Teacher’s Well-being: A Conscious Journey – Extended Program

COURSE OVERVIEW

In today’s dynamic world, we witness numerous adverse events that increasingly cause us concern daily. The recent adverse global events have radically changed our lives, leading us to take measures we would never have imagined and isolating us from the social environments to which we once belonged. The Professor’s Well-being course addresses the global need for emotional resilience and adaptability among school communities. With around 40% leaving the profession within five years globally and a 2017 study in the UK revealing that 61% of teachers were considering leaving education, the program seeks to support educators in navigating these challenges. 

Globally, one in seven adolescents struggle with mental health conditions, emphasising the widespread nature of this issue. Tragically, suicide emerges as the fourth leading cause of death among individuals aged 15-29, underscoring the severity of the challenges faced by young people. Beyond the statistics, it’s crucial to recognise the broader implications. Young people struggling with mental health challenges face numerous issues, including social exclusion, discrimination, stigma, and physical health problems. This underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to mental health support that goes beyond mere statistical figures and addresses the holistic well-being of the affected individuals.

HISTORICAL:

“The Teacher Well-Being Program” originated from the book “The Teacher Within You,” published in 2018, and was initially presented at Tedx HSMC Hong Kong. In the following year, both the program and the book were featured at a European congress on schools promoting health organized by the World Health Organization. Presentations were conducted in six countries, including the USA, China, India, and Romania.

In total, 20 speeches and presentations were delivered to over 5730 educators and professionals in the field of education across six countries worldwide: Romania, USA, Australia, China, India, and Russia. The schools and organizations included:

• Hackley School, New York, USA; January 23rd;
• Horace Mann School, New York, USA; January 24th;
• Parent Information Center, Washington DC, USA; January 29th;
• Yew Cheung International School, Hong Kong, China; April 8th;
• CSSC Cambridge Summer School, Guangzhou, China; April 6th;
• Emerald Heights International School in Indore, India; October 1st;

In 2020, the program was presented at the Global Connections XXI Seminar, and during the same year, it began implementation in Romania, providing information and resources for stress management and well-being promotion in schools. To date, the program has reached over 3000 teachers in 41 counties in Romania, contributing to the awareness of mental health in school communities.

In 2023, the InIm Institute launched “Teacher Well-Being: A Conscious Journey – Extended Program,” a pilot project implemented in 11 schools in Romania, focusing on socio-emotional development and mental well-being for teachers and students.

GOALS: 

To address these challenges, the Extended Project – Teacher’s Well-being proposes the following goals:

• Identification of the needs and resources of both direct and indirect beneficiaries through a series of consultation events, employing the focus group method, over a span of 10 weeks.
• Formation of 25 heterogeneous teams, each consisting of 3-4 teachers, who will collaborate for 2-4 weeks to develop a plan for integrating the concept of well-being into schools.
• Bi-monthly monitoring of the implementation of strategies over the course of 12 weeks.
• Promotion of a more engaging and conducive learning environment that contributes to student’s overall academic and personal development.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE: 

• Identifying community needs – 10 weeks (Phase 1) – hybrid
• Training teachers for well-being and training well-being monitors as community facilitators – 9 weeks (Phase 2) – hybrid
• Developing school projects – 14-16 weeks (Phase 3) – hybrid
• Celebrating Projects and sharing best practices – 4 weeks (Phase 4) – on-site
• Analyzing results and issuing research reports – 8 weeks (Phase 4)

TOPICS: 

• Introduction to Well-Being;
• Applying the ARAT model for Well-being;
• Healthy minds and bodies;
• Resilience in the workplace; 
• Integration of 5 well-being individual techniques: meditation, journaling, reflection, focus and aware breathing; 
• Understanding belonging and its reverse, loneliness;
• Predictors – 4 blocks of belonging Model;
• Aligning organizational and individual values for a culture of belonging;
• Relationship and importance of Sense of Belonging on strengthening Mental Health Well-Being;
• Understanding Mental Health Well-Being;
• Mental Health Well-Being First Aid.

OUTCOMES

• Preventing mental health issues by building belonging and mental health awareness;
• Create a sense of belonging among members of the school community;
• Increase well-being and collaboration among members of the school community;
• Developing the teachers and students engagement;
• Increasing the teachers and students satisfaction;
• Increasing the awareness of mental health well-being;
• Developing skills and strategies to prevent mental health conditions and promote mental health well-being; 

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND 

InIm Institute

Continuing its mission to bring about change in society and the Romanian educational environment, the Transylvania College Foundation, under the guidance of Simona Baciu, has founded InIm Institute, an international organization advocating for the support of socio-emotional health and well-being of teachers in Romania. InIm Institute actively and recurrently organizes training programs and events for the socio-emotional development of teachers, following its vision to support Good Teachers who dare to bring creativity and innovation to schools.

As an organization, we use evidence-based approaches that address social-emotional health, psychological safety and belonging to empower individuals in their organization to thrive. 

Previous programmes: 

1. Educational Programmes:

• Kindergarten for Happy Children (1993): brought a modern approach to the Romanian educational system, promoting child-centred education based on the latest concepts of health education;
• Transylvania College The Cambridge International School in Cluj-Napoca (2000);
• Well-being Programs: 
• Teacher’s Well-Being Training Program;
• The Extended Teacher’s Well-Being Training Program;
• Effective Communication between Parents and Teachers in companies; 
• Creating a Culture of Belonging in Companies;
• Creating a culture of well-being and belonging among young individuals; 
• The Podcast ”Happy Teachers for Romania”;
• Engagement Events: 
• February – The Well-Being Month; 
• Emotional Health Week;
• International Annual Conferences for Teachers’ Well-Being;
• Studies: 
• The National Study “Teacher’s Well-being”;
• The Study ”Analysis of the Efficiency of the Extended Teacher’s Well-being Program”, 
• Being Romania, supported by Grand Challenges Canada, in partnership with Canadian Government, Fondation Botnar, United for Global Mental Health, National Institute for Health and Care Research, UK Aid and Science for Africa;
• Books: 
• Happy Kids Spirit (EN);
• The Teacher Within (EN);
• Profesorul din Tine (RO);
• Hope for Ukraine;
• Ghidul Profesorului din Tine (RO).

Previous international partnerships:

Since the establishment of Transylvania College, and up to the present day, Inim Institute has had numerous collaborations with renowned educational institutions such as Global Connections, T.I.E.F., Round Square, Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation, and TedX Eroilor, playing a pivotal role as an agent of change for education, both nationally and globally.