A major part of the perplexing instances in teachers' work seem to deal with relationships. However, little is known about the role of social and emotional competence (SEC) in teachers' relationships. This study examined perplexing relational situations through Finnish primary teachers' stories, the strategies that teachers used to manage the…

This study examined the factors shaping co-teaching within a Finnish primary school's community. The qualitative study was conducted by teacher and principal interviews and teacher surveys. Thematic content analysis revealed five factors establishing the co-teaching practices: providing collegial support, team building, continuous professional…

The present study aimed to investigate elementary school principals' self-reported causes of work-related stress, their coping strategies to deal with stress and the support they need for their leadership. Seventy-six principals filled in the questionnaire, which included open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the…

The current study examines whether peer victimization experienced in early adolescence is associated with compromised social functioning 14 years later in young adulthood. The sample involved 1533 young adults (65.1% female, M[subscript age] = 27.06) who had participated in a large research project as middle school students (7th and 8th graders,…

Teacher learning is crucial in terms of good quality education in early years and, respectively teachers' professional communities are crucial for teacher learning. The meaning of engagement in collaborative learning and resources available in professional community are emphasized in educational reforms. In this study, we explored teachers'…

Research Findings: The aim of this study was to examine associations between two aspects of teachers' occupational well-being, i.e., teaching-related stress and work engagement, and the quality of teacher-child interactions in Finnish kindergarten classrooms. Participants were 47 kindergarten teachers with their classrooms of 6-year-old children.…

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to identify profiles of kindergarten teachers based on the observed quality of interactions with the children in their classrooms and to explore possible differences between the profiles in terms of teachers' occupational well-being and teacher and classroom characteristics. Participants were 54…

Introduction: We examined the associations and proportionate contributions of three well-validated models of stressful psychosocial work environment (job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and organizational injustice) in explaining depressive symptoms among primary school teachers. In addition, we tested the mediating role of different types of…

Bullying in school has become an international concern in recent decades. Yet, we know surprisingly little about inhibitors of teacher-targeted bullying. The study focused on exploring the interrelation between the teacher-working environment fit, bullying, experienced exhaustion and turnover intentions. Altogether 2310 comprehensive school…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between school leadership practices and teacher empowerment in the Finnish policy culture. Specifically, moral leadership and distributed leadership enacted by school principals are tested in a simultaneous design as predictor to two distinct yet related aspects of teachers' sense…

The extent to which school neighbourhood affects teachers' work commitment is poorly known. In the current study, we investigated whether school neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics predicted teachers' organizational and professional commitment. Primary school teachers (n?=?1042) responded to surveys in 2000-2001 (baseline) and 2004…

The purpose of this study was to explore the kinds of episodes that challenge comprehensive school teachers' occupational well-being and cause burnout and how teachers perceive the relationship between themselves and their working environment in these episodes. Altogether, a selected group of 68 primary and secondary school teachers were…