Educational Review

Educators’ Responsible Well-Being as Social Justice: Toward a Sustainable Future for Educational Systems

The concept of social justice finds its roots in the Latin word justitia, which means ‘justice’ or ‘righteousness.’ This etymological origin reflects social justice’s fundamental role in promoting fairness and equality for all members of society, particularly those who are marginalized or oppressed. In the context of education, social justice is often described as both a process and a goal, seeking “full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs” (Bell, 2007, p. 3). Traditionally, discussions about social justice in education have focused on its implementation for students, placing the responsibility on educators to champion these causes; to meet their needs. However, the well-being of educators themselves is seldom discussed and considered with the same vigor or even viewed as a social justice issue. This illuminating oversight highlights a critical gap in our approach: just as we place responsibility on educators for their students’ rights and well-being, we must also extend this duty to encompass the rights and well-being of the educators themselves. Embracing a truly comprehensive view of social justice in education, thus, necessitates giving educators what we ask them to give to others (Moreno et al., 2025).

While discussions of social justice in education have traditionally centered on student well-being and access, there is a pressing need to extend this framework to address the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by educators themselves. Over the past decade, concerns about burnout, stress, and job (dis)satisfaction have brought increased attention to educator well-being (Creagh et al., 2023; Geiger & Pivovarova, 2018; Singh, & Gautam, 2024). Globally, studies confirm that educators across fields, levels, and contexts are facing significant psychological and social stressors, impacting both their personal well-being and professional efficacy (Cavallari et al., 2024; Dreer, 2023; Pentón Herrera et al., 2023a). As Hiver and Dörnyei (2017) stated, “if teaching is the core profession in our global knowledge society, it is also clearly a profession in crisis” (p. 406). The teaching profession is experiencing a significant demographic shift, characterized by an aging workforce and an insufficient influx of new educators to replace retirees. This imbalance raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of the profession and the quality of education provided to future generations (Doherty, 2020; Nguyen & Springer, 2021; OECD, 2019). Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure a robust educational system that supports both educators and students.

The sustainability of the teaching profession faces challenges not only in educator well-being but also in a steady decline in the profession’s appeal and recruitment pipeline. The shift toward an aging educator workforce, coupled with insufficient new entrants, mirrors broader issues in workforce sustainability and foreshadows potential disruptions in educational quality (Doherty, 2020; Nguyen & Springer, 2021). This demographic imbalance affects the profession’s reputation and viability, where, as Kraft and Lyon (2024) recently explored, factors like diminished prestige, job satisfaction, and economic pressures contribute to a ‘rise and fall’ cycle in the teaching profession, impacting the number of individuals choosing education as a career. Prioritizing educator well-being in such a climate thus becomes a response to personal and systemic challenges as well as a crucial measure for maintaining the educational sector’s resilience (Geiger & Pivovarova, 2018; OECD, 2019). Elevating educator well-being in the field of education is, then, essential in stabilizing workforce retention and recruitment by enhancing the teaching profession’s desirability and sustainability (Edge et al., 2017; Pentón Herrera & Darragh, 2024; Taylor et al., 2024). Moreover, centering educator well-being is a matter of social justice.

Despite extensive research on the stressors impacting educators, active social justice efforts specifically directed toward their well-being remain limited. While many studies identify factors contributing to educator ill-being, there is a gap in translating these findings into actionable frameworks and practices that actively support sustainable educator well-being at local, national, and global levels. To address this need, Pentón Herrera and Darragh (2024) introduced the concept of responsible well-being as a new lens through which to approach conversations on educator well-being. Responsible well-being emphasizes that maintaining educators’ health and well-being is not solely a personal responsibility; rather, it is a shared ethical duty that extends to educational institutions, policymakers, and community stakeholders. At its core, responsible well-being is built on the pillars of equity and access, and sustainability, and the four key tenets of holistic development and fulfilment, community and connections, agency and autonomy, ethical responsibility, and responsive and adaptive systems. This perspective advocates for a systemic approach to well-being that includes professional growth opportunities, manageable workloads, and community support, positioning educator well-being as a cornerstone of resilient and thriving educational ecosystems (Pentón Herrera & Darragh, 2024). By practicably moving beyond problem identification to action-driven solutions, responsible advocacy seeks to embed educator well-being as an essential pillar of educational policy and practice, ultimately benefiting the entire educational community.

Inspired by the pressing need to engage in proactive, solutions-oriented discussions that situate educator well-being as a social justice issue around the world, we propose this Special Issue. This Special Issue aims to serve as a platform for transformative contributions that advance the discourse on educator well-being beyond problem recognition, fostering research and dialogue that lead to actionable efforts promoting well-being, flourishing, and sustainability for educators globally. In this context, well-being is defined as:

a state of equilibrium where individuals experience health, happiness, and prosperity, all of which lead to developing life satisfaction, self-realization, and the ability to engage in socially responsible behaviors—personally, professionally, emotionally, and spiritually—that produce long-lasting positive effects. Further, we hold that well-being is not an individual duty, but the responsibility of society and ecological systems where individuals reside as a whole. (Pentón Herrera et al., 2023b, p. 2)

Further, central to this Special Issue is the concept of responsible well-being, as defined by Pentón Herrera and Darragh (2024), which emphasizes a collective, ethical commitment to supporting educator health, success, and well-being across all levels of the educational ecosystem.

In this Special Issue, we welcome all types of articles accepted by the Educational Review journal, and we are particularly interested in contributions that explore more than one context (e.g., comparative research, multi-contextual research) and that invite present and future practitioners as (co-)authors. Possible topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Systemic frameworks, policies, and practices that prioritize educator well-being across all levels of the educational ecosystem;
• Promoting social justice-based initiatives aimed at providing equitable use of resources and opportunities for educators;
• Sustainable professional development models that balance educators’ growth needs with manageable workloads;
• Developing and evaluating holistic support systems that address the personal, social, and professional needs of educators within schools;
• Evidence on strengthening community partnerships to build and nurture connections and networks that foster resilience and mutual support among educators;
• Emphasizing the ethical responsibilities of institutions and policymakers to ensure educator well-being and create supportive environments; and
• Collective approaches to responsible well-being that recognize educator well-being as a shared, ethical commitment across educational stakeholders.

References

Bell, L. A. (2007). Theoretical foundations for social justice education. In M. Adams, L. A. Bell, & P. Griffin (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (2nd ed., pp. 1–14). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Cavallari, J. M., Trudel, S. M., Charamut, N. R., Suleiman, A. O., Sanetti, L. M. H., Miskovsky, M. N., Brennan, M. E., & Dugan, A. G. (2024). Educator perspectives on stressors and health: A qualitative study of U.S. K-12 educators in February 2022. BMC Public Health, 24, 2733. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20167-8

Creagh, S., Thompson, G., Mockler, N., Stacey, M., & Hogan, A. (2023). Workload, work intensification and time poverty for teachers and school leaders: A systematic research synthesis. Educational Review, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2196607

Doherty, J. (2020). A systematic review of literature on teacher attrition and school-related factors that affect it. TEAN Journal, 12(1), 75–84.

Dreer, B. (2023). On the outcomes of teacher wellbeing: A systematic review of research. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1205179. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1205179

Edge, K., Dapper, E., Stone-Johnson, C., Frayman, K., Terwindt, R., Townsend, J., & Jeevan, S. (2017). Securing the 21st century teacher workforce: Global perspectives on teacher motivation and retention. WISE.

Geiger, T., & Pivovarova, M. (2018). The effects of working conditions on teacher retention. Teachers and Teaching, 24(6), 604–625. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2018.1457524

Hiver, P., & Dörnyei, Z. (2017). Language teacher immunity: A double-edged sword. Applied Linguistics, 38(3), 405–423. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv034

Kraft, M. A., & Lyon, M. A. (2024). The rise and fall of the teaching profession: Prestige, interest, preparation, and satisfaction over the last half century. Working Papers, 32386, 1–46. https://doi.org/10.3386/w32386

Moreno, A., Banashak, J., Kontoudakis, M., Evans, A., Bajet, R., & Laase, A. (2025). Giving to teachers what we ask them to give to others: Supporting adult SEL through reflective insight and healing. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, 100086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2025.100086

Nguyen, T. D., & Springer, M. G. (2021). A conceptual framework of teacher turnover: a systematic review of the empirical international literature and insights from the employee turnover literature. Educational Review, 75(5), 993–1028. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1940103

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (OECD). (2019). TALIS 2018 results (Volume I): Teachers and school leaders as lifelong learners. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en 

Pentón Herrera, L. J., & Darragh, J. J. (2024). Social-emotional learning in English language teaching. University of Michigan Press.

Pentón Herrera, L. J., Martínez-Alba, G., & Trinh, E. T. (Eds.). (2023a). Teacher well-being in English language teaching: An ecological approach. Routledge.

Pentón Herrera, L. J., Martínez-Alba, G., & Trinh. E. (2023b). Teacher well-being in English language teaching: An ecological introduction. In L. J. Pentón Herrera, G. Martínez-Alba, & E. Trinh (Eds.), Teacher well-being in English language teaching: An ecological approach (pp. 1–9). Routledge.

Singh, Y., & Gautam, D. (2024). The impact of job satisfaction on teacher mental health: A call to action for educational policymakers. Open Education Studies, 6(1), 20240008. https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0008

Taylor, L., Zhou, W., Boyle, L., Funk, S., & De Neve, J-E. (2024). Wellbeing for schoolteachers (Report No. 2). International Baccalaureate Organization.

Veliz, L., & Mainsbridge, C. (2024). Insights into longevity and the professional lifespan of early and mid-to-late career teachers: perspectives of teacher wellbeing. Educational Review, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2024.2409321