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Who takes care of our teachers and principals?

Interview

6 November 2024

Teacher shortage, administrative burdens, demotivated students: teachers and school boards face a mountain of challenges. And that mountain sometimes turns out to be too high. More than a third of Belgian middle school teachers are at increased risk of burnout, according to a recent study by the VUB. How can we take better care of the people who help our children and young people grow up? Djapo staff member An Yskout explains how the European LIFE project can provide an answer.

LIFE in brief

Life Worth Living: Caring for our Educators and Principals (LIFE) is a project funded by Erasmus+. Five partners from Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Iceland and Italy developed and implemented a 'Life Worth Living' training for teachers and school principals who want to be more conscious in life and in their work. They were guided in their project by the methodologies and concepts from the Life Worth Living training at Yale University. Yale University was also closely involved in LIFE: in December 2024, they publish a study on its impact on participants.

The educational organisation Djapo guided the project from Belgium.

Pressure in education - all over Europe

An Yskout: "The idea for LIFE originated with Andrea Rose Cheatham Kasper, a former US school headmaster and now consultant with Icelandic-based North Consulting. As member of the Life Worth Living network, she is keenly aware of the impact the methodology has on participants. In the US the training is used not only in education, but also in the military and prisons, to enhance well-being."

"When Andrea moved to Iceland with her family, she saw a high sensitivity to stress and burnout in the education sector there - as in many European countries. So she launched the idea at North Consulting to start a new European project on this topic, using Life Worth Living as a methodology."

New insights, new choices

Each partner guided about 12 teachers and principals. With that select group, they worked for a year on key life questions such as "Who do I feel responsible for?" and "What do I do when I fail?".

"From teaching quality to well-being: what do you focus on as a school?"

Nele Verdonck

Care coordinator and LIFE participant

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An: "By reading philosophical, poetic and theological texts, discussing them together and processing thoughts creatively, the participants explored what is really important to them, both privately and in the workplace. And those insights effectively brought about change. For example, one of the participants actively engaged with the question 'What things are worth spending your time on?': he not only changed schools, but now also guides ceremonies as a fire guard."

Teach what you preach

Why could this project be valuable for the education sector? "Every school tries to create a place where children dare to be themselves, where different opinions are welcome. And then it is important that you remain credible and authentic and also realise those values within your own school team and as a teacher in the classroom. LIFE's methodologies help you do this. The life questions and the various forms of processing provide both connection and understanding. They help you create a safe place where you dare to be vulnerable and at the same time are challenged to learn about yourself, about others, about the world, about life and the essence of your job."

"Keep communicating, constantly looking for connection: that's what I'm taking to my team!"

Leen Langenbinck

Director and LIFE participant

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In October, participants from all countries met in Belgium for a final retreat. There, they explored, among other things, how they can take LIFE's methodologies into their schools and classrooms. "Going out into nature more often, paying more attention to creative processing, diving into texts to let children explore what they consider important in their lives: a lot of plans were discussed. But the participants also saw opportunities within school teams themselves. LIFE offers opportunities for teachers and principals to deal with vulnerability and emotions, to promote cooperation. And a lot of participants felt this need - whatever country they came from."

What's next?

"On 13 December, we are organising a webinar in Belgium where we will introduce policymakers and principals to the project and the methodologies behind Life Worth Living. We will also present the research results from Yale University, who closely followed our project and measured the impact of our approach."

"Meanwhile, we also submitted a new project application to Europe for a Teacher Academy around Life Worth Living. Because many teachers and principals need support - and we want to offer it. So let's hope for a sequel!"

Want to know more about the project?

Visit the website

Published on 6 November 2024

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