Teachers’ occupational well-being in relation to teacher–student interactions in primary school

Abstract

Teachers experience various demands in their job, and teachers’ well-being has become a concern. However, less is known about how teachers’ positive and negative aspects of teachers’ occupational well-being are related to their quality of interactions with students, at the lower primary school classrooms. This study explored the relation between teachers’ occupational well-being and teacher–student interactions in primary school classrooms in Finland. 49 Grade 2 teachers rated their work engagement and burnout, and quality of teacher–student interactions was rated by trained coders using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS K-3) based on video-recorded lessons. Results of structural equation modelling showed that teachers with higher levels of work engagement showed higher-quality emotional support and instructional support, while teachers with higher levels of burnout potentially evidenced lower-quality instructional support. It is suggested that more attention should be paid to teachers’ positive aspects of occupational well-being in teacher education programs and schools.