THE STATE OF WELLBEING FOR AUSTRALIAN EDUCATORS

FROM THE michellemcquaid GROUP

ThewellbeingLab

THE WELLBEING

LAB 2019 - 2021 AUSTRALIA

REPORT

2thewellbeingLab

CONTENTSHow Are Australian Educators Doing? ............................................................................... 3

About This Study ............................................................................................................... 4

Current State: Wellbeing In Australian Workplaces ............................................................. 5

Summary ........................................................................................................................... 12

How Can You Help Schools Thrive? .................................................................................. 13

Want More? ....................................................................................................................... 14

About The Wellbeing Lab Researchers .............................................................................. 15

3thewellbeingLab

HOW ARE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATORS DOING?In its simplest form, wellbeing is the ability to feel good and function effectively as

we navigate the inevitable highs and lows of work and life. Research supports that

how we feel (physically, mentally and socially) and how we perform at work have a

mutually reinforcing cycle. Our schools provide opportunities for ongoing learning

and development, meaningful achievement and connection with others, all of which

nourish our wellbeing. Studies have found that teacher and leader wellbeing have a

significant impact on the whole school community, and schools where teachers and

leaders have higher levels of wellbeing have also been found to report increases in:

• School performance (Briner & Dewberry, 2007).

• Teacher retention (Pillay, Goddard & Wilss, 2005).

• Student wellbeing (Waters, 2011).

• Student academic achievement (Adler, 2016).

Before 2020, wellbeing was increasingly permeating policies, infrastructures and

applications, with schools seen as an ideal platform for mobilizing wellbeing initiatives

that aim to support individual and societal wellbeing. As societies worldwide attempt

to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, placing wellbeing at the centre of education

becomes more critical than ever.

During 2020 our teachers went far beyond expectation to support their students,

teach academic skills and manage the various pressures from students, parents,

co-workers, leaders and the broader society. Some leaders, teachers, students and

families coped well; others struggled. We saw a growing number of capability and

equity issues emerge as teachers were propelled into online learning, where capability

of, and access to, technology varied from school to school. As societies began to

reopen, teachers were expected to return, supporting others and pressing on with

imparting knowledge, all the while feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, fearful and far too

often undervalued and unsupported. Given the challenges our teachers and leaders

have faced, we feel it is imperative that we check in and see how our educators

are doing, so together we can look for opportunities to best to support them. With

uncertainty and disruption stretching into the foreseeable future, understanding how

to quickly and reliably support the ability of educators to care for their wellbeing should

be a priority for every school. So how can we help educators care for their wellbeing?

The Wellbeing Lab is passionate about helping educators and schools to thrive by

using evidence-based approaches that draw upon the latest research in neuroscience,

positive psychology, positive education and systems-thinking, so that our school

communities can move beyond resilience, towards thriving. In partnership with PESA,

we are excited to share with you the insights gathered from our 2021 data so that

you can become active and intelligent stewards in understanding and supporting

whole school wellbeing. To help you with this, our report highlights several useful

frameworks that can be applied practically in schools to better understand how we

can support and build wellbeing in our teachers and leaders. We invite educational

leaders and passionate teachers to review this report and consider how the research

findings and frameworks can be used effectively in their schools to support their

leaders and teachers to not just survive but thrive.

Michelle, Kylie & JessicaThe Wellbeing Lab

4thewellbeingLab

ABOUT THIS STUDY The Wellbeing Lab first gathered data on the wellbeing of teachers in

September 2018 with a sample of 94 randomly selected educators.

The survey was a variant of The PERMAH Wellbeing Survey

(www.permahsurvey.com) developed by Dr. Peggy Kern from the

University of Melbourne to better understand the factors that support and

undermine educator wellbeing, with another 94 educators completing

the survey in November 2019.

In mid-March 2020 – as the global COVID-19 pandemic began to

challenge schools – we created an additional set of questions to gauge

the impact of these changes and asked another randomly selected

sample of 93 educators the updated questions. As the year continued to

bring uncertainty and volatility, in early August 2020 we surveyed another

127 educators using the same questions. At the time, schools located in

Victoria were under Stage 4 lockdown restrictions with all classes being

taught online, while schools in the rest of Australia were not.

In May 2021, another randomly selected sample of 419 educator’s

representative of all Australian school sectors and the numbers of years of

teaching answered the survey one more time. When we began collecting

the data all schools had returned to face-to-face learning, although many

had endured snap lockdowns during the previous months and the threat

of further lockdowns remained. By the time we’d finished gathering this

data in late May schools in NSW and Victoria had again returned to online

learning due to their sixth lockdown. You can see a breakdown of this

sample on this page.

GENDER

Men 93

Women 324

AGE GROUPS

24 – 34 years 201

35 – 44 years 120

45 – 54 years 53

55 – 65 years 41

66 – 99 years 4

LOCATIONS

Victoria 121

New South Wales 111

Queensland 86

Western Australia 48

South Australia 32

Australian Capital Territory 6

Northern Territory 4

Tasmania 11

SCHOOL ROLE

Leading a team 173

Not leading a team 246

SCHOOL SECTOR

Government 234

Independent 91

Catholic 56

Specialist 10

Language 3

Other 25

SCHOOL LEVEL TEACHING

Early Childhood 77

Primary 135

Middle 34

Secondary 119

Tertiary 41

Other 13

YEARS TEACHING

First year 22

2 – 3 years 48

4 - 5 years 107

7 – 10 years 81

10+ years 161

If you would like more information about this report or additional findings by gender, age, location, school type, or job role (not reported), please contact chelle@thewellbeinglab.com.

5thewellbeingLab

CURRENT STATE: ADULT WELLBEING IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS

While there are many ways to think about wellbeing, in its simplest

form wellbeing is the ability to feel good and function effectively as

we navigate the inevitable highs and lows of life. Studies – including

ours – find that how we feel (physically, mentally and socially) and

how we perform at work have a mutually reinforcing cycle. Work

provides educators with opportunities for ongoing learning and

development, meaningful achievement and connection with others,

which nourishes their wellbeing. And when educators feel

physically, mentally and socially well, studies have found that

schools report an increase in student wellbeing, student academic

achievement, school performance and teacher retention. We might

assume that thriving would only occur for educators in good times.

However, our findings have consistently demonstrated that it is

possible for educators to thrive despite struggle because sustaining

their levels of wellbeing is less dependent on the situations they are

facing and more dependent in their abilities to effectively navigate both

the successes and the challenges they encounter.

11.2%OF AUSTRALIAN EDUCATORS

WERE CONSISTENTLY THRIVING, VERSUS 7.1% IN AUGUST 2020.

6thewellbeingLab

THRIVING ≠ PROBLEM FREEWellbeing ranges from languishing (low levels of wellbeing) to thriving

(high levels of wellbeing). Across eight different surveys with thousands

of Australian, American and Canadian workers, our Workplace Reports

have replicated the findings that workers who were consistently thriving

and those who were living well despite struggles were statistically more

likely to report higher levels of individual, team and organisational

performance. Our data for educators replicates this finding.

The November 2019 (pre-COVID-19) to May 2021 (COVID-19 mostly

contained) data for educators demonstrates that even when navigating

the ongoing threats and realities of immediate pivots to online learning,

it is possible for educators to thrive despite struggles, and it is possible

not to experience wellbeing even in the absence of struggle.

Notably, as circumstances changed, the number of educators who

were consistently thriving dropped from 10.8% to 7.1% but has

returned to 11.2%.

Meanwhile, the number of educators who were living well despite

struggles has steadily increased from 45.7% to 55.6%, and the number

who were not feeling bad, just getting by has significantly declined,

suggesting that despite the struggles of the past 15 months Australian

educators were emerging with higher levels of resilience.

2019–2021 STATE OF WELLBEING (TOTAL %)

8.8%

9.4%

4.3%

6.4%

24.3%

39.4%

38.7%

37.2%

55.6%

44.1%

46.2%

45.7%

11.2%

7.1%

10.8%

10.6%

May2021

August2020

March2020

November2019

2021 STATES OF WELLBEING FOR EDUCATOR OUTCOMES (MEANS)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

6.5 6.77.5

8.3

I performed well in my school

4.3

5.9

7.2

8.6

I was satisified with my job

3.8

5.8

7.0

8.4

I felt strongly committed to my school

Many Australian educators are reporting a significant increase in their levels of resilience, which is positively impacting school outcomes.AH-HA:

Really Struggling Living Well Despite Struggles Consistently Thriving Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

Really Struggling Living Well Despite Struggles Consistently Thriving Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

7thewellbeingLab

THE WELLBEING AMPLIFIERSIn our workplace studies we have consistently found that people who

were consistently thriving or living well despite struggles report statistically

higher levels of wellbeing Ability, wellbeing Motivation and Psychological

safety – we call these the wellbeing AMPlifiers. And this sample of

Australian educators was no different.

Notably, Australian educators who reported they were consistently thriving

have returned to their pre-COVID-19 wellbeing ability and psychological

safety means – the belief they are safe to bring up problems and talk

about mistakes in their teams. However, while they continue to report the

highest educator levels of wellbeing motivation, they remain significantly

lower than their pre-COVID-19 levels in motivation.

Worryingly, educators who were living well despite struggles, and those

not feeling bad, just getting by reported their lowest levels of wellbeing

ability, motivation, and psychological safety. This may reflect the fatigue

and struggles these educators are experiencing when it comes to caring

for their wellbeing.

Interestingly, educators who were really struggling reported their highest

levels of wellbeing ability, motivation, and psychological safety during

August 2020 when they perhaps felt less alone in navigating their

struggles. However, they have now significantly declined once again.

2019–2021 STATE OF WELLBEING BY WELLBEING ABILITY (MEANS)

0123456789

10

3.8

6.0

3.8

2.3

Really Struggling

5.46.5 7.1

6.4

Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

6.57.7 7.8 7.8

Living Well, Despite Struggles

8.1 8.6 8.3 8.1

Consistently Thriving

May 2021 August 2020 March 2020 November 2019

2019–2021 STATE OF WELLBEING BY WELLBEING MOTIVATION (MEANS)

0123456789

10

4.25.4 5.0

4.3

Really Struggling

5.56.6 6.5 6.4

Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

7.0 7.17.7 7.9

Living Well, Despite Struggles

7.58.4 8.4 8.1

Consistently Thriving

2019–2021 STATE OF WELLBEING BY PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY (MEANS)

0123456789

10

5.8 6.2 5.85.2

Really Struggling

5.76.7 6.4 6.1

Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

6.67.3 7.2 7.5

Living Well, Despite Struggles

8.0 8.27.4 7.8

Consistently Thriving

Many Australian educators are struggling to sustain their levels of wellbeing motivation and psychological safety to amplify their wellbeing. AH-HA:

8thewellbeingLab

WELLBEING IS MULTI-FACETEDOne way to understand, measure and act on evidence-based approaches

for improving wellbeing is by drawing on Professor Martin Seligman’s

PERMAH Framework, which points to six dimensions of feeling and

functioning: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning,

Accomplishment and Health. Different domains might be more important

for different people, but feeling poorly in one often results in feeling poorly

in other areas as well.

For example, educators who were consistently thriving, although having

experienced some fluctuations, were the most likely to have sustained

healthy PERMAH levels (a mean of 7 or above) throughout the COVID-19

challenges schools have faced. This was also true for educators who

were living well despite struggles, except for the physical Health factor.

Worryingly, educators who were not feeling bad, just getting by and

those who were really struggling reported statistically lower levels for

nearly all of the PERMAH factors than at any other time. This data begins

to provide insights into the struggles these educators are having when

it comes to caring for their wellbeing, even if they can’t or don’t want

to acknowledge this themselves. Given one in three educators

reported these states of wellbeing, there is still significant work to

be done in helping educators have the knowledge, tools, support and

opportunities they need to care for their wellbeing in our schools.

MAY 2021 STATE OF WELLBEING BY PERMAH WELLBEING FACTORS (MEANS)

0123456789

10

4.0

5.86.9

8.1

Positive Emotions

4.7

6.27.2

8.1

Engagement

6.57.2 7.8

8.6

Relationships

5.16.4

7.78.8

Meaning

5.86.6

7.38.2

Accomplishment

3.7

5.56.5

8.1

Health

AUGUST 2020 STATE OF WELLBEING BY PERMAH WELLBEING FACTORS (MEANS)

0123456789

10

5.2

6.87.7

8.6

Positive Emotions

6.87.5

8.7

6.9

Engagement

6.87.5 7.9 8.2

Relationships

6.8 7.07.9

8.6

Meaning

5.86.8

7.48.2

Accomplishment

5.7 6.17.0

7.7

Health

NOVEMBER 2019 STATE OF WELLBEING BY PERMAH WELLBEING FACTORS (MEANS)

0123456789

10

4.5

7.7

6.2

8.3

Positive Emotions

6.0

7.66.4

8.0

Engagement

9.08.0

7.58.4

Relationships

6.88.1

7.28.1

Meaning

7.7 8.06.8

7.8

Accomplishment

2.0

7.7

5.9

7.8

Health

Many Australian educators are experiencing a significant decline in their levels of Positive Emotions, Meaning and Health. They appear tired.AH-HA:

Really Struggling Living Well Despite Struggles Consistently Thriving Not Feeling Bad, Just Getting By

9thewellbeingLab

BIGGEST CAUSES OF STRUGGLEOverall, the 2021 data suggests that people’s levels of struggle were

beginning to ease (68.3% compared to 70.1%), but had not quite

returned to pre-COVID-19 levels (64.9%). It’s worth noting, though,

that feeling anxious is a natural reaction to uncertainty and can be

an important motivator for taking helpful action. It becomes more

important to consider what people are worried about, and the extent

to which that anxiety is adaptive versus maladaptive.

Notably, as educators have juggled the ongoing uncertainty, Dealing With

People has become the leading cause of struggle with 36% – almost double

what educators have reported at any other time in the data. While Mental

Health remains a significant cause o f s truggle for 33.7% of educators –

particularly those who were not feeling bad, just getting by and those

who were really struggling – it is reassuring to see that it has declined

from the August 2020 high of 38.6%. Managing Money has significantly

increased as a struggle since 2019 for 22.9% of educators, making it as

challenging as caring for Physical Health.

For some educators, their biggest struggles reflect the reality they

are navigating. For example, educators who have been teaching for

longer were most likely to report their biggest struggle was Dealing With

People, while educators who have been teaching for less than three

years were more likely to report their biggest struggle as Mental Health.

MAY 2021 BIGGEST CAUSES OF STRUGGLES AT WORK (% FREQUENCY)

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

My physicalhealth

22.0

My mentalhealth

33.7

Dealing withpeople

36.0

Managing money

22.9

Navigatingchanges

19.1

Caring for others

18.9

Other

9.5

AUGUST 2020 BIGGEST CAUSES OF STRUGGLES AT WORK (% FREQUENCY)

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

My physicalhealth

28.3

My mentalhealth

38.6

Dealing withpeople

10.2

Managing money

17.3

Navigatingchanges

12.6

Caring for others

18.1

Other

6.3

NOVEMBER 2019 BIGGEST CAUSES OF STRUGGLES AT WORK (% FREQUENCY)

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

My physicalhealth

29.8

My mentalhealth

31.9

Dealing withpeople

19.1

Managing money

12.2

Navigatingchanges

20.2

Caring for others

20.4

Other

15.1

Caring for mental health remains a struggle for 1 in 3 educators but dealing with people has become the biggest challenge they are facing. AH-HA:

10thewellbeingLab

REACHING OUT FOR HELPOne in five educators indicated they would never tell anyone they were

struggling with their wellbeing, with educators who were really struggling

less likely than other educators to seek help. Unfortunately, educators

who spoke to no one were statistically more likely to report lower levels

of wellbeing ability, wellbeing motivation and psychological safety.

The majority of educators (55.6% – the most we have seen since we

began gathering the data) are seeking help when they are struggling

with their wellbeing at school by turning to their friends and family.

However, when it comes to improving educators’ levels of wellbeing

ability, wellbeing motivation and psychological safety, reaching out to

family and friends was only slightly better than speaking to no one.

In contrast, bosses were the most effective option for amplifying

educators’ confidence to care for their wellbeing at school, but by May

2021 only 4.8% of educators (the fewest we have ever seen) reported

turning to their boss. This reflects a significant decline in the levels of

trust educators reported for management (from an average of 6.1 in

August 2020 to 5.6 in May 2021) to make sensible decisions that effect

their future.

MAY 2021 PERSON I REACH OUT TO WHEN STRUGGLING WITH WELLBEING AT WORK (TOTAL %)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

A colleague

26.5

My boss

4.8

HR team

1.4

EAP

1.0

Friends/Family

55.6

I would nevertell anyone

7.4

Coach/Mentor

3.3

AUGUST 2020 PERSON I REACH OUT TO WHEN STRUGGLING WITH WELLBEING AT WORK (TOTAL %)

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

A colleague

28.3

My boss

15.7

HR team

2.4

EAP

6.3

Friends/Family

32.3

I would nevertell anyone

15.0

NOVEMBER 2019 PERSON I REACH OUT TO WHEN STRUGGLING WITH WELLBEING AT WORK (TOTAL %)

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

A colleague

27.7

My boss

14.9

HR team

1.1

EAP

3.2

Friends/Family

34.0

I would nevertell anyone

19.1

Australian educators have less trust in their leaders when it comes to caring for their wellbeing at work.AH-HA:

11thewellbeingLab

WORKPLACE WELLBEING SUPPORT26.3% of educators reported that their school consistently provided

workplace programs to support their mental health, while 17.2% of

educators reported their school consistently provided programs to

support their wellbeing. This was significantly lower than the average

Australian workplace. Notably, schools that were consistently providing

wellbeing programs were statistically more likely to have higher levels of

team performance.

Despite COVID-19 escalating wellbeing challenges for many educators

and schools, when it comes to caring for adult wellbeing there has been

a small decline in the provision of many forms of wellbeing support

but an increase in EAPs from 30.5% in November 2019 to 34.2% in

May 2021. While EAPs remained the most common form of wellbeing

workplace support provided in Australian workplaces, statistically when

it comes to improving worker’s levels of wellbeing ability, wellbeing

motivation and psychological safety, it remained the least effective and

was only slightly better than doing nothing.

2021 WORKPLACE-PROVIDED MENTAL HEALTH OR WELLBEING SUPPORT BY PERFORMANCE (MEANS)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

6.86.2

5.0

Rarely

7.0 6.76.1

Sometimes

8.3 8.37.9

ConsistentlyMy school provided mental health programs

7.06.5

5.3

Rarely

7.1 6.86.4

Sometimes

8.5 8.77.9

ConsistentlyMy school provided wellbeing programs.

I performed well My team performed well My school performed well

2021 WELLBEING SUPPORT PROVIDED (TOTAL %)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

40%

35%

24.3

Fruit and/orfitness and/or

flu shot programs

8.3

Mental firstaid training

13.2

Wellbeing and/orresilience workshops

& training

6.1

Wellbeingcoachingsessions

34.2

Employeeassistance

program (EAP)

12.7

Nothing

1.2

Other

The consistent provision of mental health and wellbeing workplace support – beyond just EAP – is essential to support wellbeing and performance.AH-HA:

12thewellbeingLab

SUMMARY

Despite the ongoing challenges and uncertainty of COVID-19 in Australia, in May 2021 a

significant number of educators (55.6%) reported they were living well despite struggles and

were demonstrating notable levels of resilience. Building this resilience, however, appears

to have left many educators struggling to sustain their levels of wellbeing ability, wellbeing

motivation, psychologically safety. One in three educators also reported statistically lower

levels of nearly all the PERMAH wellbeing factors than we have previously seen. Many

educators appear exhausted.

As a result, it is not surprising that dealing with people has become the biggest struggle for 36%

of educators. Perhaps as a result, significantly fewer educators are turning to others in their school

for support when they are struggling to care for their wellbeing preferring to turn to family and friends

(55.6%). And although, their boss remains the best person to help improve educators’ levels of wellbeing

ability, wellbeing motivation and psychological safety, a significant decline worker’s reported levels of management

trust may explain why fewer educators than ever are reaching out to their bosses for help.

Schools that provided both mental health and wellbeing workplace support for their educators – and did not rely on

EAP alone – were significantly more likely to have adults who were thriving and performing well.

13thewellbeingLab

HOW CAN YOU HELP SCHOOLS THRIVE?Wellbeing habits, attitudes and actions spread through a complicated web of social connections around us at the levels of Me, We, and Us. When it comes to caring for

wellbeing in your school, we recommend rallying diverse leaders and energisers to create a shared vision and strategy to help them to LEAD the way on wellbeing:

L

LITERACY

Having a shared language about

caring for wellbeing enables

people to have conversations

that can positively shape people’s

thoughts, feelings and actions

about their wellbeing.

E

EVALUATION

Having high-quality, meaningful

and timely data gives leaders,

teams and your entire school

insights to make more intelligent

decisions and effective wellbeing

investments. This doesn’t mean

your school’s wellbeing scores

always needs to go up, but you do

need to easily and regularly gauge

the impact of your efforts together

so you can keep learning how to

better care for wellbeing.

A

ACTIVATION

There is no one magic wellbeing

strategy that will help every

person in your school to be well.

Instead, people need the freedom

to playfully experiment and

activate individual and collective

wellbeing behaviours that align

with their interests, values,

resources and desired outcomes.

D

DETERMINATION

Caring for wellbeing is never

won-and-done! In order to

improve people’s abilities and

sustain their motivation, people

need psychologically safe spaces

to talk with others about what’s

working well, where they’re

struggling and what they’re

learning when it comes to caring

for their wellbeing.

Keep in mind that you may wish to use one, some or all of these factors, depending on your school’s unique context.

14thewellbeingLab

WANT MORE?SCHOOL WELLBEING AUDIT & STRATEGY

Know where you currently stand when it comes to caring for wellbeing in your school, and where to invest your future efforts. Our

team of wellbeing researchers can help you to: analyse existing school data; gather qualitative data from focus groups with teachers,

staff, education support staff, students, parents, and school community; and quickly, affordably, and confidentially collect quantitative

data using The PERMAH Wellbeing Survey. These insights are packaged together into a tailored, actionable report to help care for

wellbeing across your school.

FOR WHOLE SCHOOL: THE AMPLIFYING WELLBEING & RESILIENCE SERIES

Build an evidence-based wellbeing toolbox that meets the needs of your school. Energizing and engaging, these experiential

workshops put the latest wellbeing science at people’s fingertips with actions and tools they can immediately apply. All materials

– including slides, digital playbooks, and posters – are yours to use internally as you wish and follow up resources including

podcasts and cheat sheets from the world’s leading wellbeing researchers are provided.

FOR LEADERS: BUILDING PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE SCHOOLS

Create psychological safety at the me (individual), we (team) and us (whole school) level to build a healthy and thriving school cultures.

Your leaders will walk away from this six-part training series clearer on their purpose so they can more confidently embrace uncertainty,

equipped with a toolkit of coaching questions to help them more quickly and effectively have honest conversations, and with a simple

map that leverages their existing routines, rituals and role modelling to build a stronger culture of CARE across your school.

FOR THE STUDENTS (YEARS 5+): DISCOVER YOU CURRICULUM

Improve the confidence, courage, and connection of your students to help them tackle challenges, build their resilience, care for their

wellbeing, and improve their academic success. Designed as a train-and-go program for your teachers to deliver to your students,

Discover You brings together globally renowned, evidence-based wellbeing frameworks including PERMAH, Character Strengths,

Social and Emotional Learning and the Developmental Assets.

15thewellbeingLab

ABOUT THE WELLBEING LAB RESEARCHERSDR. PEGGY KERN

Dr. Peggy Kern is an associate professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education. Her research draws

on a variety of methodologies to examine questions around who thrives in life and why, including understanding and measuring healthy functioning, identifying

individual and social factors impacting life trajectories, and systems-informed approaches to wellbeing. She has published three books and more than 100

peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

DR. MICHELLE MCQUAID

Dr. Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher, and playful change activator. An honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne’s

Graduate School of Education, in addition to hosting the highly acclaimed weekly podcast, Making Positive Psychology Work, which features leading researchers

and practitioners from around the world, Michelle blogs for Psychology Today, The Huffington Post and Thrive, and her work has been featured in Forbes, The

Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Boss Magazine, The Age and more.

JESSICA TAYLOR

Jessica Taylor is an educator, possibilitizer, presenter and researcher who helps schools, communities and organizations place wellbeing at the heart of their vision

and practice. Jessica is the Michelle McQuaid Research Leader, a member of the Systems Informed Positive Psychology (SIPP) and Wellbeing Literacy research

team, and a teaching specialist at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science. Jessica loves co-creating spaces that support individuals and

communities to build awareness of the interdependent nature of wellbeing, generating wellbeing approaches that create thriving social systems. Her latest publication

looks at wellbeing and resilience education during COVID-19.

KYLIE MCLERIE

Kylie McLerie has carved a long and diverse career in educational leadership through her roles as School Principal, Deputy Principal and Curriculum

Manager, Teacher and Consultant. Kylie is an experienced coach who is sought out for her dynamic leadership skills, ability to grow others and passion for

making the science and practices of thriving effective, affordable, and accessible across schools.