Breakout Session 1 - 16th September at 12:25 - 1:05
Teachers’ views on the conditions that will enable them to flourish: What does this mean for school leaders?
| Presenter/s: | Amanda Lester |
| Type: | Research paper |
| Keywords: | flourishing, teachers, leaders |
| Room: | Ngā Purapura |
Abstract
Teacher well-being impacts job satisfaction and teacher supply. There is ample literature exploring the consequences of teacher ill-being using deficit models. More recently, there has been a notable shift to the use of a positive lens to explore teacher well-being. My doctoral research explores the conditions that contribute to teachers ‘flourishing’ rather than merely surviving in the teaching profession in Aotearoa New Zealand. My research uses constructivist grounded theory as the mechanism to get as close to participants’ reality as possible and capture their lived experiences. My presentation is a call for action to shift from a state of ill-being to well-being in the teaching profession. My intention is to share the voices of teachers as a prompt for discussion about the implications and responsibilities of school leaders to “Lead Well”.
Biography
Amanda Lester
Amanda Lester is a Doctor of Education candidate at the University of Canterbury with her research aimed at exploring ‘flourishing’ in the teaching profession. She has dedicated nearly 20 years to teaching and leading in secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. She currently works as a Head of Teaching & Learning at a secondary school in Ōtautahi Christchurch.