Predicting teacher mental wellbeing: demographics, support and policy
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose Teacher wellbeing significantly impacts educators, students and school climates. This study aims to explore relationships between teachers’ demographic characteristics, school contexts, professional support, recent policy shifts (e.g. classroom cell phone bans) and comfort with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), with their mental wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach US PK-12 teachers (n = 672) were surveyed in March–April 2025, and hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to explore relationships with predictors and teacher mental wellbeing. Findings Findings revealed that stronger administrative, colleague and parental support positively predicted wellbeing. Comfort with AI, identifying as black and teaching in a hybrid or microschool context also correlated positively with teacher mental wellbeing outcomes. Originality/value This study extends the literature by analyzing how teacher demographics, school contexts, professional supports and emerging policies/technologies predict teacher mental wellbeing in a large national sample.
Source: Journal of Public Mental Health
Institutions: Auburn University, Christopher Newport University
Language: English
Subfield: Occupational Therapy
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7126235302