Psychological well-being of successful teachers and teachers experiencing difficulties in self-actualization

Context and relevance. Psychological well-being is a significant predictor of teachers’ professional success. The study is grounded in Carol Ryff’s theory of psychological well-being, which conceptualizes it as a multidimensional construct encompassing both subjective experiences and objective indicators of personality functioning. Objective. To identify differences in indicators of psychological well-being and its personal predictors in professionally successful teachers and teachers experiencing difficulties in self-actualization. Methods and Materials. The study involved 500 teachers from general secondary schools in Minsk, Republic of Belarus, aged 20 to 78 years (75 men and 425 women). Student’s t-test was used for pairwise comparisons, and one-way ANOVA was employed to compare teachers across different professional categories. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in psychological well-being and its personal determinants, specifically in the following key variables: psychological well-being, values, resilience, self-control, and behavioral normativity. Conclusions. Professionally successful teachers are characterized as psychologically well-functioning and resilient individuals with high self-control, a positive self-attitude, clear goals, and an orientation toward self-development, creativity, and achievement. In contrast, teachers facing self-realization difficulties exhibit low self-control, impulsivity, interpersonal challenges, reduced sense of life meaningfulness, and a less positive self-attitude, which collectively hinder their professional fulfillment. To enhance teachers’ professional effectiveness and psychological well-being, it is recommended to integrate the development of resilience, emotional regulation, responsibility, goal-setting, a positive self-attitude, interpersonal relationship skills, and the search for meaning in professional activity into in-service training programs and psychological support systems.

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