Teachers experience various demands in their job, and teachers’ well-being has become a common concern. However, we know less about how teachers’ both positive and negative aspects of teachers’ occupational well-being are related to their quality of interactions with students, at the lower primary school classrooms.
This study investigated the psychological aspects, specifically the occupational well-being of teachers, in diverse primary school classrooms in Finland. Methodological approach that included both self-rated teacher perspectives and third-party observations (Classroom Assessment Scoring System, a systematic observation system developed in the US) was employed.

The aim of the study was to explore the relation between teachers’ occupational well-being and teacher–student interactions in primary school classrooms in Finland, by answering the following research questions (RQs):

RQ1.   To what degree does teacher’s experience of work engagement (i.e., vigor, dedication, absorption) relate to the quality of teacher–student interactions?

RQ2.   To what degree does teacher’s experience of work-related burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, cynicism, inadequacy) relate to the quality of teacher–student interactions?

50 Grade 2 teachers rated their work engagement and burnout, and quality of teacher–student interactions was rated by trained coders using Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS K-3) based on video-recorded lessons. Structural equational modelling (SEM) with Mplus 8.8 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998) was used to investigate the extent to which the aspects of occupational well-being (work engagement and burnout) were related to the different domains of interaction quality (emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support).

Results of structural equational modelling showed that teachers with higher levels of work engagement showed higher-quality emotional support and instructional support, while teachers with higher levels of burnout evidenced lower-quality instructional support. By highlighting the significance of the positive influence of teachers’ occupational well-being on instructional practice, this study underlines the need for more targeted interventions to promote the positive aspects of occupational well-being. More attention should be paid to teachers’ occupational well-being in teacher education programs and schools to support teachers’ well-being at work.

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