Approaches to teaching and wellbeing among European higher education teachers
Keywords:
higher education teachers, approaches to teaching, wellbeing, self-efficacy, self-compassionAbstract
Recently, there has been a growing interest in teachers’ wellbeing in higher education pedagogy. Approaches to teaching are often used as a framework to study teaching strategies, but relatively little is known about their relationship with teachers’ wellbeing. In this quantitative study, we investigated the relationships between approaches to teaching, teachers’ wellbeing and teaching experience and qualification. The study covered seven higher education institutions, which at the time formed the Regional University Network – European University educational network. Altogether, 244 teachers answered a questionnaire measuring approaches to teaching, self-efficacy, and self-compassion. We found that interactive and transmissive approaches positively predicted teachers’ self-efficacy and self-compassion, while an unreflective approach predicted them negatively. Additionally, an organised approach also positively predicted teachers’ self-efficacy. Teachers with formal qualification used more interactive and less transmissive approach than teachers without such qualification. The study suggests that it is important to support the interactive approach to teaching and teachers’ ability to reflect on their teaching through pedagogical training.
