Die (Be-)Deutung des Anna-Karenina-Prinzips für die Gestaltung von Paarbeziehungen

Elisabeth MairitschAbstract in englischer SpracheAlpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Dissertation, 2018OeBB(VLID)437720

Language Teacher Wellbeing in the Workplace

Teachers who experience high wellbeing in their workplace teach more effectively, have better relationships with learners, and high attainment among their learners (Mason, 2017). To understand what contributes to language teacher wellbeing, we examined the three pillars of positive psychology (Seligman, 2011) and drew in particular on work in Positive Organizational Scholarship (Cameron & Spreitzer, 2012) to explore institutional and personal factors which teachers perceived as influential for their wellbeing. The paper reports on insights from 15 language teachers in 13 different countries. This sampling technique ensured a diverse set of perspectives on this topic. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews which were analyzed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The analysis revealed five main themes the teachers perceived as relevant for their wellbeing including workplace culture, social relationships, sense of meaning and purpose, language teacher status, and physical wellbeing. The findings highlight that wellbeing is not just a personal and subjective phenomenon, but it is also collectively and socially determined. The study concludes with a reflection on implications for practice, policy makers, and school leaders as well as a consideration of issues of individuality to address in future research.

Language teachers’ capitals as resources for wellbeing across the career trajectories

Over their career trajectories, teachers experience diverse challenges and uplifts, which influence their sense of wellbeing. While research on teacher career phases provides important insights into their lives, studies exploring teacher wellbeing and capitals they draw on to cope are scarce; and, in the field of language education, virtually non-existent. In this article, we explore the capitals of 58 language teachers from Austria and the UK in pre-service, early-, mid-, and late-career phases. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews and were analysed utilising a combination of inductive and deductive data analyses. The findings revealed four interrelated capitals which supported these teachers’ wellbeing: Psychological, social, human, and health capitals. This study offers key insights into wellbeing through the lens of capitals with clear implications for policy-makers, teacher educators, and other relevant stakeholders to understand how to support language teachers in their professional roles.</p

Being a student, becoming a teacher: The wellbeing of pre-service language teachers in Austria and the UK

This paper reports on a study designed to investigate the wellbeing of 14 pre-service language teachers from Austria and the UK. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews which were analysed following principles of Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006). The data were compared across the two settings and the analysis revealed a number of individual but also systemic ecological factors that play a role in the pre-service teachers’ wellbeing. These factors include time management, work-life balance, relationships, finding purpose and meaning, the structure of study programs, as well as the status of teaching and the specific language in each respective society

Teacher emotions and the emotional labour of modern language (ML) teachers working in UK secondary schools

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Retention and Attrition in Early‐Career Foreign Language Teachers in Austria and the United Kingdom

The issue of early-career teacher attrition is a pressing concern across a variety of educational settings. Research in predominantly anglophone contexts has shown that rates of foreign language teachers leaving the profession are particularly high. Noting the important role that well-being plays in fostering teacher retention, this study examines factors affecting the well-being of early-career foreign language teachers in the United Kingdom and Austria, and the subsequent possible consequences for their decision to leave or remain in the profession, drawing a comparison across the 2 settings. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 early-career foreign language teachers at secondary schools in Austria (n = 6) and the United Kingdom (n = 8). Inductive data analysis revealed an interplay among intrapersonal, societal, and contextual factors in relation to well-being, which might contribute to shaping participants’ decision to remain or leave the profession across the 2 settings. These factors include perfectionism, self-efficacy, work–life spillover, self-regulation, relationships within the school, and foreign language teacher status. Our findings suggest the need for systematic approaches toward improving teacher well-being, not only for surviving in the profession but also for flourishing and thriving in the long term. </p

Riding the happiness curve: the wellbeing of mid-career phase language teachers

Mid-career teachers are often described as experienced and comfortable in their jobs with higher motivation and self-efficacy (Hargreaves 2005); yet, at the same time, the mid-career phase has also been portrayed as a period marked by a career plateau and feelings of stagnation (Farrell 2014). Despite the criticality of this career phase and the paradoxical research findings, mid-career teachers' lives have been rarely examined in-depth (Day and Gu 2010). This study employed semi-structured interviews with 16 mid-career foreign language teachers at secondary schools in the two different settings, Austria and England, to explore the characteristics of this career phase and the factors contributing to the wellbeing of these teachers. Inductive data analysis revealed that these mid-career language teachers benefitted from an established sense of confidence but also sought further professional growth opportunities. The teachers drew positivity and satisfaction from the meaning they took from their work, although their wellbeing appeared occasionally threatened by tensions between their job commitments and additional responsibilities in both personal and professional domains. The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this under-researched population and indicate the kind of support such teachers would need to remain in the profession and thrive during this critical period

Moving between worlds: Teaching-based PhD identities from an ecological perspective

Background and aims: In this paper, we report on research conducted as a project, which was part of a PhD course on research methodology. The aim of the course was to develop participants practical researcher competence and to enhance their critical thinking skills. To meet these aims, the group collectively engaged in an empirical study into the shifting and potentially conflicting identities of teachers choosing to engage in occupation-based PhD studies (i.e., PhD studies with a professional focus, undertaken additionally to full- or part-time teaching jobs) at a university in Austria. Methods: The study was based on a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with eight PhD candidates, who are all studying toward a PhD in “Fachdidaktik” (“subject-specific teaching and learning”) in different disciplines. To better understand the multiple identities, perceived dynamics, and role of diverse social settings, we took an ecological perspective. Results and conclusion: The findings revealed how the participants academic identities were shaped within their own unique ecologies comprising their own personal, professional, and academic contexts, social relationships, attitudes toward each of these domains, perceived demands on their time, and their own initial and ongoing motivations for doing the PhD. Although the participants multiple identities and roles can function in synergistic ways, the data suggest that more often they experienced competing demands for time and attention with sometimes a lack of understanding or support from the respective professional or academic domains.(VLID)365895

Late-career language teachers in Austria and the UK: Pathways to retirement

This article seeks to explore personal and socio-contextual factors that supported or hindered the wellbeing of 13 late-career language teachers from Austria and the UK. Data were generated through in-depth life-history interviews, and analysed following a Grounded Theory approach (Charmaz, 2006). Findings revealed the interplay of various personal and socio-contextual factors that influenced teachers’ wellbeing and willingness to stay in the profession. Findings also showed four different pathways to retirement: Perceived stress and wanting to leave the profession; loved being a teacher but mentally preparing for retirement; busy with work, not thinking about retirement; and, thriving and not planning retirement. </p