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How does the mental health and wellbeing of teachers compare to other professions? Evidence from eleven survey datasets

Author

Listed:
  • John Jerrim

    (UCL Social Research Institute)

  • Sam Sims

    (UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities)

  • Rebecca Allen

    (University of Brighton)

  • Hannah Taylor

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

There is growing concern about the mental health and wellbeing of teachers globally, with the stress caused by the job thought to be a key factor driving many to leave the profession. It is often claimed that teachers have worse mental health and wellbeing outcomes than other occupational groups. Yet academic evidence on this matter remains limited, with some studies supporting this notion, while a handful of others do not. We contribute to this debate by providing the largest, most comprehensive analysis of differences in mental health and wellbeing between teachers and other professional workers to date. Drawing upon data from across eleven social surveys, we find little evidence that teachers have worse health and wellbeing outcomes than other occupational groups. Research in this area should shift away from whether teachers are disproportionately affected by such issues towards strengthening the evidence on the likely drivers of mental ill-health within the education profession.

Suggested Citation

  • John Jerrim & Sam Sims & Rebecca Allen & Hannah Taylor, 2020. "How does the mental health and wellbeing of teachers compare to other professions? Evidence from eleven survey datasets," DoQSS Working Papers 20-18, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    • Handle: RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2018
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    File URL: http://repec.ioe.ac.uk/REPEc/pdf/qsswp2018.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charles Seaford, 2011. "Time to legislate for the good life," Nature, Nature, vol. 477(7366), pages 532-533, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Teachers; wellbeing; mental health; occupational comparisons;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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