From awareness to articulation: how character strengths support wellbeing literacy in pre-service teachers

Teacher wellbeing demands urgent attention given documented attrition and burnout, yet teacher education programmes often treat wellbeing as peripheral to professional preparation. Sustained teacher wellbeing is also linked to enhanced pedagogical efficacy, professional engagement, and the modelling of wellbeing for learners. This study examines how character strengths function as a scaffolding language through which wellbeing literacy, the intentional language to comprehend and compose wellbeing for self and others, is integrated within initial teacher education for pre-service teachers. Six podcast episodes from the Teachers Supporting Teachers series captured conversations between pre-service teachers and university academics exploring character strengths understanding and enactment. Three interconnected themes were constructed: understanding strengths as dynamic and relational capacities; purposeful enactment of strengths in relationship-centred practice; and connections between strengths awareness and sustainable flourishing. Relationships permeated all dimensions, serving as the medium through which character strengths were recognised, enacted, and sustained. This study positions wellbeing literacy as fundamentally dialogic, developed through articulation rather than solitary reflection. Character strengths provided a common vocabulary enabling communication across stakeholder groups. Podcasting served dual purposes as methodology and pedagogy. Findings suggest value in integrating character strengths language across programme components and preparing mentors for strengths-based feedback.