The role of self-compassion on psychological well-being among Filipino teachers, a mixed method study

• Main Author: D'Souza, Henry
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: Well-being—Psychological aspects; Teachers > Philippines; Counseling Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/335
• Institution: De La Salle University

Against the background of a collectivistic and Christian worldview of the Philippines, this study explored the role of self-compassion on the psychological well-being of the Filipino elementary and high school teachers. In view of obtaining an in-depth understanding of the construct of self-compassion and its role on the psychological well-being, the study employed a mixed method concurrent research design, in which the data were derived from quantitative and qualitative approaches. Involving a total of 216 participants, the quantitative study investigated the role of self-compassion on psychological well-being through the mediators, positive affect and social connectedness, and the qualitative study, through an FGD with 10 teachers and 10 case studies, attempted to understand in depth, the role of self-compassion on the psychological well-being of the Filipino teachers. The regression analysis revealed that self-compassion was a moderately strong predictor of psychological well-being and positive affect partially mediated the effect of self-compassion on the psychological well-being of the teachers, whereas, self-compassion failed to predict social connectedness in both groups of teachers. The qualitative study, further confirmed how the Filipino teachers, faced with failures and setbacks, cared for themselves. They conceptualized self-compassion in terms of self-love, self-care and self-kindness, and experienced it by engaging in self-care activities, by understanding themselves in the painful situations, and seeking emotional support from their family and friends. The teachers ability to care for themselves in good times and in bad, was associated with a string of benefits, such as a sense of fulfillment, commitment to their teaching profession, positive relationships with students, and their ability to accept themselves as they are. Self-compassionate teachers were found to be happy and satisfied in their life. The results of this study have implications for counseling practice and research.