Creating the conditions to thrive: exploring the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through narrative inquiry

Place, Catherine (2026) Creating the conditions to thrive: exploring the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through narrative inquiry. Doctoral thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the conditions in which teachers can thrive by examining the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through the lens of particular teachers’ experience. Situated within a period of significant educational reform in post-devolution Wales, the study investigates how teachers navigate the implementation of the Curriculum for Wales and shifting professional learning expectations amid relentless policy change, highlighting the need to understand how they thrive within such a demanding context. Guided by an interpretivist and social constructivist worldview, the research employs narrative inquiry methodology (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000), positioning experience at the centre of meaning making. The study captures the lived experiences of teachers in one primary and one secondary school in South-East Wales and reflects my positionality as a headteacher and doctoral researcher. This dual perspective offers an authentic, practice-informed understanding of the conditions that enable teachers to thrive. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022) was used to interpret the data, which enabled a rich understanding of teachers’ experiences within their ecological contexts and emphasised the relational, emotional, and temporal dimensions of professional life. Findings show that thriving is a dynamic and relational process influenced by intrapersonal, interpersonal, organisational, and policy-level factors. Teachers’ wellbeing is shaped by self-reflection and experience, mediated by leadership and collaboration. Cultures characterised by trust, respect, and shared purpose enable teachers to thrive, whereas performative or hierarchical cultures limit autonomy and connection. Leadership emerged as pivotal in cultivating collaborative professionalism and fostering the relational conditions that sustain wellbeing. An original contribution of this research is an ecosystem model for teacher wellbeing, conceptualising thriving as ecological and relational rather than individual. Drawing on ecological (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and bioecological theories (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006) alongside interdisciplinary concepts of ecosystem learning (Hannon and Peterson, 2017), the model offers a framework for leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to design and sustain cultures that enable teachers to thrive within and beyond Wales.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	organisational culture, collaboration, teacher wellbeing, thrive, thriving
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Theses and Dissertations > Doctoral Theses
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004155
Depositing User:	Dr Catherine Place
Date Deposited:	17 Mar 2026 14:17
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2026 14:18
URI:	https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4155

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