Well-Being in Education in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to check teachers’ satisfaction with work, their emotions, their work environment, their work-life balance, and their access to trainings concerning mindfulness, well-being, and self-development. The work, based on a survey conducted among 102 foreign language (mostly English) teachers of different types of schools (i.e., kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, universities, etc.), is concerned with issues related to the well-being of teachers in Poland. Teachers who took part in the quantitative survey between December 2022 and January 2023 gave anonymous answers to the questions concerning their well-being, their attitude to work, their ability to take part in self-development trainings, and their relations at the schools and institutions in which they work. It was planned to find out which teacher groups face more difficulties of different kinds within their working places. The study revealed that teachers who take part in various forms of self-development are more aware of their emotions and ways of dealing with stress than those who do not. Those who work in towns and villages are happier than those who work in cities. Those who work with many pupils suffer from the incessant noise and even rude behaviour of their students. Finally, it was concluded that happier and less stressed teachers, who are able to maintain work-life balance and work in a friendly environment, may become better teachers and better learners. Teachers’ health and well-being and positive attitude towards life and work are very important due to the fact that any of these attitudes influence the way in which their students acquire knowledge. Happier teachers teach happier and faster-learning students.