Teachers' perceived sense of well-being through the lens of mattering: reclaiming the sense of community

Abstract

PurposeThe concept of well-being has gained attention in the educational literature over time. Teachers around the globe are leaving the profession because they see their well-being being turned into ashes. Teachers' loss of well-being affects them and other actors of the educational system. The purpose of this paper is to look at teachers' sense of well-being through the lens of the construct of mattering.Design/methodology/approachTwenty-one South American Elementary Level teachers were interviewed for this qualitative study.FindingsThe paper's results suggest that teachers have experienced a loss of their sense of mattering—this sense of mattering impacts their overall level of well-being. If teachers do not feel valued or feel that they cannot add value, they will not function healthily. The author proposes that to regain their sense of mattering and increase their sense of well-being, teachers need to develop a sense of community further.Originality/valueThis paper seeks to look at the meta-construct from a more microscopic lens. Therefore, given the elusive nature of well-being, the purpose of this paper is to investigate well-being through the lens of mattering. In this paper, using the lens of mattering helps us focus on work-related manifestations of teachers' well-being in teachers working in elementary schools. Even though there are some empirical studies that have investigated the construct of mattering in educational settings, this author is not aware of empirical studies that have specifically focused on the documentation of teachers' perceived sense of mattering.