Creating Friendly and Supportive Environments for Teachers‪.‬

Teachers around the world face challenges that ultimately may lead to high turnover, burnout, and attrition. Stressors affecting teachers include high-stakes testing, standards-driven curriculum, inequitable funding, student discipline, poor school morale, and lack of professional support or mentoring, among others. Friendly educational settings, combined with strong support systems, help teachers cope with these challenges, thus benefiting teaching and learning (Buckley, Schneider, & Yi, 2004). A positive organizational climate augments teachers' professional allegiance, and decision-making in curriculum reform enhances teachers' autonomy and reduces teacher burnout (Jiang, 2005).