Well-being ASSETS: developing a robust measure of teacher well-being with educators in public and settlement schools in Uganda

Abstract

This study addresses a gap in teacher well-being measurement in low-resource and crisis contexts by developing and validating the Well-being ASSETS tool, designed collaboratively with teachers in Uganda. The tool comprises a subjective well-being construct and six supporting assets. We used confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory to establish a robust seven-factor model. The model demonstrated strong psychometric properties, with five of the six assets showing a significant relationship with subjective well-being. Measurement invariance analysis revealed that metric invariance was not fully established across teacher sex, and scalar invariance was not established across both sex and school type. These findings caution against direct mean comparisons between these groups but support the use of the tool for distribution-level comparisons and aggregated monitoring. This tool serves as a blueprint for creating context-specific teacher well-being measures in low-resource contexts, aligning with global recommendations to prioritise teacher well-being as a valuable outcome.