Educators’ comportment on health and emotional well-being

Abstract

This intellectual piece proposes to advance a stratagem for treatment of educators’ health and emotional well-being. A theory of choice for this study was Salutogenesis, this was preferred as a theoretical lens that offers intellectual impetus at both the theoretical and empirical level. This study further set to a selfless understanding on educators’ comportment on health and emotional well-being exclusively those servicing special education centres. The study is located within a critical paradigm, which set up on the premise that people exist with the world as opposed to merely existing in it. The study adopted the qualitative approach as it is meant to describe, decode, and translate and to give meaning to socially occurring phenomena (Bwayla, & Kalu 2017). Data was collected and collated using one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was carefully chosen for the purpose of data analysis. CDA is guided by the view that language is a form of social practice, meaning data was analysed from three different position (i.e. textual, discursive praxis and social locus). Findings from this study mirrored views reflected both at theoretical and empirical stations. The related literature reviewed attest to the discourses that special education educators were enduring innumerable pockets of occupational stress. Furthermore, this group of educators were found to be downhearted and discontented that led to escalation of vulnerability and educators’ attrition. The study seems to have urge to influence policy imperatives, this study found that absence of educators’ participation in informing policymaking is the root cause of health and emotional noxious. The study concludes by amplifying the need to support educators in resources centres or special schools, this will make them feel significant and worthy.

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis; Educators’ Comportment; Resistance; Resources Centre; Salutogenesis;