JSD Administrators:
McKinley Withers, our District’s Health and Wellness Specialist, is conducting a research study through the University of Utah on teacher wellness. (See approval form in this week's JAM)
If you would like your school to be considered as a study site for this research please contact McKinley Withers at mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org, or 801-567-8245. Also, if you have any questions about the purpose, commitment, or privacy related to this study prior to participation, please contact McKinley with your questions or concerns after reading the study summary below.
Study Summary
The purpose of this study is to uncover what school leaders have been doing well as well as what school leaders could do to improve teacher’s workplace wellness, which is defined by their overall subjective wellbeing (teachers’ self-perceptions of healthy and successful functioning at work), teaching efficacy (appraising one’s teaching behaviors as effectively meeting environmental demands), and school connectedness (feeling supported by and relating well to others at school). With an understanding of teacher’s perceptions of what has had a positive impact on their workplace wellness, school leaders will be better equipped to provide meaningful interventions and creative approaches to improve a teacher’s sense of efficacy, connectedness, and overall well-being. The questions guiding this research are:
- What are teacher’s perceptions of ways that school leaders have fostered a sense of wellbeing, efficacy, and connectedness for them in the workplace?
- What strategies have been used, and could be used, by school leaders to support teacher wellness through improved teaching efficacy and school connectedness?
Your participation in any part of this study is voluntary. There are three types of participation for those who choose to participate at each school. Individual or identifiable information will not be published or publicly available.
- All teachers in selected schools will be invited to take the Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (TSWQ), a copy of this survey and additional information on its questions and development can be found at tyrenshaw.org. Data from schoolwide survey data will be aggregated for each school. This data will not be individualized or published with your school’s name. Data will be used for research purposes only, will be stored on secure Jordan District servers, and your school’s results will not be published.
- An invitation to individual teachers at your school, who have 7 years of experience or more, will be sent following the invitation to take the TSWQ. Those that agree to participate will volunteer between two and four hours for focus group participation. The purpose of these focus groups are to understand teacher’s perceptions of what has contributed to their feelings of workplace wellness (as defined above). Names of focus group participants will be changed and will not be published or publicly available.
- School principals will be invited to participate in individual interviews to discuss strategies and leadership perspectives on what promotes improved teacher wellness. This interview could take up to one hour. Individual principal’s names will be changed and will not be published or publicly available.
