Assessing the impact of the LADDER approach to teacher wellbeing and teacher retention

This chapter addresses two important issues faced by schools today: teacher wellbeing and teacher retention. The growing awareness of these issues has led to the development of strategies to address them. While initiatives such as induction programmes and access to professional development have supported teachers’ development, they are not targeted at dealing with the fundamental issue of teacher stress, anxiety, and burnout. Previous research on interventions is pupil-focused and is often based on teachers’ self-report pre- and post-intervention with no control comparison, indicating a gap in research. Here, we present the results of a pilot study of a new approach - Leadership Alphabet of Disposition Development Engagement and Reflection (LADDER). LADDER targets teachers’ internal dispositions to equip them with the capacity to deal with stress. Our study has promising results for teacher self-efficacy, mental wellbeing, and teacher retention.