The Role of the Social Dimension of Teachers' Well-Being in Their Collaborative Practices

This qualitative study explores how the social dimension of teachers’ well-being influences
their collaborative practices within public secondary schools in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is grounded on
Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2008), the Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker &
Demerouti, 2007), and available teacher well-being scholarship, examining participants’ experiences
with peers, leadership engagement, trust, and workload challenges. Participants were twelve teachers
with a minimum of five years of teaching experience, from whom data were obtained through semistructured interviews, and analyzed according to Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis
guidelines. The results highlighted following themes: recognition and belonging, the role of leadership,
peer relationships, workload and resource strain, trust and communication, and social well-being and
instructional motivation. Findings show that extensive collegial trust, active supportive leadership, and
recognition strengthen a collaborative school culture, whereas excessive workloads coupled with
scarce resources negatively impact well-being and collaboration. By examining the social aspect of
well-being, this study fills the gap in local research and argues that fostering social trust and emotional
care among teachers is important for sustained school development and retention of teachers. The
outcomes are important to educational administrators and policymakers in Azerbaijan concerning the
well-being of teachers and professional community.