DUTY OF CARE AND TEACHER WELLNESS: A RATIONALE FOR PROVIDING SUPPORT SERVICES IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
JONATHAN L. BLACK-BRANCH AND WENDY K. LAMONT
DOI: 10.2190/XWNK-PEXK-JA28-35M4
Abstract
The purpose of this article is present a rationale for providing and promoting support services for student and preservice teachers in colleges of education. This second article in a series of eight, on the broader topic of support services as they pertain to teacher wellness, discusses the importance of providing such services. It ultimately builds the argument that providing such services will increase the levels of success among student and preservice teachers. This will offer them the duty of care that students themselves are increasingly expected to offer to their own students. Topics of discussion include: the student teacher in distress, focusing on the six phases student teachers pass through during student teaching; defining mental health and teacher wellness; distinguishing wellness from illness, which focuses on the topics of incidence of illness, illness and teacher competency, stress defined, and causal agents of stress. In essence, this review indicates the literature is rich in studies that reveal the importance of providing support services, but it also reveals a lack of empirical research in the area. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.