How could school leaders improve the flourishing of teaching staff?
Keywords: Leadership
Teachers
Flourishing
Leaders
Education
School

Teaching is a key contributor to a flourishing society and improvements to the flourishing of teachers has several benefits for schools and education, as well as for teachers themselves. Furthermore, philosophers argue that flourishing is intrinsically good. However, not all teachers flourish, and the aim of this thesis is to explore how school leaders could improve the flourishing of teaching staff.
The project’s research questions were:
1. What do teaching staff (including school leaders) understand by the term flourishing at work?
2. What do teaching staff believe school leaders could do to improve their flourishing?
3. What is the impact of the collaborative creation of interventions that aim to improve the flourishing of teaching staff?
These questions were answered using a mixed methods research design with participatory and collaborative elements to bridge the perceived divide between academic research and teacher innovation. The collection of data began with focus groups to design an online exploratory questionnaire; this was followed by the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data from teaching staff in all roles in 78 British schools (56 secondary and 22 primary). Teaching staff from three schools in a range of roles reviewed the online questionnaire data; they then collaboratively designed and trialled interventions, with the aim of improving teacher flourishing. The interventions were yoga, coaching, positive boards, a WhatsApp group, and random acts of kindness. The interventions were reviewed and modified by participants after four and eight months. The inclusion of participatory and collaborative elements in the mixed methods design is unusual.
The thesis contributes to the school leadership research through the proposal of a new perspective on, and associated model, of school leadership: ‘leadership for teacher flourishing’ (LFTF). The quantitative and qualitative findings suggested that key factors in enabling teachers to flourish, and therefore incorporated into the model ‘LFTF’, were positive relationships; opportunities for growth; positive impact on subjective wellbeing; and increasing teachers’ sense of meaning at work. The ways leaders could impact these factors were reported as: being supportive and compassionate; being trustworthy; giving teachers autonomy; enabling teachers to grow; being appreciative and focusing on strengths; and enabling teachers to focus on meaningful work. It was also found that not only leaders could influence flourishing; teachers with no formal leadership role could also positively impact teacher flourishing. It is suggested that virtuous dispositions in leaders are required to ensure they are consistent in acting in ways that promote flourishing. The specific virtues a leader needs to influence positively the flourishing of teachers will vary depending on their relationships with those they lead and the context. The participatory and collaborative phase of the research showed that teachers wanted autonomy in deciding what would help them to flourish. Interventions that were implemented successfully included those that enabled the development of positive relationships; improved subjective wellbeing; facilitated growth; and did not take too much time, since teachers felt under significant time pressure. The conclusion sets out the implications of this research for policy on the training of school leaders, and on educational policy concerning the leadership of schools, to improve not only the flourishing of teachers, but also pupils and communities.