Emotional Scaffolding A Critical Element In Teaching and Learning

Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going." — Noam Shpancer. Human potential that is lost due to ill- health is immense. One of the biggest challenges teachers face is that everything they are expected to do is presented as urgent and necessary. Oftentimes deadlines are unrealistic and unreasonable. Each academic year thousands of dollars are spent by school authorities in order to organize and facilitate personal development workshops for the academic staff. While it is easy to calculate the sum spent on such personal development sessions; it is incalculable for us to put a dollar figure on the time spent by teachers to attend such professional development workshops. The vast majority of these professional development workshops tend to focus on equipping teachers with more instructional strategies, application of technology, especially as it relates to the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and the management of the classroom space. From this perspective a significant number of teachers view personal development as one-sided and skewed given that the critical areas that many teachers need help in are often not discussed. It is for this reason why inertia and frustration are often linked to personal development sessions which inescapably impacts teaching and learning. Instead, such sessions are just one more thing that teachers have to do that consumes time they probably would spend planning and grading assignments. The trend is one that does not perceive the teacher as an emotional being; however not everything that is trending is good for us. In the end it is teachers as agents of change that matter. Mental Health Wellness. However, given that mental health is stigmatized in the society, now is perhaps a good time to change how we approach personal development? The World Health Organization (WHO), states that stigma, which is pervasive in the general population and in the health sector, is a major barrier to improved mental health services and self-care. It is present in homes, schools, workplaces, communities and even within the mental health care system itself. Unfortunately, people will often choose to suffer mental anguish without relief, rather than risk the discrimination and ostracization that comes with accessing mental health services. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 20 per cent of the Jamaican population suffers from some form of mental health issue. Additionally, the WHO states that in 2019, 1 in every 8 people, or 970 million people around the world were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders the most common. The teacher who is overly stressed and not emotionally whole will not be effective in the classroom. Researchers Jenni Sullanmaa, Kirsi Pyhältö, Janne Pietarinen and Tiina Soini in their research “Teacher agency in the professional community and association with burnout: a longitudinal person-centred approach”, identified subgroups of teachers. Jenni Sullanmaa, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Education and Culture at Tampere University. Her research interests include school development and teachers’ professional agency. While Kirsi Pyhältö, PhD, is professor of higher education, at the Center of University Teaching and Learning (HYPE), her interest focuses on teacher and student learning and well-being and researcher education and early career researchers. Janne Pietarinen, PhD, is a professor of Educational Sciences at the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland. Finally, Tiina Soini, PhD, is Research Director, in the Faculty of Education and Culture at the Tampere University and adjunct professor in Philosophical Faculty, University of Eastern Finland. Her research interest includes, educational reforms, school development, teachers’ professional agency and well-being, and pupils learning agency. This important study identified four trajectories. These are: High agency, Increase in agency, Decrease in agency and Moderate agency. The results showed that the profiles were partly predicted by school type, teachers’ work experience, leadership role and turnover intentions. Moreover, agency in the professional community was connected to the teachers’ experiences of socio-contextual burnout; teachers with a strong sense of agency in the professional community experienced lower levels of burnout symptoms. The findings imply that teachers’ agentic learning within the professional community can facilitate both their professional development and work-related well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this trend. Under the pressure of the pandemic-created learning gaps, schools and policy makers have been implementing more new mandates, initiatives and instructional approaches that teachers have to be trained on and execute under ever-tightening systems of appraisal and control. The 21st century teacher carries an unsustainable burden. In addition to catering to the academic, social and emotional needs of the student. The teacher must take time out for self-care in order to perform his/her duties effectively. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker. The WHO adds that self-care recognizes individuals as active agents in managing their own health care, in areas including health promotion; disease prevention and control; self-medication; providing care to dependent persons, and rehabilitation, including palliative care. In many instances the teacher has a family of his/her own, or in some instances the teacher might be the care-giver for elderly parents. Not only does this adds to an already unsustainable burden on educators, many of these mandates reduce teacher agency, de-professionalizing teaching, reduces the passion and drive to teacher and increases the likelihood for teachers to leave the profession. It is quite often the situation that a teacher will spend his/her entire teaching career, spanning over 30 years, and will never move beyond a classroom teacher. In most instances this stagnation has nothing to do with the competence of the teacher but rather shows the lopsidedness of the education system. What is Teacher Agency?. Teachers' agency in the workplace varies from school to school, depending, in part, on school size, administration, local norms, as well as the strength and character of the local teacher community (Talbert and McLaughlin, 1994). Teacher agency is the capacity of teachers to act purposefully and constructively to direct their professional growth and contribute to the growth of their colleagues. However, rather than responding passively to learning opportunities, teachers who have agency are aware of their part in their professional growth and make learning choices to achieve their goals. It is important to state that how some schools operate can in fact limit teacher agency. The practice of purposeful teacher agency is often seen in curriculum development. Teacher agency is necessary for the practices that comprise meaningful curriculum making in our educational institutions. One best practice of teacher agency being active is that of participatory curriculum making. Participatory curriculum development is a process that involves the active engagement and collaboration of multiple stakeholders such as students, teachers, parents and community members in the development of a curriculum. It aims to create a curriculum that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of the target audience, incorporates diverse perspectives, and promotes ownership and engagement among participants. A recent study out of Finland demonstrates a clear link between reduced teacher agency and burnout. When the burden increases and agency decreases, people burn out. Right now in America, teachers are the most burned-out employees in the nation. As more teachers burn out, the teacher shortage gets worse, which increases the strain on the teachers who remain, leading to more teachers leaving. Clearly, unless we do something different, education is headed toward disaster.

A Different Approach Is Needed. The time has come for us to see teachers as human beings first instead of mere statistics. The teacher's emotional state is often underrated and ignored. Job burnout has emerged as a pressing issue in the post-colonial era. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines job burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Job burnout is characterized by feelings of energy depletion, increased detachment from one's job, and reduced professional efficacy. The teaching profession is ranked in the top ten highest burnout jobs. Teaching can be immeasurably rewarding but also emotionally and mentally challenging. The responsibilities and workload involved in educating and shaping young minds can lead to burnout among educators. It should be clear by now that the emotional state of the teacher can and does impact student learning outcomes. There is a school of thought that says what teachers need are approaches to teaching that require less from them, but that offer high yields regarding student learning. When the emotional needs of teachers are catered to this inevitably allows them to be more effective in developing and executing their craft. This result of such a relaxed teacher will obviously be seen in improved student learning outcomes. The emotional relaxed teacher will be able to offer more of his/herself to both the academic and social needs of their students. In fact, researchers are beginning to look into links between student learning and a teacher’s emotional state. A study involving 1,102 German elementary school students, designed to explore the association between teacher well-being and student mathematics achievement, found that teachers’ emotional exhaustion correlated with significantly lower student mathematics achievement. An early systematic review of studies exploring the consequences of teacher burnout on students confirms the correlation. Emotional Scaffolding . Anxiety and depression are debilitating factors that are responsible for absenteeism not only on the part of teachers but also students. More can and should be done regarding mental health support for both teachers and students. Debilitating anxiety describes an intense feeling of unease, worry, or fear about everyday situations. Symptoms of debilitating anxiety can include sweating, feelings of dread, and social withdrawal. It would be interesting and instructive to know what percentage of our educators identify as being suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. Undoubtedly, the education system needs to be more responsive to the emotional needs of teachers. This new paradigm should be one of ensuring that the voices of all teachers are heard. Additionally, there is also an urgent need for more anti-stigma strategies in order to assist educators to cope with mental health issues. In some instances teachers may not feel comfortable or confident enough to put forward their ideas in a general staff meeting. Schools should be safe spaces not only for students but also for the academic staff where the voices of teachers are articulated and heard. The time has come for the society to develop a national programme that supports the mental and emotional wellness of our educators. Emotional scaffolding of teachers is a critical element in determining student learning outcomes. It is only when school leaders and policy makers address the emotional wellness quotient of all staff members that the education system will improve. Everyone has a right to mental health. In the words of Matt Haig, mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but, importantly, you are not the rain. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #emotionalwellness #education #professionaldevelopment #mentalhealth