As educators, teachers play a crucial role in shaping the lives of their students. Their own well-being directly impacts not only their ability to perform effectively in the classroom, but overall job satisfaction, and flow on effects to student experiences and outcomes.

Teachers impacted by stress, burnout, choosing to leave the profession for their well-being creating a teacher shortage. There are global concerns regarding high rates of teacher stress and burnout and steps being taken to improve teacher well-being including stress management intervention programs.

Multiple studies and initiatives are invested in understanding and improving teacher well-being in diverse teaching contexts.

Collie, Rebecca J. and Carroll, Annemaree (2023).

Autonomy-pressure profiles among teachers: Changes over a school term, leadership predictors, and workplace outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education, 124 103998, 103998. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2022.103998

Discover teachers’ experiences of autonomy and time pressure during the school term and how these change as the school term progresses.


Oberg, Glenys, Carroll, Annemaree and Macmahon, Stephanie (2023).

Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress in teachers: how they contribute to burnout and how they are related to trauma-awareness. Frontiers in Education, 8 1128618, 1-10. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1128618

Researchers from The University of Queensland’s Learning Lab investigated the impact on teachers of working with students who experienced trauma.


Carroll, Annemaree, Bower, Julie M., Chen, Holly, Watterston, Jim and Ferguson, Angela (2022).

Schoolwide Approaches for Promoting Social and Emotional Well-Being in Australian School Contexts: Focus Group Interviews with System and School Stakeholders. American Journal of Education, 129 (1), 109-138. doi: 10.1086/721798

Students, parents, teachers, and school executive members are on the same page: Social and emotional well-being is essential in Australian high school. How can it be implemented?


Carroll, Annemaree, Hepburn, Stevie-Jae and Bower, Julie (2022).

Mindful practice for teachers: Relieving stress and enhancing positive mindsets. Frontiers in Education, 7 954098. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.954098

Explore how a 8-week Mindful Practice for Teachers program equips teachers to mange work-related stress.


Fynes-Clinton, Samuel, Sherwell, Chase, Ziaei, Maryam, York, Ashley, O’Connor, Emma Sanders, Forrest, Kylee, Flynn, Libby, Bower, Julie, Reutens, David and Carroll, Annemaree (2022).

Neural activation during emotional interference corresponds to emotion dysregulation in stressed teachers. npj Science of Learning, 7 (1) 5, 5. doi: 10.1038/s41539-022-00123-0

Researchers investigated brain activity of stressed teachers to identify areas of the brain associated with emotion dysregulation.


Carroll, Annemaree, Forrest, Kylee, Sanders-O’Connor, Emma, Flynn, Libby, Bower, Julie M., Fynes-Clinton, Samuel, York, Ashley and Ziaei, Maryam (2022).

Teacher stress and burnout in Australia: examining the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors. Social Psychology of Education, 25 (2-3), 1-29. doi: 10.1007/s11218-022-09686-7

Examine the effect of intrapersonal and environmental factors have on teacher stress and burnout, potential interventions to address this, and future implications for educational practice.


Carroll, Annemaree, Sanders-O’Connor, Emma, Forrest, Kylee, Fynes-Clinton, Samuel, York, Ashley, Ziaei, Maryam, Flynn, Libby, Bower, Julie Majella and Reutens, David (2021).

Improving emotion regulation, well-being, and neuro-cognitive functioning in teachers: a matched controlled study comparing the mindfulness-based stress reduction and health enhancement programs. Mindfulness, 13 (1), 123-144. doi: 10.1007/s12671-021-01777-4

Explore similarities and differences in how two different stress reduction programs are beneficial to teachers experiencing work-related stress.


Carroll, Annemaree, York, Ashley, Fynes-Clinton, Sam, Sanders-O'Connor, Emma, Flynn, Libby, Bower, Julie M., Forrest, Kylee and Ziaei, Maryam (2021).

The downstream effects of teacher well-being programs: improvements in teachers' stress, cognition and well-being benefit their students. Frontiers in Psychology, 12 689628, 689628. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689628

Discover the positive flow on effects teacher well-being interventions programs have on students.


Carroll, Annemaree, Flynn, Libby, O'Connor, Emma Sanders, Forrest, Kylee, Bower, Julie, Fynes-Clinton, Samuel, York, Ashley and Ziaei, Maryann (2020).

In their words: listening to teachers' perceptions about stress in the workplace and how to address it. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49 (4), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/1359866X.2020.1789914

What drives teacher stress? Hear from the teachers themselves and potential interventions for teacher stress and burnout.