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The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the term well-being as conceptualised by parents, grandparents, principals and teachers in the Irish primary education system.

A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the nature and meaning of the phenomenon of well-being. Interviews were carried out with 54 principals, teachers, parents and grandparents from a representative sample of primary schools in Ireland. Each participant was asked the same, open, question: “What does well-being mean to you?” Responses were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis.

Three conceptualisations of well-being were identified (1) well-being is about being happy, (2) well-being is about being healthy and safe and (3) well-being is something you “do”.

To the best of our knowledge this paper is the first of its kind to describe how well-being is conceptualised by adults in Irish primary school contexts. In particular it highlights how neoliberal conceptualisations of well-being as a “thing”, a commodity exchanged on assumptions of individualism, moralism and bio-economism, have crept into the education of our youngest citizens.

In this article, the outcomes of a survey aimed to investigate how aware of and how capable coaches in higher vocational Dutch education perceive themselves to assist students displaying mental health and well-being issues are presented. Additionally, the article explores coaches’ perceptions regarding the frequency, form of help offered, topics to be tackled and the preferred form in which this help should be provided.

The author conducted a survey that gathered qualitative and quantitative data from coaches (N = 82) at a Dutch University of Applied Sciences in the north of the Netherlands. A differentiation in coaches’ number of years of teaching and coaching experience was considered.

The outcomes of the data analyses showed that overall, coaches claimed to be very aware of students’ mental health and well-being-related issues and that female coaches tend to be more aware of these than male coaches. The group of coaches with 5–25 years of coaching experience resulted in being less trained to notice when students struggle with mental health and well-being issues. Overall, coaches indicated to be tentatively willing to assist such students and reported to have a rather low ability and capability to assist students who displayed mental health and well-being issues. More than half of the respondents declared that “face to-face” was the most appropriate approach to address mental health and well-being topics, and most of the respondents (43%) answered that it should be “offered at student’s request.” Some suggested topics to be offered were stress, depression, anxiety, study-related issues, study motivation, persistence, emotional intelligence and emotional resilience. Coaches proposed to be provided with trainings that equip them with the necessary knowledge, tools, and concrete mental health and well-being topics that could be addressed during coaching. Additionally, there should be a clear distinction between professional mental health help and coaching for mental health and well-being in universities.

There were very few studies that reported on coaching for mental health and well-being in higher education after the Covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands to compare the results with; the sample size of this survey was small; the survey was designed to capture only the coaches’ perceptions on students’ mental health-related issues.

By performing this survey, more empirical knowledge is added regarding higher education coaches’ perception of their awareness, willingness, capability and ability to assist students who display mental health and well-being issues in general, and students affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular. Furthermore, insights regarding higher education coaches’ perception on the frequency, form of the help offered, topics to be tackled and form in which this help to be offered were gathered.

By performing this survey, more empirical knowledge is added regarding higher education coaches’ perception of their awareness, willingness, capability and ability to assist students who display mental health and well-being issues in general, and students affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular. Furthermore, insights regarding higher education coaches’ perception of the frequency, form of the help offered, topics to be tackled and the preferred form in which this help should be offered were gathered.

The purpose of this study was to explore school principals’ job crafting profiles during the prolonged COVID-19 crisis in 2021, and investigate profile differences regarding principals’ own perceived servant leadership, stress and work meaningfulness.

Using latent profile analysis (LPA), two job crafting profiles were identified: (1) active crafters (55%) and (2) average crafters (45%). By auxiliary measurement-error-weighted-method (BCH), we examined whether and how job crafting profiles differed in terms of servant leadership, stress and work meaningfulness.

Active crafters reported higher than the overall mean level of approach-oriented job crafting (increasing job resources and demands), whereas average crafters reported an overall mean level of approach-oriented job crafting. Avoidance-oriented job crafting by decreasing hindering job demands did not differentiate the two profiles. Active crafters reported significantly higher servant leadership behavior, stress and work meaningfulness than average crafters.

Study findings provide new knowledge and reflect the implications that the unprecedented pandemic had for education. This study contributes to the existing literature within the scholarship of job crafting through empirical research during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. For practitioners, these study findings reflect contextual constraints, organizational processes and culture, and leadership in workplaces.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of teachers’ performance expectancy, teachers’ effort expectancy, teachers’ performance anxiety, teachers’ engagement, perceived student engagement, teachers’ digital competence, teachers’ normalization ease and perceived organizational support as predictors of teachers’ satisfaction with online teaching-learning, especially during a pandemic in the context of hospitality, tourism and travel education.

Conceptually, this study is grounded in the normalization process theory and examines teachers’ satisfaction by applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. To test the proposed model, 374 complete survey forms were received for data analysis from teachers engaged with higher education institutes offering courses in the field of hospitality, travel and tourism. Minor modifications were made to the survey instrument based on inputs received after a pilot study.

The model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Of the eight constructs predicting teachers’ satisfaction in the online teaching-learning environment, two constructs, that is, teachers’ effort expectancy and teachers’ digital competence, were found to have an insignificant relationship. This finding hints at the emergence of a “new normal.”

This study contributes to the literature by presenting and validating a theory-driven framework that accentuates the factors influencing online teaching during the outbreak of a pandemic. This study further extends the unified theory of acceptance and integrates it with the normalization process theory to test and validate the model in the unique context of hospitality education which is considered to be highly practice oriented.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled educational institutions to shift to online learning modes. This is unprecedented for students and teachers of hospitality, travel and tourism, especially in a developing country like India, and it has brought with it a new set of challenges and opportunities. With the extension of the pandemic-induced lockdown in educational institutions, teachers – and other stakeholders – must adapt to this new normal of reliance on remote education.

In today’s competitive environment, understanding employee well-being and work engagement (WE) is crucial. This study explores the relationship between values, well-being and WE within positive organizational behavior (POB). The research aims to provide insights for promoting employee well-being and enhancing WE.

Using a cross-sectional approach, three hundred and seventy-two teachers from higher education institutes in India participated by completing questionnaires. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was employed to examine the mediation effect.

Human values i.e. benevolence (BE) and universalism (UN) significantly impacted teachers' WE. These relationships were mediated by positive emotions (PE), negative emotions (NE) and satisfaction with life (SWL). Interestingly, UN exhibited a positive relationship with PE and SWL and a negative relationship with NE. These findings contradict existing theories and may be attributed to India’s cultural aspects, particularly the concept of karma orientation.

The quantitative results obtained through CB-SEM could be complemented by future qualitative studies. Employing longitudinal research might yield different results. Generalizing the findings to other populations requires caution.

Institutions should prioritize human values in teacher recruitment and development to improve engagement. Promoting PE, managing NE and enhancing SWL can boost WE. Future research should explore mediation with other variables and use longitudinal studies to understand cultural impact and intervention strategies.

The study contributes to knowledge on WE within positive organizational behavior by examining BE and UN. Additionally, exploring the mediating effect of PE, NE and SWL adds further value.

Most teacher preparation programs (TPP) provide little instruction on mitigating the stress-related consequences of teaching (Miller and Flint-Stipp, 2019). This study aims to provide empirical support for including a self-care unit in teacher preparation curricula to address the secondary trauma and stressors inherent to the teaching profession (Essential 2; NAPDS, 2021; Sutcher et al., 2019).

This investigation occurred in an elementary TPP at a private southeastern US university and spanned two years, utilizing a mixed methods approach.

Findings suggest that after experiencing a 5-week self-care unit, preservice teachers exhibited a statistically significant increase in well-being and a newfound recognition of the need to prioritize self-care for effective teaching, suggesting its potential effectiveness in reducing burnout and attrition.

While this study provided valuable insights into the implementation and impact of a self-care unit within the context of elementary education majors at a mid-sized private university in the USA, it is essential to acknowledge its limitations. One notable limitation is the relatively homogenous sample, primarily consisting of White female participants.

The implications of this study are critical for teacher education policy and practice, advocating for including self-care curricula to enhance teacher well-being and, by extension, prepare teachers with a skillset to support their career trajectory (Essential 3; NAPDS, 2021).

This recommendation underscores the collaborative efforts between TPPs and partnership schools to implement such initiatives effectively, representing a pivotal step toward better-preparing teachers to manage the demands of their profession while prioritizing their mental health (Essentials 4 & 5; NAPDS, 2021).

The South African vocational education and training (VET) sector is required by legislation to redefine postsecondary education, advance industrialisation and expand the job market to address unemployment in the country. Yet, VET leaders' heterogenous educational and occupational backgrounds do not enable them to address the needs of the VET sector. Continuous professional development of leaders in the education sector needs to include support structures such as mentoring.

The present study sought to investigate how VET managers in South Africa perceive three different types of mentoring – individual, peer group and expert-based key performance area (KPA) mentoring – during a part-time professional leadership development programme. Using interactive qualitative analysis (IQA), the authors collected and analysed data from focus group discussions (n = 24) and individual interviews (n = 21) from two cohorts of the programme.

The results revealed that individual mentoring represented the most important driving mechanism, followed by peer group mentoring and expert-based KPA mentoring. Participants identified leadership as a prerequisite for their development. Emotions formed the final outcome of the mentoring framework.

Based on the findings, the authors suggest investigating the role played by leaders' interpersonal competences such as emotional competence in the workplace. Additionally, research needs to clarify if and how mentoring can support leaders to develop interpersonal competences in formal and informal settings.

The study offers empirical evidence on a three-pillar mentoring framework adopted in a professional development programme for leaders in VET in South Africa. It highlights the importance of individual, social and emotional factors.

The Further Education and Training (FET) sector is being positioned as a centrepiece of the government's post-pandemic recovery. However, issues of capacity and staff churn are threatening the potential success of this strategy. Unfortunately, there has been almost no strategic analysis of teacher churn in the English FET system or of the derivative issues of recruitment and retention, both of which jeopardise the sector's capacity to deliver high-quality teaching and improve workforce skills. This paper examines these issues for policymakers and sector leaders and makes suggestions on how these can be redressed. A call for a more joined-up FET sector is presented.

This is a follow-up paper to a report published by the Education and Training Foundation in 2022 on teacher recruitment in the English FET sector. This paper pulls together all of the most recent research on the English FET sector on teacher recruitment and retention and frames these against the DfE's Skills for Jobs policy commitments. It also analyses a number of proposed solutions, reflecting on their merits and potential consequences.

An updated profile of FET institutions within the college, private training and adult subsectors is offered, showing how the FET sector in England has been in steady decline, which is juxtaposed against the rhetoric of industrial productivity and economic renewal. Four variables, namely funding, institutional numbers, staffing and learner numbers are examined to explore this disparity. A more in-depth analysis of recruitment and retention research follows, showing that pay, job insecurity and status are the factors influencing the decision to start an FET career. Strategies for remedying the “crisis” are assessed, including the role of national campaigns and professional bodies.

The first point for any research programme is to draw together the research data and themes that have been previously discussed in order to build a platform for future investigation, which is what this paper does. There are clear steers on where future research might be located: staff well-being, professional status, recruitment methods and what is meant by an FET career. These are factors that affect the desirability of FET work and the sector's ability to recruit high-quality candidates. The consequences of not doing this research is the likely continuation of the status quo, which is unsustainable for the FET sector and potentially catastrophic to UK productivity.

Policymakers and sector leaders are presented with analysis and advice on the impact of teacher shortages and the factors that contribute to this. The evidence to support these factors is explored and solutions discussed in light of this evidence. A research agenda is suggested including an appeal for professional organisations and FET stakeholders to work together to solve the recruitment and retention crisis. The power of research to enlighten and inform is one of several conclusions proposed.

Addressing the factors that corrode staff professionalism and increase teacher attrition is an essential component of a wider discourse to improve the desirability of an FET career. Issues of status and esteem are interwoven in this analysis, as are the implications of not recruiting talented teachers and assessors. This includes staff well-being – a rare topic in FET journal papers – as well as organisational culture and importance of the FET mission, which is considered to be embedded in an ethic of public service. This mission is linked via the Augur Report to the sector's transformational properties to raise social mobility.

There is no precedent for this paper. It is the first article that has provided a comprehensive examination of teacher recruitment and retention issues affecting the whole FET sector in England. Whilst its comparative analysis builds on the Education and Training Foundation (2022) earlier report, it uniquely draws on other contemporary research that triangulates and discusses these findings, including setting out a new agenda for change and future research. In doing so, new issues are introduced for discussion including professional status and staff well-being.

This study aims to provide a causal framework for teacher burnout (BO) and work engagement (WE) by examining the factors that contribute to it and evaluating how progressive education (PE) affects teachers' performance in Higher education institutions (HEIs).

This study uses a multi-stage sampling technique with the help of computer random generation data from a selected list of teachers. The survey has two sections; the first consisted of a questionnaire of PE, BO, WE and organizational outcomes and the second contained four items to measure the demographic variables. The researcher contacted 745 teachers and asked them to fill up the questionnaire but the authors received only 498 useable responses.

The results of the study confirmed that moderating role PE reduces the BO of the teachers of HEIs and increases WE. The job demand-resource (JD-R) model was also validated in the Indian context and the model was found suitable for the Indian sample.

The study has been conducted to manage BO and teachers' engagement in HEIs and the result suggests that the Management of HEIs should value PE characteristics as a crucial component of the educational process. PE encourages academic engagement among professors and students in HEIs.

The study tests the moderating role of PE with the JD-R and the JD-R model in the higher education system in India, which is rarely tested. The study's integrated approach to BO and WE, which provide insight into both viewpoints and aids in employees' poor health.

This study aims to provide empirical insights pertaining to the impact of trait emotional intelligence on the mental well-being of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in India.

In the current study, responses from a total of 252 students were randomly taken from different universities of Uttarakhand (India). The analysis was done using structural equation modelling AMOS 23.

The current study empirically established the positive impact of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) on the mental well-being of students and highlighted the relevance of TEI in curbing the psychological distress in students of HEIs.

This study endeavours to bridge the empirical and population gap by examining the emotional intelligence and its impact on mental well-being of the students of Indian HEIs, where studies are still scant and demand massive exploration of the perceptions of students. Strong emotional intelligence is pivotal in strengthening the mental well-being of students so that they can make appropriate decisions pertaining to their career and personal life.