A work-in-progress report on a longitudinal survey study examining the impact of teaching students with Callous-Unemotional traits and conduct problems, on teacher wellbeing over one academic year

Student conduct problems have been identified as one of the key factors contributing to attrition in the teaching profession (McCormick & Barnett, 2011). With teacher wellbeing being shown to decline in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic (Kim, Oxley & Asbury, 2021), it is important to increase understanding of how student conduct problems may impact on teacher wellbeing. This study followed a group of teachers (n=30) in England over a period of one academic year (2024-2025), with the aim of exploring their experiences of working with students presenting with persistently challenging behaviour. The study particularly focused on students who present with Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits. These traits include low empathy, restricted affect, and a lack of concern for academic performance. Students with CU traits are typically less responsive to the usual classroom management strategies employed in schools in England, which may further impact on teacher wellbeing. Participants were asked to complete online surveys at three time points across the year (approximately 3 to 4 months apart). The surveys included open-ended qualitative questions and quantitative measures such as the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick, 2004); Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI; Halbesleben & Demerouti, 2005); Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001); and Pro-Social subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). Currently the study has completed data collection (September 2025) and is in the process of analysis. Findings from the study will indicate whether teachers with high CU trait students are more likely to burn out and/or have poorer student-teacher relationships than teachers with low CU trait students. The longitudinal aspect of the study will enable changes over time to be considered, and the study will particularly highlight strategies that teachers report using to support their own wellbeing in these situations.