Associations between observed patterns of classroom interactions and teacher wellbeing in lower secondary school

Abstract

Classroom observations and teacher self-reports were used to examine the relationships between patterns of teacher–student interactions and the wellbeing of Norwegian lower secondary school teachers. Latent profile analysis identified four subgroups. Teacher–student interactions and the teachers' wellbeing were inter-related in that teachers who were observed to be high in all the interaction domains (Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support) perceived themselves as having high job satisfaction. The results showed that improving teachers’ wellbeing has the potential to improve teacher–student interactions and vice versa. The study also discusses the use of classroom observations to facilitate teacher–student interactions in teacher training.