Education Worker Toolkit
Like all Canadians, education workers and teachers experience mental health challenges. As part of a larger study of Canadian professional workers, 1146 education workers completed a survey to explore their experiences with mental health, leaves of absence, and return to work between November 2020 and May 2021.
Click below for the education report
A high number of education workers in our study, over 50%, reported having had a mental health issue at some point during their careers, with female teachers reporting high rates.
53 education workers were interviewed about their experiences. Themes such as increased workload, digital stress, the impact of leadership, social isolation and feeling disconnected were mentioned most often.
Our research team utilized survey data and interview stories to curate a list of resources to help improve education worker mental health with a focus on system, organization and team level resources.
Please watch our introductory video to help guide you through the resource options available.
What Interviewee’s are Saying:
“Nobody quits a job. They Quit a Manager”
“My interactions with health and wellness have left me feeling frustrated and feeling like I’m a number and not a person”
Toolkit for Healthy Schools Leadership
This Toolkit explores how to implement the Canadian Healthy School Standards, with a specific focus on the actions needed at a school system leadership level. It provides a pathway to follow in the form of six interconnected checklists, along with connections to additional resources.
New Teachers: Tips for a Successful 1st Year!
In this 30 minute video, you will benefit from a condensed 30 years of teaching and coaching training to support you and prepare you for your first years of teaching. You will find incredible tips for embracing the reality of your new year, optimizing your wellness and mindset, releasing fear and creating health days guilt free.
Restructure the School Year
The four-day school week has received mixed reviews in the literature. “A shortened workweek is not a ‘magic pill’ to solve the problem. If we don’t improve working conditions and compensate educators properly, the length of the workweek will not matter.” Barnes, 2022
Recharge Room
A recharge room is a quiet space for teachers to relax featuring amenities like massage and lounge chairs, treadmills, hammocks, and yoga equipment.
Subtract Duties from Teaching
This article outlines the power of taking something away as opposed to continually adding to work responsibilities/expectations. What could we subtract from the school day that would improve teacher mental health/wellbeing?
Teacher Driven Professional Development (PD) Days
Teachers want to be heard and have choice/time to engage in professional development opportunities that will benefit their mental health/wellbeing. This will look and sound differently across school boards/districts depending on educator needs.
Sex and Gender Based Analysis Workplace Discrimination and Bias Toolkit
The SGBA Workplace Discrimination Bias Toolkit provides common definitions and language along with promising practices to help address workplace discrimination.
Sex and Gender Based Analysis Harassment and Bullying Toolkit
The SGBA harrassment and bullying toolkit provides common definitions and language, describes the impact of bullying and harassment on mental health and outlines promising practices to address bullying and harassment.
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Accommodation strategies for employees with mental health issues who are at work or returning to work.
Workplace Wellbeing and Mental Health Toolkit
Alberta Health Services created evidence-based actionable strategies to help workplaces increase support for individual mental health in the workplace.
Systemic Support for Teacher Mental Health
This podcast addresses the long standing and often overlooked state of teacher mental health in the U.S. Guest speaker Dr. Kris Scardamalia, associate professor from the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland shares her thoughts.
Mind the Teacher
A five-episode podcast devoted to understanding and addressing the challenges posed by poor mental health in schools, particularly among teachers.
Well at Work Podcast
Explore what’s trending in Canadian workplace wellbeing through this podcast series featuring expert opinion and analysis.
A Conversation on Pan-Canadian Teacher Mental Health
A discussion of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation latest pandemic research report “But at what cost?” Teacher mental health during COVID-19
The Podclass: Conversations on School Health
The podcast features Positive Teacher Well-Being with Dana Fulwiler. The Podclass is an educational podcast developed by Ever Active Schools. The first series is a collaboration with the Werkland School of Education that looks at maximizing the health and well-being of students and teachers.
Heartcare Planning for Educational Workers
Heartcare Planning emerged as a key finding from the Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Emotional Labour in Educational Workers research study. Create a HEARTcare plan to figure out how you respond to occupational stress and distress, ways to identify crisis and trauma work, and investigate available interventions to restore or maintain your emotional and mental health.
Mentor Teacher
This article highlights research that explores the role that mentoring and coaching practices play in helping educational professionals attune to the importance of maintaining their own well-being and fostering well-being among those they work with.
Guarding Minds at Work
Guarding Minds is a free online set of resources designed to assess and address psychological health and safety in your workplace. It is intended to be administered by one of your own employees.
Workplace Mental Health Training For Supervisors
Workplace Mental Health Training for supervisors is an evidence-based program that teaches leaders supportive strategies that protect and promote positive mental health. It also helps supervisors recognize and respond to signs that an employee may be experiencing distress.
It Takes a Village
The Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan created a wellness hub to provide personal and workplace wellness information. Topics include healthy workplaces, relationships, self-care, social connections, self-assessment and more.
This Toolkit explores how to implement the Canadian Healthy School Standards, with a specific focus on the actions needed at a school system leadership level. It provides a pathway to follow in the form of six interconnected checklists, along with connections to additional resources.