Universally, the educational systems are undergoing restructuring and transformations. The role of teachers has increased following this reformation and experiencing growing pressure to perform. Given that the nature of the teaching profession is both challenging and rewarding, it is vital to understand teachers' psychological well-being to support the mental health of this population. This study aimed to understand better the subjective perspectives regarding the contributor factors to psychological well-being among teachers. A consensual qualitative research approach was adopted in this study by collecting data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interviews are used to understand the participants' narrative descriptions in-depth and uncover the meaning of their experiences, beliefs, and values. Seven Malaysian teachers were recruited from local school settings through purposive sampling. Data analysis involved an open-coding process in deriving themes from the participants' responses. Findings revealed five themes that indicate contributor factors for psychological well-being: positive attitudes, spiritual convictions, family and friends' support, personal growth, and personal responsibility. The practical implications of teachers' psychological well-being, mental health and psychotherapy practice, and future research were also discussed in this work.
Anderson, C. A., Leahy, M. J., DelValle, R., Sherman, S., & Tansey, T. N. (2014). Methodological application of multiple case study design using modified consensual qualitative research (CQR) analysis to identify best practices and organisational factors in the public rehabilitation programme. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 41, pp.87-98.
Bradley, C., Cordaro, D. T., Zhu, F., Vildostegui, M., Han, R. J., Brackett, M., & Jones, J. (2018). Supporting improvements in classroom climate for students and teachers with the four pillars of well-being curriculum. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4(3), 245–264. DOI: 10.1037/tps0000162
Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brouskeli, V., Kaltsi, V., & Loumakou, M. (2018). Resilience and occupational well-being of secondary education teachers in Greece. Issues in Educational Research, 28(1), 43-60.
Çimen, I., & Ozgan, H. (2018). Contributing and damaging factors related to the psychological capital of teachers: A qualitative analysis. Issues in Educational Research, 28(2), 308.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE (n.a.). Global Education Census Report 2018. Cambridge Assessment International Education Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA, United Kingdom, 2018. Print.
Guion, R. M. (2002). Validity and reliability. In S. G. Rogelberg (Ed.), Blackwell handbooks of research methods in psychology. Handbook of research methods in industrial and organisational psychology (p. 57–76). Blackwell Publishing.
Hill, C. E. (ed.) (2012). Consensual qualitative research: A practical resource for investigating social science phenomena. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Hill, C. E., & Knox, S. (2021). Essentials of Consensual Qualitative Research. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Hill, C. E., Thompson, B. J., & Williams, E. N. (1997). A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25(4), pp.517-572.
Jeon, L., Buettner, C. K., & Grant, A. A. (2018). Early childhood teachers' psychological well-being: Exploring potential predictors of depression, stress, and emotional exhaustion. Early education and development, 29(1), 53-69. DOI:
10.1080/10409289.2017.1341806
Jeon, H. J., Kwon, K. A., Walsh, B., Burnham, M. M., & Choi, Y. J. (2019). Relations of early childhood education teachers' depressive symptoms, job-related stress, and professional motivation to beliefs about children and teaching practices. Early education and development, 30(1), 131-144. DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2018.1539822
Malik, N. A. A., Björkqvist, K., & Österman, K. (2017). Factors associated with occupational stress among university teachers in Pakistan and Finland. Journal of Educational, Health, and Community Psychology, 6(2), 1-14.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Schonfeld, I. S., Bianchi, R., & Luehring-Jones, P. (2017). Consequences of job stress for the psychological well-being of teachers.
Schuman, D. (1982). Policy analysis, education, and everyday life. Lexington, MA: Heath.
In-Text Citation: (Chan et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Chan, S. L., Assim, M. I. S. A., & Lim, F. P. (2021). Contributor Factors for Psychological Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Perspective in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(17), 158–166.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode