Advisor(s)
Retta Evans
Committee Member(s)
Claire Mowling
Jenna Lachenaye
Lori Edmonds
Rebecca Kennedy
School
School of Education
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Health Education/Promotion (Education)
Date of Award
9-11-2025
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this grounded theory dissertation was to explore Alabama early career teachers’ perceptions of personal wellness, the wellness culture and environment of their school system, and the impact of the culture on teacher wellness and job satisfaction. Early career teachers face unique challenges that contribute to high turnover rates, yet their wellness has not been systematically studied. This study sought to answer three primary research questions with sub-questions. Teachers were asked to describe their personal wellness, the wellness culture at their schools, and the effect of the wellness culture and environment of the school on teachers in general, the effect on their own personal wellness, and the effect on job satisfaction. Methods: This inductive qualitative study was guided by grounded theory through a constructivist theoretical perspective. Using purposeful and snowball sampling, early career teachers in Alabama were recruited; twelve teachers from kindergarten through eighth grade agreed to participate. The teachers were interviewed through an in-depth, semi-structured method, where they described their experiences openly. Interviews were video recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were cleaned, coded, and analyzed for themes. Analysis/ Results: The study aimed to create a grounded theory for early career teachers’ perspectives on personal and school wellness. Barriers to wellness was one category identified with the themes of stress of teaching, heavy and unmanageable workload, student challenges, deficient systems of wellness, and lack of positive wellness culture. Promoters of wellness was another category identified with the themes of administration leadership, workplace wellness supports, personal wellness practices, teacher teamwork, and community influences. Through the synthesis of the themes, four constructs became the foundation for the theory: personal practices, teacher occupational factors, community resources, and school environment and systems. The researcher named the emerging theory the Teacher-School Wellness Components Theory (TSWCT). The theory established that teacher and school wellness is a function of the inter-connectedness between components. Conclusion: The degree to which teachers and schools can achieve and maintain wellness depends on personal practices, teacher occupational factors, community resources, and school environment and systems.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Carr, Amy Day, "Wellness Perspectives Of Early Career Teachers: An Exploratory Study Of School Culture And Environment" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7412.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7412
