Sustaining Teachers’ Wellbeing Across Cultures: A Meta-Synthesis

Teacher wellbeing has become an important concern in education due to its influence on instructional effectiveness, professional sustainability, and student outcomes. This study employed a meta-synthesis to integrate findings from qualitative research exploring teachers’ wellbeing across different cultural contexts. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search of academic databases identified 1,700 records, which were screened using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. After quality appraisal using the CASP checklist, 33 studies were included in the final synthesis. Thematic synthesis approach generated eight major themes, namely, structural conditions, emotional and psychological labor, relational ecology, coping and resilience, meaning and identity, multidimensional wellbeing, interventions and professional development, and cultural and contextual influences. The findings indicate that teachers’ wellbeing emerges from the interaction of institutional environments, interpersonal relationships, and individual coping capacities across diverse educational systems. Based on these results, the study proposes a framework of teachers’ wellbeing using an Input–Process–Outcome structure, illustrating how structural and cultural conditions shape teachers’ experiences through relational, emotional, and psychological processes that influence overall wellbeing. The synthesis contributes an integrated understanding of teachers’ wellbeing and offers insights for faculty enhancement initiatives and supportive professional environments.