In my previous post, I briefly outlined a definition of teacher well-being comprised of three factors: situated, professional, and personal. Today, I’d like to expand on my thoughts about teacher well-being, because it seems to come up over and over in my practice as an administrator. I have a staff of highly competent, highly motivated teachers. Yet, I’m meeting with teachers daily who share that their situation feels out of control.
One possible view would be that teachers have adopted the larger social perception that those living in the modern age have lived through a series of traumas, each wounding and leaving us weakened. I know that there is a larger conversation to be had, here. I don’t share this view; I believe that resiliency is the hard-won daughter of difficulty. I believe that we are shaped by positive and negative experiences, and our behaviors reflect our goal to regain a positive situation that we remember or envision or that our behaviors reflect an attempt to avoid a negative situation, either experienced or a perceived fear.
The situated factors that teachers often feel are the most out of control are class size and time constraints. Class size is not really the issue, even when teachers name it as a concern. They say, “Have you seen how many kids are in my class?” and then proceed to describe one or two students who pose a behavioral challenge. So, is the class size the issue?
We talk about student complexity in knowing ways at administrator meetings. “Students are increasingly complex.” What isn’t always clear is what complex really means. McRae (2023) reports that surveys of Alberta teachers indicate the most prevalent classroom complexities are social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. Complexity can also describe students who come from turbulent homes, societal issues and fears of issues, newly-arrived immigrants experiencing culture-shock. The greatest achievement and greatest challenge of public education is that we serve every child who comes through our doors.
Teachers report that students have greater anxiety and reduced coping strategies (Alberta Teachers Association, 2022). There are more frequent issues with students who lack emotional regulation and strategies to manage their large emotions at every age. Kindergarten teachers are experienced at shepherding crying children and offering emotional support (or distraction) until parents can complete the drop-off in the morning. What no one foresaw is that teachers would need the same skill set for middle and high school students. We are responding to a social-emotional crisis because young adults haven’t developed intrapersonal skills and are engaging in very public tantrums. The evidence that this is not just a school-based issue is on social media.
The ratio of students who are achieving at grade level expectations to those who aren’t is decreasing. The cognitive gulf between students is expanding. Therefore, teachers must differentiate more of their teaching to address the widening gaps in understanding. Potential causes of the rising rates of cognitive delay are delayed effects of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and school closure, and monopolization of time by digital entertainment. Some teachers have noted that students display addictive behaviors with video games, to the extent that sleep and personal care are detrimentally impacted by hours and hours of gaming. Still other teachers point out the difficulty of teaching multiple English as an Additional Language (EAL) students, who speak another language at home and whose first introduction to English is at school.
Teachers surveyed by the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) reported that student behaviors that impact the classroom are verbal outbursts, leaving the classroom without telling anyone, kicking and hitting adults or students, and posing a threat to others (Alberta Teachers Association, 2022). Teachers report that students have undiagnosed conditions such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Teachers may suggest parents consult the child’s pediatrician or specialist to pursue a diagnosis. Medical professionals may request that teachers and parents create a behavioral inventory as part of the diagnosis during the screening process.
A review of current literature on ADHD reveals that there are large discrepancies in reported prevalence rates of ADHD with estimates ranging from 0.5 % to 26% of children (Timimi & Taylor, 2004). The wide variance in incidence rates is attributed to different definitions of ADHD and disparities in rating scales and diagnosis tools. Behavioral inventories completed by teachers are more likely to result in a positive diagnosis than inventories completed by parents (Espinet et al., 2022). Males are diagnosed twice as often as females and children have a higher incidence of ADHD than adults (Espinet et al., 2022; Faraone et al., 2003; Timimi & Taylor, 2004; Polanczyk et al., 2014). Immaturity in children is a natural certainty, and social responsibility for children’s behavior is laid at the feet of beleaguered parents and schools who have fewer recourses for discipline in Western society which confers great value on personal freedom and individuality. It should not be surprising that children are more prone to persistent patterns of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is another behavioral disorder marked by behavior that is uncooperative, defiant, or hostile towards peers, teachers, parents, or other authority figures. There is no consensus amongst researchers about what causes ODD. Two leading theories are the developmental theory which proposes it is the result of a lack of ability to become independent from an emotional attachment of a trusted adult and the learning theory which theorizes that the symptoms of ODD are learned behaviors which are reinforced when the child gets what they want: reaction and attention from others (Johns Hopkins University, 2023). Diagnoses of ODD, like ADHD, are on the rise.
References
Alberta Teachers Association. (2022). Reporting on class size, complexity, curriculum and COVID-19 impacts in Alberta K-12 schools. Alberta Teachers Association. https://legacy.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/News%20and%20Info/Issues/COVID-19/ReportingOnClassSizeComplexityCurriculumAndCOVID-19ImpactsInAlbertaK-12Schools.pdf
Espinet, S.D.; Graziosi, G.; Toplak, M.E.; Hesson, J.; Minhas, P. (2022). A review of Canadian diagnosed ADHD prevalence and incidence estimates published in the past decade. Brain Science, 12, 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12081051
Faraone, S. V., Sergeant, J., Gillberg, C., & Biederman, J. (2003). The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: is it an American condition?. World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 2(2), 104–113. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525089/
Johns Hopkins University. (2023). Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/oppositional-defiant-disorder
McRae, Phil. (2023). Class size and complexity matter. ATA Magazine. https://teachers.ab.ca/news/class-size-and-complexity-matter
Polanczyk, G., Willcutt, E., Salum, G., Kieling, C., & Rohde, L. (2014). ADHD prevalence estimates across three decades: an updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2). 434–442. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt261
Timimi, S., & Taylor, E. (2004). ADHD is best understood as a cultural construct. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(1), 8-9. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.184.1.8
