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Systems Approach to Well-being in Schools

Imad Zaheer, Ph.D.

St. John’s University

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Stop having the wrong conversations

And start having the right one around issues of burnout, stress and well-being

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Burnout- Three Key features

Chronic job stressors

Exhaustion

Negative hostile response to work conditions

Cynicism

Negative sense of self

Lack of self efficacy (“Maybe I’m not good”)

E

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Leading Expert in Burnout

Christina Maslach

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Canary in the coal Mine

“…Maslach asked me to picture a canary in a coal mine. They are healthy birds, singing away as they make their way into the cave. But, when they come out full of soot and disease, no longer singing, can you imagine us asking why the canaries made themselves sick? No, because the answer would be obvious: the coal mine is making the birds sick.”

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“Although developing emotional intelligence skills — like optimism, gratitude, and hope — can give people the rocket fuel they need to be successful, if an employee is dealing with burnout, we have to stop and ask ourselves why.”

“We should never suggest that if they’d just practiced more grit or joined another yoga class or taken a mindfulness course, their burnout would have been avoided. I have long been a proponent of empathy and optimism in leadership. I believe in practicing gratitude skills for a happier, higher performing work and life experience. I endorse the idea of building resilience to better handle stress when it arises. But these skills are not the cure for burnout, nor are they the vaccine.”

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Interventions Targeting Teacher Wellness

Iancu et al. (2017) conducted a meta-analysis of individual-level interventions targeting teacher burnout (23 controlled trials examined)

The overall effects were small, but statistically significant (d = 0.18, SE = 0.05, Z = 3.26, p < 0.001, k = 23).

Separate analyses on each burnout component showed similar intervention effects on emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, but almost null effects on depersonalization (d= 0.03, SE = 0.06, Z = 0.53, p > 0.05, k = 11).

Mindfulness interventions had significant effects on exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Cognitive behavioral interventions (significant effects in the case of exhaustion) and interventions based on social support (significant effects in the case of personal accomplishment). Some approaches (i.e., psychoeducational interventions, social-emotional interventions) had almost null effects on all burnout components. Professional development approach needs further investigation.
Interventions on primary and middle school teachers reported effect sizes below the average effect.
Similar to previous findings, interventions that lasted less than 1 month had the smallest levels of efficacy.

Regarding interventions based on the enhancing the

social-emotional skills, it is possible that their effects can be more distant in time. For example,

Spilt et al. (2011) suggested that high-quality teacher-student relations can generate teacher well-

being in the long run. From this perspective, interventions based on social-emotional skills might

have improved the teacher-student relations, but the effects on teacher well-being are simply not

observable in the post-intervention assessment. Therefore, follow-up measures are needed in

order to conclude regarding the effectiveness of social-emotional interventions.

it is unclear whether the participants actually experienced burnout and needed

the intervention in the first place. In most cases, participants enrolled in the programs

voluntarily, not because they were diagnosed as suffering from the burnout syndrome. As a

consequence, the post-intervention results were not very different from the pre-intervention

evaluations, and this could explain why the effect sizes identified here are generally small.

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Some stress is good and can be overcome, other forms of stress can be crippling

Difference between challenge stress and hindrance stress

Challenge Stress:

Using a challenge mindset to take action can help us overcome a net

Hindrance Stress:

No amount of action will ever help us beat a wall in tennis

E

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What happens when you can’t make lemonade?

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Solution Types

Coping strategies

Self care

Wellness (meditation, yoga, candles, etc…)

Vacations

Prevention and systems change

Creating more nurturing and supporting environments

Better work conditions

Psychological enhancements to work environment

E

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However, not all stress is good nor something we can overcome

Difference between challenge stress and hindrance stress

Using a challenge mindset to take action can help us overcome a net

No amount of action will ever help us beat a wall in tennis

Coping Strategies

“get stronger to hit above the net”

Systems Change

“Break the wall” “Stop playing the game”

E

What do we do here?!

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Six Major Areas To Address Stress and Burnout at the Systems Level

Workload
Choice
Recognition (not just pay but social rewards)
Community (socially toxic or nurturing?)
Fairness
Values- meaning of the work

E

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Organizational Interventions

Designed to improve climate and culture

Systematic review with mixed findings

31 studies, 9 took place in school or early childhood settings

Most common components of interventions:

Formation of an internal committee to direct change
Data-informed team-based decision-making
Goal alignment
In-person trainings and consultative support
Peer to-peer provider support and knowledge sharing
Organizational restructuring

(Ouellette et al., 2020)

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Which one should we do?

Coping strategies

Self care

Wellness (meditation, yoga, candles, etc…)

Vacations

Prevention and systems change

Creating more nurturing and supporting environments

Better work conditions

Psychological enhancements to work environment

Prioritize systems

“A bad system will beat a good person every time.”

— W. Edwards Deming

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MTSS/ School-based Mental Health for Students AND Adults

Evidence-based framework for addressing the mental health needs of everyone

Incorporates a system approach to adopt and implement different level of supports to meet the various needs

Combination of institutional and individual strategies

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MTSS/ School-based Mental Health for Students AND Adults

Evidence-based framework for addressing the mental health needs of everyone

Incorporates a system approach to adopt and implement different level of supports to meet the various needs

Combination of institutional and individual strategies

Aligns with review on organizational change

Formation of an internal committee to direct change
Data-informed team-based decision-making
Goal alignment
In-person trainings and consultative support
Peer to-peer provider support and knowledge sharing
Organizational restructuring

(Ouellette et al., 2020)

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MTSS

Students

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MTSS

Students

Adults

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MTSS

Students

Adults

Tier 1

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 2

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 3

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 1

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 2

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 3

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Prevent-Teach-Respond

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MTSS

Students

Adults

Tier 1

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 2

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 3

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 1

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 2

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Tier 3

Prevent - Teach - Respond

Coping Strategies

Systems Strategies

Need team-based approach like all MTSS initiatives

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Teaming for Success

Wellness Teams for Adults

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Two Models

Team-initiated Problem Solving (TIPS)

PROSOCIAL (ACT Matrix applied to groups)

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Team Initiated Problem Solving

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Three elements of team problem solving

Meeting foundations

Problem solving process

Defining new problems develop solution & evaluation plan

Progress monitoring & adaptations

Using data to monitor solution implementation status and progress toward meeting the goal

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Meeting Foundations

Clear Purpose/ Authority

What is the purpose of our team?
What is the impact we are to have on students/ families/ School?
What authority do we have to implement solutions?

Agreement about process

Start time/stop time
Schedule
Respect and commitment

Roles and responsibilities

Facilitator
Minute Taker
Data Analyst
Member

Electronic Meeting Minutes/Agenda

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Implement

Solution with

High Integrity

Identify

Goal for Change

Identify Problem

with

Precision

Monitor Impact

of Solution and

Compare against Goal

Make Summative

Evaluation

Decision

Meeting

Foundations

Critical Features of Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS II)

Identify

Solution and

Create

Implementation

Plan with

Contextual Fit

Collect and Use Data

Meeting Foundations

Problem Solving

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Implement

Solution with

High Integrity

Identify

Goal for Change

Identify Problem

with

Precision

Monitor Impact

of Solution and

Compare against Goal

Make Summative

Evaluation

Decision

Meeting

Foundations

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS II) Model

Identify

Solution and

Create

Implementation

Plan with

Contextual Fit

Collect and Use Data

What, Who, When, Where, and Why?

How do we want the problem to change?

What are we going to do to bring about desired change?

Did we implement with fidelity?

Has the problem been solved?

What next?

Problem Solving

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Implement

Solution with

High Integrity

Identify

Goal for Change

Identify Problem

with

Precision

Monitor Impact

of Solution and

Compare against Goal

Make Summative

Evaluation

Decision

Meeting

Foundations

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS II) Model

Identify

Solution and

Create

Implementation

Plan with

Contextual Fit

Collect and Use Data

What, Who, When, Where, and Why?

How do we want the problem to change?

What are we going to do to bring about desired change?

Did we implement with fidelity?

Has the problem been solved?

What next?

Problem Solving

Measures for stress & well-being

Screening
Progress monitoring
Evaluations

Both institutional and individual level

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Levels of Assessment

Institutional

Assess for organizational health
Common experiences among school community members
Support decisions about systems change and universal supports

Individual

Identify resilience and needs
Assess need for individualized supports
Support decisions about offerings of opt-in programs and interventions

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Institutional Screening

Organizational Health Inventory (OHI)
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Work Stress Questionnaire (WSQ)
Supportive Teacher Environment Scale (STES)

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Organizational Health Inventory (OHI)

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Individual Screening & Assessment

Teacher Well-Being Scale (TWBS)
Teacher Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire (TSWQ)
Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale – Short Form (TSES)
The Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands (CARD)

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Teacher Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire

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Assessment Process

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Implement

Solution with

High Integrity

Identify

Goal for Change

Identify Problem

with

Precision

Monitor Impact

of Solution and

Compare against Goal

Make Summative

Evaluation

Decision

Meeting

Foundations

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS II) Model

Identify

Solution and

Create

Implementation

Plan with

Contextual Fit

Collect and Use Data

What, Who, When, Where, and Why?

How do we want the problem to change?

What are we going to do to bring about desired change?

Did we implement with fidelity?

Has the problem been solved?

What next?

Problem Solving

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Implement

Solution with

High Integrity

Identify

Goal for Change

Identify Problem

with

Precision

Monitor Impact

of Solution and

Compare against Goal

Make Summative

Evaluation

Decision

Meeting

Foundations

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS II) Model

Identify

Solution and

Create

Implementation

Plan with

Contextual Fit

Collect and Use Data

What, Who, When, Where, and Why?

How do we want the problem to change?

What are we going to do to bring about desired change?

Did we implement with fidelity?

Has the problem been solved?

What next?

Problem Solving

Workload
Choice
Recognition (not just pay but social rewards)
Community (socially toxic or nurturing?)
Fairness
Values- meaning of the work

Coping strategies?

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PROSOCIAL

ACT Matrix for Teams

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Two Step Process

Psychological flexibility loop

Psychological safety loop

Core Design principles

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Flexibility

(individual focused)

What thoughts and away moves get me stuck?

What can me towards my

values and goals?

What do I value as a professional…

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Two Step Process

Psychological flexibility loop

Psychological safety loop

Core Design principles

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Us Noticing

Group Matrix

What thoughts and away moves get us stuck?

What can move us towards our

shared values and goals?

What do we value as a group, team, family, etc…?

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Us Noticing

Group Matrix

What thoughts and away moves get us stuck?

What can move us towards our

shared values and goals?

What do we value as a group, team, family, etc…?

How comfortable do I feel in sharing my thoughts on what’s keeping us back?

Will be use this information to move forward?

Key difference here is

That we are working towards not just individual psychological flexibility

But also towards group psychological safety

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Us Noticing

Group Matrix

What thoughts and away moves get us stuck?

What can move us towards our

shared values and goals?

What do we value as a group, team, family, etc…?

How comfortable do I feel in sharing my thoughts on what’s keeping us back?

Will be use this information to move forward?

Key difference here is

That we are working towards not just individual psychological flexibility

But also towards group psychological safety

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6 Areas of Addressing Burnouts	Specific Actions (toward moves)
Workload	Reduce the workload Add more employees
Choice	Ask and add more choices Flexible on how, when, and where the work is done
Recognition	Social recognitions for individual and group accomplishments Tangible/financial rewards
Community	Create positive culture and social community Address toxic behaviors within the system
Fairness	Ensure fair procedures are in place for everyone in the organization Advocacy work to ensure fairness is achieved
Values- meaning of the work	Create a clear and present sense of purpose Ensure everyone knows what the purpose is

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Two Step Process

Psychological flexibility loop

Psychological safety loop

Core Design principles

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Elinor Ostrom

Core Design Principles or common pool resources

Power of small groups (teams)

Self-interest versus cooperation

David Sloan Wilson – Evolutionary biologists
“Groups” all the way down

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Not by accident, have to set the stage

Choice

Fairness

Values

Fairness

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Leveraging psychological flexibility of individuals and psychological safety as a group to work on the 8 principals

Strong Group Identity and shared purpose
Fair distribution of responsibilities, costs and benefits
Fair & inclusive decision making
Monitoring agreed upon behaviors
Warranted course-corrections (including indicated sanctions)
Fair & efficient conflict resolution
Authority to self-govern
Collaborative relations with others groups

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Towards

Away

5 Sense

Mind

Me Noticing

Leveraging psychological flexibility of individuals and psychological safety as a group to work on the 8 principals

Strong Group Identity and shared purpose
Fair distribution of responsibilities, costs and benefits
Fair & inclusive decision making
Monitoring agreed upon behaviors
Warranted course-corrections (including indicated sanctions)
Fair & efficient conflict resolution
Authority to self-govern
Collaborative relations with others groups

Group identity and purpose?

What actions align?

How can we monitor our progress?

What happens if we are not moving towards?

How do we address away moves?

Conflicts, feelings of unfairness

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Core Design Principles- Elinor Ostrom

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Ratings for your own group

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	How often do you, your colleagues or your manager...	Never/ almost never	Seldom	Fairly often	Very often
1	Interrupt the person speaking
2	Look away, or at another person than the one speaking
3	Harshly criticize or blame someone
4	Use discriminatory language/jokes, or laugh at such
5	Respond defensively in discussions
6	Say that something is important, but act as if it is not
21	Speak impulsively, without considering other perspectives
7	Ask about or validate others’ needs/feelings/state
8	Ask how work task are proceeding
9	Offer help or ask for help
10	Invite others into conversation or socializing
11	Listen actively to the person speaking
12	Encourage and reinforce others’ behaviors and achievements
16	Create opportunities for follow-up/feedback
13	Express opinions in a constructive way
14	Talk about how people behave (instead of their traits or attitudes)
15	Remind about values/rules/policys in close proximity to an activity where they apply
17	Discourage behaviors that are not ok
18	Deal with potential problems early on
19	Make decisions aligned with values/policy even when it might lead to short term losses or problems
20	Ask for dissenting opinions and listen to them
22	Summarize and confirm others’ arguments before own thoughts are expressed
23	Talk about shared values

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More details in paper!

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Thank you for this Opportunity

Imad Zaheer

imadzaheer@gmail.com

https://nei.squarespace.com