Understanding the Association between Positive Psychological Functioning at Work and Cognitive Wellbeing in Teachers

Abstract

Teachers play a central role in facilitating children’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. Therefore, it is essential to investigate and understand the psychological factors that are associated with effective teaching and teacher wellbeing. The purpose of the present study is to present the association between teachers’ positive functioning at work and cognitive wellbeing in Turkish educators.  Participants of the study comprised of 295 teachers (60.3% female), and they ranged in age from 23 to 55 years (M = 32.43, SD = 7.85). Findings from correlation analysis demonstrated the significant and positive association between cognitive wellbeing and school connectedness, teaching efficacy, and overall teacher functioning, ranging from moderate to large effect. Following, the outcomes indicated the significant effects of wellbeing groups on teachers’ functioning and revealed that teachers with high levels of wellbeing had greater positive functioning at work than those with low and average wellbeing levels. Taken together, the results suggest that high level of wellbeing is associated with teachers’ healthy and successful functioning at work.