Bevordering van welstand van onderwysers in spesiale skole : ʼn deelnemende benadering

Abstract

Every year, South Africa loses many teachers due to emotional burnout and challenging conditions in the schools of the country. Many studies point out the importance of the emotional well-being of teachers in mainstream schools. Not only are teachers in schools for learners with special educational needs (LSEN) exposed to the same challenges as their colleagues in mainstream education, but they also experience other challenges that are very unique to the LSEN landscape and school system. This participatory action research study focuses specifically on promoting the emotional well-being of LSEN teachers. The PERMA model was used as a theoretical framework. The researcher and the participants used various data collection techniques to conceptualise their emotional well-being in creative and narrative ways. Twelve participants from three LSEN schools used the photovoice technique in the first cycle of participatory action research to share their perceptions and experiences of emotional well-being. Reflection was constantly encouraged by journal entries, and further qualitative data were obtained from it. Reflective group discussions were also used, where experiences and perceptions were shared. These discussions, from which rich data were collected, contributed to the ongoing reflective process. Factors that determine the emotional well-being of this cohort of teachers were defined and investigated. Consequently, strategies with which teachers in LSEN schools could empower themselves were identified. The findings and recommendations of this study fill an important gap in the literature on emotional well-being and LSEN schools in particular.