people who could help in similar situations in the future.
For this, it might be helpful to jot down some reflections: How would you have preferred to respond? How might a respected colleague have responded in the same situation? Where can you get additional support or resources from to assist in future?
The next step involves trying out these new strategies when a similar situation arises, evaluating their effectiveness, and adjusting the approach as needed.
Other research suggests that a supportive working environment may help to foster teachersā confidence more generally at work.
School leaders can play a powerful role in this by making efforts to listen to teachers and understand their perspectives, explaining the reasoning behind any assigned tasks so teachers understand the purpose, and involving teachers in decision-making processes and school policies.Ā
Teaching involves many social and emotional experiences. Helping teachers feel more confident in handling these situations appears crucial for their wellbeing and may also help keep them in the profession longer.
Rebecca Collie is a Scientia Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the UNSW School of Education. She researches teacher motivation, wellbeing, and social-emotional development.
Read more:
- Teachers: Why social-emotional confidence improves wellbeing, and how to get it
- How I helped my students enjoy school
- $11m to “teach and sustain” Indigenous languages in primary schools
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