Quality of education depends heavily on the availability and quality of teachers. It is well known that teacher shortage is partly caused by dropout of beginning teachers and by burnout of experienced teachers, both in primary education (po), secondary education (vo) and intermediate vocational education (mbo). This project approaches this problem by exploring the short-term (e.g., stress and coping) and long-term (burnout and well-being) impact of professional identity tensions, among both beginning and experienced teachers in po, vo and mbo.
A postdoc project examines this impact longitudinally, combining quantitative and qualitative data, and looks specifically at teachers who leave teaching ('stoppers') and who change jobs within education ('hoppers'). An AiO project tests the effects of two intervention programs on increasing well-being and reducing burnout: a "passion for teaching week" for experienced teachers and an "appreciation week" for beginning teachers. These two interventions are based on positive psychology and internationally known positive activity theory and gratitude theory. Also, this AiO project includes a case study to explain the effects found.
This project is scientifically relevant because of the distinction between short-term impact and long-term impact of professional identity tensions, and how this develops over time and varies by context. Understanding such mechanisms and promoting well-being and reducing burnout with targeted interventions for beginning and experienced teachers in both primary, secondary and secondary schools contributes to enhancing educational quality.