Teachers under Pressure: Unpacking the Relationship Between Well-being, Mental Health, Work Environment and Professional Fulfilment

Submission Deadline: 31 October 2026 View: 25 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Prof. Marco Ferreira

Email: marco.ferreira@iseclisboa.pt

Affiliation: Higher Institute of Education and Science, ISEC Lisboa, Portugal; UIDEF, Institute of Education, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Homepage:

Research Interests: teachers' well-being, social and emotional learning, teaching efficacy, school climate, resilience

Summary

Importance of this special issue:
Across diverse educational systems, teachers are facing escalating demands that profoundly affect their well-being and professional fulfilment. Growing administrative workloads, heightened accountability pressures, rapid technological changes, and the emotional weight of supporting increasingly diverse classrooms have made teaching one of the most challenging professions of our time. The special issue "Teachers Under Pressure: Unpacking the Relationship Between Well-being, Mental Health, Work Environment and Professional Fulfilment" seeks to illuminate how these interrelated factors shape educators' experiences and effectiveness.

Understanding the complex dynamics between teachers' work environments and their mental health is no longer optional—it is essential for building resilient and inclusive educational systems. Research consistently shows that the quality of teachers' professional lives directly influences not only retention and job satisfaction but also student outcomes and school culture. Yet, teacher wellbeing research remains fragmented, often separated across psychological, sociological, and organisational perspectives. This special issue aims to bridge these divides, bringing together multidisciplinary contributions that examine both systemic stressors and sources of professional fulfilment.

Research Topic Aims:
· To examine the factors influencing teachers' well-being and mental health
· To investigate how organisational culture and leadership styles impact teachers' well-being
· To analyse the relationship between teachers' resilience, job satisfaction and mental health
· To identify effective institutional strategies and well-being interventions that promote sustainable teacher mental health

Key Research Topics:
· Workload and role stressors: administrative burden, class size, time pressure, and professional accountability.
· School climate and leadership: the influence of supportive management, collegial relationships, and communication culture.
· Social and Emotional learning and resilience: teachers' coping mechanisms, emotional regulation, and burnout prevention.
· Work–life balance: boundary management, role conflict, and the impact of flexible work policies.
· Professional identity and self-efficacy: how teachers' sense of purpose and autonomy relates to wellbeing.
· Mental health interventions: impact of mindfulness programs, peer-support networks, and institutional wellbeing policies.

Keywords