Beyond the silence - Prioritizing teachers’ mental health in educational research, practice and policy - Volume 17, Number 2 - Article

Oct 15, 2026

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Teacher mental health is a critical yet under-addressed dimension of educational quality and sustainability. Educators are widely seen as key agents of student wellbeing, but their own psychological wellbeing remains marginalised across research, institutional practice, and education policy. This discussion paper argues for teacher mental health as a collective, structurally supported responsibility. Using an integrative narrative approach, it synthesizes peer-reviewed studies and international evidence-based programmes to examine structural, relational, and organisational determinants, including chronic stress and its consequences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Conceptual foundations of teacher mental health

Definitions and theoretical frameworks

Organizational and systemic dimensions of wellbeing

Volume 17, Number 2, November 2025 pp 4-20 [www.um.edu.mt/ijee](www.um.edu.mt/ijee) Beyond the silence: Prioritizing teachers’mental health in educational research, practice and policy 1 Valeria Cavionia , Elisabetta Conteb and Veronica Ornaghic aDepartment of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Society and Communication Sciences, Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy bDepartment of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy cDepartment of Human Sciences for Education "Riccardo Massa", University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy Teacher mental health is a critical yet under-addressed dimension of educational quality and sustainability. While educators are widely recognised as key agents of student wellbeing, their own mental health remains relatively marginalised in research, institutional practices, and policy. This discussion paper highlights the urgent need to rethink how teacher mental health is conceptualised and addressed within education systems. Rather than viewing it as a private concern to be managed individually, it needs to be understood as a collective responsibility that requires institutional commitment and structural support. Adopting a narrative and integrative approach, the present paper draws on peerreviewed studies selected from major scientific databases, alongside international evidence-based programmes and policy frameworks, to explore the key structural, relational, and organisational factors that shape educators’ mental health. Particular attention is paid to the emotional costs of teaching and the clinical consequences of chronic stress. The paper calls for policy reforms that embed teachers’mental health into professional standards, quality assurance frameworks, and leadership training. Keywords: teachers’ mental health; school policy; stress; burnout; school First submission 15th May 2025; Accepted for publication 25th November 2025. Introduction In recent years, the mental health of teachers has emerged as a critical yet underexplored dimension of educational quality and sustainability (Cavioni et al., 2023a; Poulou et al., 2024) . Although international 1 Corresponding author. Email [address:](address: valeria.cavioni@unimercatorum.it)[ ](address: valeria.cavioni@unimercatorum.it)[valeria.cavioni@unimercatorum.it](address: valeria.cavioni@unimercatorum.it)[ ](address: valeria.cavioni@unimercatorum.it)[https://doi.org/10.56300/XZRG6415](https://doi.org/10.56300/XZRG6415) ISSN 2073 7629 © 2025 CRES Volume 17, Number 2, November 2025 pp 4 research has increasingly recognised the importance of fostering psychological well-being in students (Colomeischi et al., 2022), far less attention has been paid to the mental health of those responsible for guiding and supporting the educational process: the teachers themselves. Understanding what is meant by teacher mental health is a necessary starting point for advancing this conversation and informing effective educational policies and interventions (Cavioni, 2025) . To address this need, the present paper offers a narrative and integrative synthesis that advances a theoretically grounded, policy-relevant discussion of teacher mental health as a systemic and collective concern. Rather than adopting a systematic review design, this contribution draws on selected seminal frameworks, meta-analyses, and internationally recognised evidence-based programmes that illuminate key dimensions of teachers’ mental health and its organisational determinants. Through this selective and theory-informed integration, the paper aims to connect conceptual, empirical, and policy domains, providing a coherent basis for future research and action. Mental health, in this perspective, is widely recognised as a multidimensional construct that extends beyond the mere absence of psychopathology. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2005), it is defined as a state of well-being in which individuals realise their

FAQs

Why is teacher mental health considered under-addressed in educational quality research?

The paper states that teacher mental health, though linked to educational quality and sustainability, is marginalised in research, institutional practices, and policy despite teachers being key agents of student wellbeing.

How does the paper conceptualise teacher mental health?

It describes teacher mental health as a multidimensional construct integrating individual functioning and systemic/organisational conditions, including emotional and social functioning as well as responsibility management and sustained wellbeing over time.

What theoretical frameworks does the paper use to discuss teachers’ mental health?

It references the WHO definition of mental health and uses Keyes’ three-dimensional well-being model (emotional, psychological, and social well-being) to frame mental health as a continuum from languishing to flourishing.

Oct 15, 2026

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