Promising Practices in Teacher Well-being, Management, and School Leadership

Teachers are at the heart of children and young peoples’ educational experiences. It is paramount that the Education in Emergencies sector shares and learns from promising policies, practices, and research approaches for supporting teachers in crisis contexts. 

Authored by researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers working in education in emergencies, the 42 case studies in this publication showcase promising practices in teacher professional development, well-being, management, and school leadership that represent a diversity of contexts, organizations and teacher profiles. 

This second edition includes eighteen new case studies, alongside twenty-four from the first edition published in 2019. It provides teachers, practitioners, policymakers, and donors with compelling examples of programs and practices that positively influence improvements in teachers’ work conditions and teaching practice. 

The case studies are organized in four thematic areas, divided into 2 documents: 

1. Promising Practices in Teacher Professional Development
2. Promising Practices in Teacher Well-being, Management, and School Leadership [this document]

Table of Contents

Case Studies on Teacher Well-being

Ethnic Identity and self-esteem development among young adult refugee Teachers in Greece: A Collaborative Teaching Model
Zainab Hosseini, Maria Serra

Promising practices in teacher professional development in Uganda and South Sudan
Lotte Ladegaard

How do we know if teachers are well? Developing and evaluating the psychometric properties of a teacher well-being questionnaire using a sample of El Salvadoran teachers
Fernanda Soares, Nina Cunha, Paul Frisoli

‘Supporting the Supporters’: Refugee teachers and teachers living in protracted conflicts
Camilla Lodi

Developing teachers’ abilities to create trauma-informed classrooms and teach psychological resilience-building using cognitive behavioral approaches in Mindanao, Philippines
Heidi Kar, Miriam Pahm, Alejandra Bonifaz, Nicole Wallace

“Social emotional development for teachers”: An innovative program to improve teacher well-being in El Salvador
James Hahn

In their words: Teacher well-being amidst displacement and fragility in Uganda and South Sudan
Danielle Falk, Daniel Shephard, Dr. Mary Mendenhall

Coaching-observing-reflecting-engaging (CORE) for teachers: A well-being and support intervention for teachers
April Coetzee

Refugee teachers in Lebanon: The challenges of managing professional expectations with personal experiences
Elizabeth Adelman

Case Studies on Teacher Management

The challenges of equitable community teacher stipends in conflict affected areas of Myanmar
Ei Ei Phyu (Crystal White), Catherine Johnston, Andrea Costa

What promising strategies exist for the management of primary level teachers in refugee hosting areas in Kenya and where are there potential areas for further development?
Helen West, Katja Hinz

Djibouti Declaration on Education for Refugees, Returnees and Host Communities: Lessons from policy responses of regional institutions in East Africa
Dr. Kebede Kassa Tsegaye

What policies and implementation strategies exist for the effective management of teachers in refugee contexts in Ethiopia?
Stephanie Bengtsson, Helen West

A systemic approach to teacher development – the UNRWA way
Dr. Caroline Pontefract, Frosse Dabit

Addressing teacher shortages in conflict-affected Kachin State, Myanmar: A Comprehensive training approach for community teachers
Rosalyn Kayah

Stripping away the packaging: Continuous teacher professional development for scale and integration in Lebanon
Lindsay Brown

Moving teachers to Malawi’s remote communities: A data-driven approach to teacher deployment
Salman Asim

Case Studies on School Leadership

Gender sensitized teacher leads transformative change for Meo Muslim girls during India’s COVID-19 school lockdowns
Seema Rajput

Learning from school leaders in crisis contexts: A case study of Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement
Emily Ervin, Jonathan Kwok, Danielle Falk, Dr. Mary Mendenhall