A multilevel investigation of teacher wellbeing, vibrant school climate, and trust

This study examined how teachers’ wellbeing relates to vibrant school climate (VSC) and trust in students within a multilevel framework. Participants were 402 educators nested within 35 schools who completed a shortened PERMA-based measure of wellbeing, the Vibrant School Scale, and a measure of faculty trust in students. Multilevel analyses distinguished individual- and school-level effects, with inference based on cluster-robust standard errors. At the within level, teachers who perceived a more vibrant climate than their school’s average reported higher wellbeing (β = 0.56, p < .001), and those who trusted their students more than their colleagues also reported higher wellbeing (β = 0.12, p = .012). At the between level, average VSC was strongly associated with average wellbeing (β = 0.43, p < .001), whereas average trust in students showed no reliable independent association with wellbeing once climate was accounted for. The model explained approximately 52% of the total variance in wellbeing. Findings underscore the contextual and relational foundations of teacher flourishing and suggest that vibrancy is meaningfully associated with teacher wellbeing at both the individual and school levels, while trust in students is associated with wellbeing primarily as an individual experience, pointing to school climate as a promising focus for teacher education and professional development internationally.