Teacher burnout doesn't just affect teachers—it affects students too.
In this episode of Compassion in a T-Shirt, Dr Stan Steindl speaks with Clinical Psychologist, educator, researcher, and founder of the Institute for Neuroscience and Education, Dr Rita Princi-Hubbard, about compassionate pedagogy, teacher wellbeing, and the fascinating ways stress and emotional regulation can flow between teachers and students.
Drawing on her PhD research and her chapter, Teaching the New Teacher with Compassionate Pedagogy, Rita explains why many teachers enter the profession without sufficient training in child development, emotional regulation, trauma, attachment, and self-compassion. She argues that understanding how people work—not just how students learn—is one of the missing pieces in modern teacher education.
The conversation explores the concept of "stress contagion" and the bidirectional relationship between teacher and student wellbeing. Rita shares research showing how teacher stress can influence students, how student distress can affect teachers, and why self-compassion may be one of the most important tools for preventing burnout and creating emotionally safe learning environments.
Stan and Rita discuss:
• Teacher burnout and the growing pressures facing educators
• Stress contagion and emotional co-regulation in the classroom
• Why teacher wellbeing matters for student wellbeing
• Compassion Focused Therapy and the Three Systems Model
• Attachment, trauma, and child development in education
• The limits of rewards-and-consequences behaviour management
• Self-compassion and receiving support as an educator
• Heart rate variability research conducted in real classrooms
• Compassionate pedagogy and social justice
• What teacher education programs may be missing
Whether you're a teacher, school leader, psychologist, parent, student, or simply interested in compassion and education, this conversation offers a compelling vision for how understanding, connection, and compassion can help both teachers and students flourish.
Timestamps:
00:00 Compassion Meets Education
02:11 Why Teacher Training Falls Short
03:10 Stress Contagion Explained
04:59 Modern Teacher Stressors
10:19 Teacher Shame and Self-Doubt
12:03 Inside the Research Design
15:32 The Eight Module Program
19:51 Self-Compassion for Teachers
25:39 Receiving Help Without Guilt
27:46 Three Systems Model in Classrooms
33:18 Beyond Rewards and Consequences
37:47 Heart Rate Variability Findings
43:14 Compassion and Social Justice
44:47 Redesigning Teacher Education
47:26 Advice for Burnout Beginners
49:43 Closing Reflections and Thanks
If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who cares about education, wellbeing, and compassion.
Links:
Rita Princi-Hubbard’s website:
https://www.in-ed.com.au/copy-of-consulting
Compassionate Pedagogy in Higher Education: International Perspectives
https://www.amazon.com.au/Compassionate-Pedagogy-Higher-Education-International/dp/1911451448/
If you would like to learn more about compassion focused therapy, you can find Dr Stan Steindl's book The Gifts of Compassion here: https://www.ausapress.com/p/the-gifts-of-compassion-how-to-understand-and-overcome-suffering/
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Video hashtags:
teacherwellbeing, teacherburnout, compassionatepedagogy, selfcompassion, education, compassionfocusedtherapy
