The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between wellbeing and health-related characteristics of preservice teachers and intended behaviour in relation to cultural sensitivity, acceptance of difference, and fairness.

Wellbeing and mental health is a major focus of policy, practice and research in the Education sector worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the wellbeing and mental health of many young people under duress. The European Commission stated at their 2021 Education Summit that “wellbeing must be put at the centre of educational policies” (European Commission, 2021).

Currently, teachers’ roles are expanding to explicitly incorporate support for student mental health and wellbeing, implementation of whole school health and wellbeing initiatives, and responsibility to ensure a culturally safe learning environment. Indeed, intercultural, social and emotional competencies are recognised as essential to the teaching profession. For example, a UNESCO report from The International Commission on the Futures of Education called for a new global social contract in which education is strengthened with a focus on social justice and cultural diversity (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2021). The Global Standards for Health Promoting Schools were launched at a similar time by the World Health Organization and UNESCO, as part of a global movement to make every school a health promoting school through consolidating and clarifying a more than 25-year old vision (WHO & UNESCO, 2021). In Australia, the AITSL standards for graduate teachers include a requirement for teachers to create inclusive spaces that promote student wellbeing and engagement (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2017).

Additionally, teachers' own wellbeing and mental health are becoming a focal point for policy, education research and initial teacher education (ITE). Teachers face high intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal demands as part of their roles. The resulting stress has implications for teacher wellbeing, teacher effectiveness and teacher retention. Therefore, there is also a vital need to focus on the wellbeing and mental health of our preservice teachers and provide them with the tools to support their own mental health and wealth being.

The research draws on the Theory of Planned Behaviour ([TPB] Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 2011). The TPB provides a conceptual framework that underscores the relevance of examining the domains of interest to look at predictive intention to behave in ways that are culturally, ethically, and socially appropriate. This study was also informed by the work of Viac and Fraser (2020) on the OECD Teacher Wellbeing for Quality Teaching Project. Their framework illustrates the complexity of examining teachers’ wellbeing and how environment, policy and individual characteristics contribute to teachers’ wellbeing. Teachers’ wellbeing, as outlined in the framework, influences student wellbeing and the classroom, as well as the health of the system overall. For the purposes of this study, wellbeing has been defined as the state of mental and physical health, encompassing positive affect, social connectedness, and cognitive functioning.

This study was conducted using an ITE selection tool that gathers comprehensive information about a candidate’s cognitive ability (such as literacy, numeracy and spatial reasoning), personal characteristics, disposition, social interaction, cultural sensitivity, and self-awareness in relation to being a teaching student and as a future teacher professional (Bowles et al., 2014). The data provides an international perspective given that it has been utilised in four different countries and by prospective preservice teachers around the globe.

A desktop analysis of an existing dataset was utilised to explore potential teacher candidate's prediction of how they might act as a teacher in dealing with the moral and ethical nature of teaching as well as their sensitivity to various cultural issues and diverse contexts. Data from an entry assessment for an ITE program was utilised to understand potential preservice teachers’ perceived wellbeing and characteristics related to mental health. The Teacher Ability Assessment Tool (TCAT) is a web-based assessment tool that has been developed to assist in understanding the competencies, characteristics and attributes of individuals applying for tertiary initial teacher education programs. The tool includes a series of questions, which concentrate on teaching, specifically, candidate’s experience, reflections on teaching, ability, self, and social interaction (Bowles et al., 2014). A large dataset of prospective teachers from 38 countries was extracted from TCAT and used for this analysis. The affective items from the assessment tool were used to determine a broad understanding of the self-reported dispositions and personal characteristics, self-regulation, communication skill, and self-awareness and prediction of intended teacher behaviour. Secondly, these affective or dispositional items were coded for a specific reference to wellbeing and/or mental health. A number of items were selected from the assessment item bank that relate specifically to wellbeing or health dispositions. The TCAT dimensions of Ethics and Fairness, and Cultural sensitivity were repurposed as the outcome measure (intended teacher behaviour) in this analysis. The relationship between the broad affective variables and intended behaviour was analysed utilising a structural equation modelling (using AMOS, SPSS). SEM was utilised to test the complex hypotheses about the relationships among the affective and dispositional measures utilised in TCAT and the potential preservice teachers’ intentional teacher behaviour. The estimated strengths and directions of these relationships was determined. To evaluate the effects of Social Desirability in relation to predicting Cultural Awareness and Ethics, a Structural Model with Social Desirability as a covariate to the four predictor variables was run, which entailed removing any influence of Social Desirability from the estimates and exploring the relationships.

Structural equation modelling was utilised to determine the strength of the relationship between the selected items representing wellbeing and mental health dispositions and the intended behaviour as a teacher as measured by cultural sensitivity and fairness, values and ethics. The model identified clear patterns and connections between these factors. The factor encompassing resilience, self-regulation and self-reflection was a mediator of the relationship and a strong predictor of the relationship. This research has significant implications for teacher selection, ITE, measurement of classroom readiness, and health education. The model provides a foundation and impetus to suggest the worth of utilising dispositions as a tool for selection into ITE programs and ensure that preservice teachers are supported by health education (inclusive of mental health and wellbeing). Further, the results of this research clearly implicate initial teacher educators in the process and support the notion of engaging in the development of the self-reflective behaviours of preservice teachers and the development of their capabilities in health education. This research adds to a body of knowledge that supports the worth of considering teacher wellbeing and mental health. The current world of teacher education is complex and volatile given the worldwide focus on quality teaching, teacher shortages and career burnout. There is also a global focus on wellbeing and mental health for teachers and students. Developing preservice teachers' readiness to engage in wellbeing and mental health activities is seen as essential. The development of the self-reflective behaviours of preservice teachers is also a key part of the narrative. Overall, this study suggests that teachers’ disposition relating to their own wellbeing, mental and physical health, and self-awareness has implications for teacher behaviour, retention, performance, and student outcomes. International datasets (e.g. the PISA wellbeing module) could be bolstered by measures of teacher wellbeing that capture interactions with dispositional characteristics.

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