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SCHOOLS are not identical functional
institutions that deliver a package of
knowledge and skills to a homogenous
group of students. They are diverse commu-
nities with a wide range of physical capital
(buildings, books and other resources),
human capital (knowledge and skills) and
social capital (relationships and connections
between people). There is now a strong body
of evidence (Blum & Libbey, 2004; Plagens,
2011) to support the notion that social
capital – defined here as expectations and
interactions that promote trust, respect,
value, and collaboration – impacts signifi-
cantly on the quality of the learning environ-
ment and specifically the wellbeing of both
students and staff.
A survey by Wellbeing Australia
(December, 2011) found that of 466 respon-
dents, 85.9 per cent, strongly agreed and a
further 12.1 per cent agreed that a focus on
student wellbeing enhanced an effective
learning environment and 74.5 per cent
strongly agreed and a further 21.9 per cent
agreed that a focus on teacher wellbeing also
promotes student wellbeing. 73.9 per cent of
respondents were teachers of whom 20.5 per
cent were school principals. These educators
considered wellbeing issues critical to
academic outcomes as well as promoting
mental health (97.6 per cent) and pro-social
behaviour (98.5 per cent) – combining
‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’.
These views on links between teacher
wellbeing and student outcomes are
supported by other evidence. Three dimen-
sions of teacher wellbeing: feeling valued
and cared for, feeling overloaded, and job
stimulation and enjoyment were measured
in a major study involving 24,100 staff in 246
primary schools and 182 secondary schools
in the UK (Briner & Dewberry, 2007). These
were analysed to explore relationships
between teacher wellbeing and pupil
performance. Although many factors
impacted on Statutory Assessment Tests
(SATs), eight per cent of variation in both
primary and secondary schools were attribut-
able to teacher wellbeing. Surprisingly, SATs
scores in all subjects were associated with
average teacher wellbeing scores. The
authors advise caution in the interpretation
of their findings as how teachers feel about
their work may be bi-directional – improved
student performance is likely to also increase
their feelings of efficacy and wellbeing.
8Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4
© The British Psychological Society, 2012
Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing:
Two sides of the same coin?
Sue Roffey
There is now a strong body of evidence (e.g. Hattie, 2009; Roorda et al., 2011) that confirms the value of
positive teacher-student relationships for learning and behaviour. The quality of relationships in a school,
however, also impacts on teacher wellbeing and their ability to cope well with the many and varied stresses
that are the hallmarks of the profession. Teacher attrition is a major concern in the Western world –
how teachers feel makes a difference to their ability to respond effectively to the challenges they face.
This article explores issues of social capital within the learning environment and how this impacts on
all stakeholders within an ecological framework. It examines how teacher resilience might be enhanced by
specific actions that promote positive feelings of belonging, respect, value, and trust. The article examines
international research on these issues, including a specific qualitative study in six schools in Australia.
Findings are confirmed and illustrated by an online survey on student wellbeing.
Keywords: Tea ch er we ll b ei ng ; r el at io ns hi ps ; s oc ia l c ap it a l; s c ho ol ec ol og y; r es pe ct ; po si t iv e p sy ch o lo gy .
Feelings of self-efficacy were highlighted
by Gibbs (2011) as a hallmark of resilience in
teachers and he also suggests this is subject
to social and cultural influences – in other
words, what is actually happening within a
school to impact on self-belief, attribution
and motivation. He cited work by Goddard,
Hoy and Woolfolk (2004) on the influence
of senior management actively endorsing
and supporting inclusive practices on the
perception of both personal and collective
efficacy of teachers. The outcomes include
both positive effects for children’s knowl-
edge and attainment and also teachers’
professional commitment, knowledge and
satisfaction. This further exemplifies an
ecological, bi-directional framework in
conceptualising and promoting cultural
change for wellbeing.
There are strong arguments for
exploring what wellbeing in school means in
practice and the ways in which this can be
developed at all levels of the institution.
Student wellbeing
Student wellbeing (SW) is a pro-active and
universal approach to pupil experiences in
school. It is the responsibility of all staff to
promote SW, whereas a welfare focus is reac-
tive to identified concerns for individuals
and often the province of senior and
specialist staff.
The following definition of student well-
being synthesises an international literature
review carried out for the Australian Federal
Government (Noble et al., 2008).
Student wellbeing is strongly linked to
learning. A student’s level of wellbeing at
school is indicated by their satisfaction with life
at school, their engagement with learning and
their social-emotional behaviour. It is
enhanced when evidence-informed practices
are adopted by schools in partnership with
families and community. Optimal student
wellbeing is a sustainable state, characterised
by predominantly positive feelings and
attitude, positive relationships at school,
resilience, self-optimisation and a high level of
satisfaction with learning experiences. (p.30)
The report goes on to outline seven path-
ways to wellbeing in a school:
●Building a respectful and supportive
school community.
●Developing pro-social values.
●Providing a safe learning environment.
●Enhancing social-emotional learning.
●Using strengths based approaches.
●Fostering a sense of meaning and
purpose.
●Encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
The focus of this paper is on the relational
aspects of wellbeing, including building a
respectful and supportive school community,
developing pro-social values and providing a
safe learning environment.
Teacher wellbeing
Mindmatters (secondary schools) and Kids-
matter (primary schools) are Federally-funded
mental health promotion programmes in
Australia. Not only are teacher wellbeing and
values seen as critical to effective implementa-
tion (Mason & Rowling, 2005) but teachers
themselves have valued the opportunity to
reflect on their own personal wellbeing during
professional training.
Teacher wellbeing in the literature is
often described in deficit terms – how stress
is impacting on teacher burn-out and prob-
lems with retention. It is estimated that over
20 per cent of teachers leave education in
their first three years and up to 50 per cent
within five years (House of Commons, 2004),
with Australian, American, British and many
other European figures mirroring each
other. Teacher stress and retention is clearly
a major concern in many countries (Galton
& McBeath, 2008; Johnson, Berg &
Donaldson, 2005; Stoel & Thant, 2002;).
Te ac he r w e ll be i ng i s, t he re f or e , n o t o nl y
critically relevant for whole school wellbeing,
specifically a stable environment for
students, but also for financial considera-
tions. Training teachers who then leave
because their lives are unfulfilled at best and
miserable at worst is not only devastating to
those individuals and damaging to students
but also expensive on the public purse.
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4 9
Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?
It is commonly accepted that stress over-
load leads to poorer performance but the
way it affects the brain may be less obvious.
Michie and Cockcroft (1996) found that
exposure to chronic work stress over time
leads to degradation of the hippocampus –
the part of the brain most active in memory.
If students are going to be in an effective
learning environment they need teachers
who have optimal access to their knowledge
base and also be open to learning them-
selves. The authors also found, however, that
more serious dangers to health, such as
cardiovascular disease and gastro-intestinal
disorders were moderated by psycho-social
factors – strong social networks and support.
Social capital
There are several theoretical constructions of
social capital with the main proponents being
Bourdieu (1993), Coleman (1990) and
Putnam (2000). According to Bourdieu,
membership of formal and informal groups
gives access to opportunities and resources.
As such, social capital can be a vehicle for the
reproduction of privilege. Coleman, however,
has a more positive view and sees social
capital as making possible the achievement of
otherwise unattainable goals. In communi-
ties with high levels of social trust individuals
are more likely to openly exchange informa-
tion and be caring towards each other. There
is also more confidence that colleagues will
be reliable and competent. Putnam has
added to the concept by identifying within-
group connections, such as between
teachers, as ‘bonding social capital’ and
across-group connections, such as between
staff and the parent community as ‘bridging
social capital’. Bridging social capital is seen
as particularly useful in building resources
and opportunities. This can be mirrored in
the difference between ‘inclusive’ belonging
that reaches out to others and ‘exclusive’
belonging which can be superior and self-
protecting (Roffey, 2011a). It is inclusive
belonging that promotes safety and wellbeing
for all stakeholders within a school (Wike &
Fraser, 2009).
For some the size and functionality of
networks is seen as most important. The
broad but thin spread of social media might
suggest that this is not what really matters
when it comes to authentic wellbeing. Social
capital in the context of school life is more
about the quality of connections – the ways
in which people relate to each other, both as
individuals and as groups. When many in a
community feel positively connected with
each other, this can lead to a level of social
capital in which trust and reciprocity
predominate and there is a greater chance
of defining and attaining shared goals
(Pretty & Ward, 2001). Our focus is with the
process of social capital – how we build posi-
tive connections with others.
According to Holmes (2005) teachers are
involved in about a thousand interpersonal
contacts every day. It is the quality of these
contacts that either foster a sense of well-
being or sustain a toxic working environ-
ment. Although she does not refer to social
capital as such Holmes’ summary of a posi-
tive working environment is useful and
includes the following:
●high expectations to create strong
communal identity;
●respectful and dignified treatment as
professionals;
●participation by teachers in decisions
affecting their work;
●regular opportunities for interaction and
sharing with colleagues;
●recognition and rewards for effort and
achievement.
When teachers are able to build such an
environment how does this impact on their
own wellbeing and what are the outcomes
for pupils?
Research study
The qualitative research that supports the
theme of this paper took place in six schools
identified as actively developing emotional
literacy: four primary and two high schools.
Five schools were in New South Wales and
one in Victoria, two in the Catholic system
and the others in the public system. Pupils
10 Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4
Sue Roffey
were from varied backgrounds, both ethi-
cally and socially.
In four schools teachers, students, school
counsellors and principals participated in
semi-structured interviews. Student groups
were usually student representative councils
and, therefore, cross age. Teachers were
invited to participate in focus groups. These
groups were between five and nine partici-
pants. Student counsellors and principals
were interviewed individually, apart from one
small group of counsellors. In two further
schools, for logistical reasons, the principal
only was interviewed. Open-ended questions
explored the experiences of staff and students
in these schools and the processes by which
the current culture had been developed.
Data was transcribed and entered into
HyperResearch software to facilitate analysis.
Using a grounded theory approach the aim
was not to test out any hypothesis but
explore and analyse themes that emerged
from the data. The papers that have been
published to date from this research empha-
sise the role, vision and skills of school lead-
ership in creating an emotionally literate
learning environment (Roffey, 2007), and
the ecological nature of this endeavour
(Roffey, 2008) – how different levels of the
system impact on each other.
This specific paper explores commonali-
ties in the factors that support the relational
wellbeing of both staff and pupils together
with a possibility for conflict. The themes
and sub-themes below are illustrated by
selected quotes from the study and also by
those from the Wellbeing Australia Student
Wellbeing Survey in response to the ques-
tion: What has made the most difference in
promoting and supporting student wellbeing in
your setting? There were multiple interactions
between the themes and sub-themes but
these have been separated here for clarity.
Emphasising pro-social values
The overriding focus in this study was the
value and wellbeing of the whole child. But
in order for this to be effective in practice
the relational values of respect, acceptance
and care had to extend both from and to all
staff. Everyone needed to feel positive about
being in the school and this was everyone’s
responsibility.
It is a group of people working together to
achieve good outcomes, especially for kids…
but good outcomes for the teachers too.
(High School Principal)
In all schools these relational values were not
left to chance. They were discussed,
promoted and practiced across all levels of
the school. For one primary and one high
school this stemmed from their Christian
ethos, others saw themselves as doing their
best for disadvantaged communities.
We really needed to be explicit about the values
we teach – the values that we have, by the very
nature of being a government school, where
everyone’s included… they encourage and
promote the idea that it’s OK to be different,
and celebrating people’s differences. (Primary
School Principal)
I talk about the fact that (new teachers) are
going to be working in a particular place where
the way that we interact with each other is
important, that we have a set of values, that
we insist on standing by those values.
(High School Principal)
Fostering a sense of belonging
The importance of feeling connected to
school, that you feel it matters that you are
there, is increasingly seen as vital for both
health and academic outcomes (Blum, 2005;
Rowe, Stewart & Patterson, 2007). Solomon
et al. (1996) explored factors that enhanced
primary students’ perceptions of belonging
to a class community. They found that co-
operative learning strategies, the promotion
of democratic and pro-social values, student
autonomy and a child centred approach
heightened students’ sense of community.
This led to a greater willingness to abide by
the norms and values of that community.
Participants in the study appeared proud
of their school and felt that they had a say in
what happened there. Teachers said they felt
part of a professional learning community
and principals commented that their schools
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4 11
Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?
were viewed positively within the local
community.
We encourage kids to think through respect for
the feelings of others, respect for the property of
others, keep the respect of the school. People ring
us and give feedback – we get told how good
they are, how proud we are of them.
(Primary School Principal)
Catalano et al. (2004) defined school
connectedness as two interrelated compo-
nents, affective, supportive relationships, and
commitment. Both students and staff need to
perceive themselves as doing well and have
an investment in being there. These issues in
the study were addressed as follows.
Acknowledging strengths: With the growing
influence of positive psychology in schools
the value of a strengths based model is re-
emerging (Noble & McGrath, 2012; Roffey,
2011b), Most of the literature refers to the
importance of acknowledging student diver-
sity but this research shows that teachers too
respond positively to having their strengths
recognised, especially by school leaders.
We have an acceptance of teachers as well.
I could pick what’s very good about each
teacher. (Primary School Principal)
The big thing with the (weekly) bulletin… the
very first thing that ever gets mentioned are the
thank-you’s… individual staff are mentioned
for the effort that they’ve put in the previous
week. (Primary School Teachers)
Being and feeling included: This emphasises
how both staff and students need to feel
comfortable in school to thrive and suggests
ways in which this might happen.
I go to schools where I know where somebody
sits and where I shouldn’t sit [in the
staffroom]. That isn’t the thing at this school –
everybody sits with everybody, everybody
interacts. (Primary School Counsellor)
At one high school there was an awareness of
the difference it made to have someone just
acknowledge your presence. One teacher
spoke of the few members of staff who did
not do this and how this was being actively
addressed in the school
There’s a conscious decision, to include new
staff more… and make them feel comfortable,
because I know what it’s like – it’s not easy.
(High School Teacher)
Feelings at this school definitely matter…
because there’s not much point if somebody’s
uncomfortable in school, they’re not going to
approach with the right attitude and perhaps
they’re really not going to learn anything if
they’re just ‘I’m coming here, I don’t really
want to be here’. (High School Student)
Feeling valued, respected and cared for:
Throughout the responses there was an
awareness that the way the senior manage-
ment team treated staff was reflected in the
way the staff interacted with each other and
then down the line with the students.
There’s more feeling of equality and comfort
with staff, not only on a professional level but
a personal one… and just like it’s feeling, like
a deeper level of respect from the leadership
team. (High School Counsellor)
When a student comes back after absence you
let them know you miss them. Also with staff.
I make it my business to know about the staff –
have they been having enough sleep. Birthday
cards, etc. Making them feel valued. If they are
noticed and acknowledged it will flow through
to the kids. (High School Principal)
Creating a safe learning environment
Creating a positive safe (supportive) environ-
ment for staff helps to ensure students
receive the same benefits. (WB survey)
Bullying issues: Teachers, lecturers and
employees in education are the largest
group of callers to the UK National Work-
place Bullying Advice Line. Teachers are also
the largest group who email Bully OnLine
(Holmes, 2005).
Much of the literature on bullying focuses
on the students – the bullies, the bullied and
the bystanders. Physical and psychological
safety in a school can only exist, however,
where bullying behaviour is pro-actively
addressed across the whole school. There is
increasing evidence that it is school culture
12 Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4
Sue Roffey
that either limits or sustains bullying behav-
iours (James et al., 2008; Skiba et al., 2006).
In a safe and supportive school, the risk from
all types of harm is minimised, diversity is
valued and all members of the school
community feel respected and included.
(Education Services Australia (2010).
The National Safe Schools Framework
(revised, p.2)
This research explored what was happening
in schools where the culture was safe and
supportive for everyone.
We’ve got a system… basically, a year six or a
year five and a kindergartener will become
buddies and the year six will show them
around, and spend certain recesses and
lunchtimes with them, so that basically makes
them feel a lot safer. (Primary School Pupil)
In one school pupils said that there ‘isn’t
really any bullying because of this no put down
thing we’ve got here’ – in each classroom, the
staffroom, the front office and the prin-
cipal’s room there is a laminated poster
saying ‘This is a no put down zone’. This had
clearly been the focus on many conversa-
tions at all levels within the school. Staff were
also aware of the models their own collegial
relationships were providing to students.
When (students) see staff interact, it’s always
polite, it’s positive, there’s no negativity,
bawling out of somebody, or shouting, or
anything like that, and I think that that sort of
gives them the example of how to interact with
another person. (Primary School Teacher)
Making mistakes: Hattie (2009) in his meta-
analysis of effective education concluded
that making mistakes needs to be welcomed
as part of learning. Schools need to foster an
environment where people are not scared to
admit they could have done something
differently. This also promotes positive and
trusting relationships.
People are prepared to say sorry, too, if they
think they’ve genuinely done something wrong,
or said something that unintentionally
offended someone. (High School Teacher)
We all make mistakes is modelled by the staff.
Once you have made a mistake, once you have
talked about it, [it’s] over. (High School
Principal)
Positive communication within relationships
De Nobile (2008) summarised research on
supportive communication as a way of
increasing job satisfaction for teachers. This
includes horizontal support between
colleagues and downward positive communi-
cation from managers (Dinham & Scott,
2000; De Nobile & McCormick, 2008). There
is also some evidence of the positive effects of
upward communication (De Nobile, 2008).
Collegial relationships: Positive communica-
tion is easier if you know something about a
colleague outside their work role. Some
schools had actively encouraged staff to
simply get to know each other. The school
below had developed a social programme to
do just this.
We’ve broken down a lot of barriers… people
used to be reluctant to come into the staff room
– unless you have groups of friends to associate
with… it is actually really nice to get to know
other aspects of people. (High School
Te ac he rs )
The biggest, most effective thing (in developing
emotional literacy) is probably just the personal
relationships among the staff… that kind of a
bonding and a joining… there’s more adult
discussion, more give and take… they are
listening to each other more. (High School
Counsellor)
Teacher-student relationships: Research on the
importance of the quality of teacher student
relationships is burgeoning in an environ-
ment in which they are under threat.
The additional stress on teachers working in
this unrealistic performance-driven environ-
ment has a negative impact on them which in
turn must impact [on the] health and
wellbeing of the students in their classrooms.
(WB Survey)
Martin and Dowson (2009) claimed that
‘positive relationships with significant others
are cornerstones of young people’s capacity
to function effectively in social, affective and
academic domains’ (p.351).
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4 13
Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?
Murray-Harvey (2010) found that both
academic outcomes and social and
emotional wellbeing in school were ‘unam-
biguously influenced’ by the quality of rela-
tionships between teachers and students.
She concludes that schools need to give less
prominence to issues of control and more to
the skills needed to connect meaningfully
with students.
There were comments by all students
interviewed about their relationships with
staff. Although some teachers were clearly
more favoured than others, the general view
was that most staff cared, were available and
interacted positively.
Yo u c an ta l k t o t he m o p en ly i f y ou ar e h a vi ng
problems. (High School Student)
Most teachers here have a good personality.
They are not too strict and some are funny…
teachers here are focused on your life – so you
don’t bring home stress to school… they really
care for us. (Primary School Students)
What is less obvious is that teachers’ well-
being is also generated in several directions
by more positive relationships with students.
Marzano (2003) found that, on average,
teachers who had high-quality relationships
with their students had 31 per cent fewer
discipline and related problems than their
colleagues. Friendly professional interac-
tions with pupils can simply make teachers
feel good about their job.
Positive feelings and resilience
The importance of positive feelings in
schools is only just being recognised. Not
only do these promote more positive behav-
iours but also creativity, problem solving and
coping skills (Fredrickson, 2009). Positive
emotions are critical for resilience and well-
being.
As well as the importance of feeling
acknowledged, valued and included, this
study also illustrates the power of fun and
laughter to support wellbeing and learning.
There were many examples of teachers
actively enjoying each other’s company,
teachers and students having a laugh together
and teachers who made learning fun.
If you’re having a very hard day at work, (the
teacher) comes out with some jokes just
randomly and it makes you feel better about it,
like then you’re not so stressed. (Primary
School Student)
I’d have to say that, as being one of the new
members of staff, that it comes from the staff
first – you can see the staff getting on, and
having a bit of fun, a bit of a muck-around so
(students) know that we’re all friends, and
that’s an example of good behaviour.
(Primary School Teacher)
Behavioural issues
This is the one area where student wellbeing
and teacher wellbeing are potentially in
conflict. Some educators believe their well-
being is under threat when they have to deal
with difficult and even abusive students in
their classes. When pupils are sent to senior
staff for disciplinary issues the classroom
teachers expect that punishment will ensue
and can be angry or otherwise distressed
when it doesn’t. This was a dilemma for
school leaders who had to work hard to
change how behaviour and responses were
construed within their schools.
Most teachers when they send someone to the
principal are wanting you to chastise them…
I wanted to get away from that idea of someone
being in trouble, and more a focus on, OK,
how are you feeling, what’s happening, how
can we not have this happen again? And have
the children leaving feeling better about
themselves, and knowing how to avoid that
sort of thing. But I found that the teachers were
annoyed – they want a child to come back
crying, at least some of them. (Primary
School Principal)
Changing teacher perceptions was necessary
to enhance the relationships that supported
both student and teacher.
What we did was… introduce a system of
positive reinforcement, where the minute
someone was doing the right thing there was
recognition for that, and putting the children
in charge… give them that idea they’re in
charge of their behaviour… Gradually, that
changed the tone, out in the playground, in the
14 Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4
Sue Roffey
classrooms, less and less incidents, much more
focused, able to work. You had children who
hadn’t even been able to share an activity able
to work together… teachers who might not have
had much patience or tolerance for a child,
would then start to focus on the positive of
what happened: ‘they’re doing this well, now’.
(High School Principal)
Summary
We also need to look after our teachers – they
are the critical and pivotal force in providing
an environment where students can feel safe,
happy, healthy and, therefore, learn!
(WB Survey)
If you have a happy staff, then I think that
leads to you being happy in your own
classroom, and leads to happy relationships
with the children, and the children with each
other. (Primary School Teacher)
Research on what actively promotes teacher
wellbeing is less easy to find than factors that
lead to stress. Although not all the myriad
factors that undermine or promote teacher
wellbeing are addressed here the outcomes
of this investigation support findings else-
where that confirm that relational quality
and social capital is a major factor in
resilience and wellbeing throughout a
school. What is in students’ best interests is
also likely to be in the interests of teacher
wellbeing.
Developing the positive wellbeing of staff has
made a huge difference. When teaching staff
feel appreciated and empowered, they are much
more likely to show patience and empathy for
their students; to go the ‘extra mile’ for the
students in their care. They are also more likely
to share and work with others in order to
support their students and promote wellbeing.
(WB Survey)
Spratt et al. (2006) found that schools
attempt to address a range of issues related
to wellbeing by bolting ‘fragmented initia-
tives onto existing systems’ (p.14). They
argued that schools need to undertake a
more fundamental review of values, policies
and practices. Taking the social and
emotional aspects of school into account,
strengthening relationship skills and giving
people a say in what happens is more likely
to create a learning environment that
promotes academic outcomes (Zins et al.,
2003), wellbeing (Cohen, 2006) and pro-
social behaviour (Roffey, 2011b). This is
what the schools in this study were trying to
do – and the outcomes for stakeholders are
evident throughout. Several participants,
however, acknowledged that teacher well-
being needed a higher focus in this
endeavour.
We have only just started to look at the well
being of staff and I think there’s a big way to
go about that. We usually deal with students
really well but maybe we still have along way to
go with supporting staff.
What this means for educational
psychologists
Educational psychologists (EPs) are increas-
ingly at risk of becoming primarily a reactive
statutory service – assessing individual deficit
and planning intervention for those at risk
and with identified special needs. Although
a legitimate and important role, this limits
the scope of the profession and the high
level skills of many EPs to work at a preventa-
tive and systemic level. They have a key role
to play in promoting psychological wellbeing
and are in an ideal position to support
schools.
This paper has shown that promoting
teacher wellbeing is a valid and appropriate
activity for the profession as it enhances the
capacity of schools to meet the needs of
diverse populations. This is likely to reduce
the numbers of students needing intensive
and expensive support – especially for social
and behavioural difficulties but also for
learning needs. It is also clear that whole
school work must support the wellbeing of
teachers in order to promote wellbeing for
pupils and that there are synergies between
these strands of intervention.
EPs know what is effective for students
with special educational needs but are also
well versed in the factors that promote both
learning and wellbeing for all pupils. How
Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4 15
Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?
can they put their knowledge and skills in
this area to good use in schools? They can be
agents of change in the conversations they
have in schools to counter negative domi-
nant discourses. They can share good prac-
tice and support emergent good practice.
When teachers feel acknowledged for the
work they do, it raises their sense of effective-
ness and wellbeing, someone has noticed!
EPs can and should model emotional
literacy in all their relationships in schools –
with teachers, managers, parents and pupils.
EPs with high credibility in a school can also
help school leaders identify their own vision
for their school and support them in
working towards this. The school counsellors
in the research study described above did
just this and were acknowledged as allies, if
not drivers, of positive change. It is easy for
EPs to be despondent in the current climate
but they can do more than they realise to
keep the wellbeing focus in mind – for both
students and teachers.
Address for correspondence
Sue Roffey
40A Rickard Avenue,
Mosman, NSW 2088,
Australia.
Email: s.roffey@uws.edu.au
16 Educational & Child Psychology Vol. 29 No. 4
Sue Roffey
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Pupil wellbeing – Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?
