Teachers’ Well-Being in a Whole-School Perspective: Trends and Determinants from the HBSC Teachers Survey

Schools are increasingly recognised as key settings for health promotion, as they are complex system continuously shaped by organisational, educational and societal changes (World Health Organization, 2021). From this perspective, the health and well-being of all members of the school community are central components of school health promotion (Langford et al., 2015). Teachers occupy a pivotal role: their work is marked by ongoing change and high emotional, relational and organisational demands, which may increase the risk of stress, burnout and disengagement over time (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Maslach et al., 2001). Despite growing evidence on the importance of school climate, working and organisational conditions (e.g. Collie et al., 2012), much of the literature still approaches teachers’ well-being primarily as an individual matter, with limited attention to school-level and contextual determinants. Adopting a whole-school approach, the present study investigates levels, trends and determinants of teachers’ occupational well-being using data from the HBSC Teachers Survey in Italy. Data come from the 2026 edition of the HBSC Teachers Survey and focus on teachers’ health and well-being. The survey is administered to teachers working in the same classes participating in the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Lombardy (Italy). The analyses will examine organisational factors (e.g., workload and working conditions), interpersonal factors (e.g., perceived support from school principals and relationships with colleagues and families), and personal and professional factors (e.g., teachers’ role identities) in relation to multiple well-being outcomes. Although the study design is cross-sectional, the availability of comparable data from the 2022 edition (approximately 6,000 teachers) allows us to describe trends in teachers’ well-being over the past four years. The study applies descriptive, trend, and multivariate analyses. Differences in burnout and engagement are further explored by schools’ participation in the Health Promoting Schools network. Preliminary results highlight the role of organizational support, such as principal’s support, as protective factors of teachers’ well-being. The study is expected to identify risk and protective patterns in teachers’ occupational well-being and to provide evidence to guide the development of systemic, whole-school health promotion policies and interventions.