Every school leader knows this pattern. You launch a new wellbeing initiative. A handful of educators show up energized, ready to try anything, already believers before you finish the pitch. Then there is everyone else.
Studies on organizational change have shown this pattern for years. A small group is always ready to try something new first. Most people in the middle are not against it, but they are not sure yet. They watch and wait to see if it is worth their time and effort. If a school focuses only on the eager 20 percent, real culture change does not happen. The other 80 percent are the ones who decide if change will last.
The good news is that helping the middle group get involved is not a mystery. Schools around the world are already doing this, and their methods show clear steps any school can follow.
Make Wellbeing Visible and Measurable, Not Just a Nice Idea
One reason many educators hesitate is that wellbeing efforts can seem unclear, more like a slogan than something the school is truly responsible for.
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Education and Knowledge chose a different path. In 2024, it introduced a School Wellbeing Policy, followed by a Staff Wellbeing Policy, both requiring schools to run annual wellbeing surveys for students and staff. In 2025, they launched the Wellbeing Mark, a recognition program based on a five-part framework. This was first tested in 47 private schools and 17 charter schools before expanding. Wellbeing became something schools were measured on, not just a matter of personal interest.
That shift matters for the middle 80 percent. When wellbeing is measured, recognized, and linked to school evaluations, it becomes part of the job. This is what hesitant educators need to see before they put in their effort.
Let Peer Ambassadors Do the Convincing
Most people do not change their minds because of a policy memo. They change when someone they trust and respect tries something first and recommends it.
Kenya’s national teacher professional development program, led by the Teachers Service Commission, was designed with this idea in mind. Teachers joined professional learning communities that included peer coaching, team teaching, and shared lesson observation. Research found that early participants became ‘ambassadors’ for the program. Their enthusiasm, shared directly with colleagues instead of coming from leadership, helped spark wider interest among teachers.
This is a useful lesson for any school. Rather than expecting all educators to trust what leaders say, find respected voices among the eager 20 percent and let them talk to their peers. Hearing from a trusted colleague is more effective for the middle group than any announcement from above.
Put Leadership at the Center, Not on the Sidelines
Change efforts often slow down when they are handed over to a committee or an outside consultant, while school leaders remain uninvolved.
The Kenyan research is direct on this point. It found that school head teachers are central to whether professional development actually takes hold, since leadership has a well-documented effect on school effectiveness and improvement. Abu Dhabi’s approach reflects the same idea from another angle. Its Staff Wellbeing Policy places responsibility on school leadership to implement and sustain the work, not just to approve it once and step back.
This matters for the middle 80 percent because people pay close attention to what leaders do. If leaders take part in and show support for a wellbeing initiative, it feels real. If they only talk about it but do not get involved, most educators notice and hesitate to join in.
Build It Into the Job, Not On Top of It
One common reason the middle group is unsure is simple. They are already stretched thin, and a new initiative can feel like just another task added to their workload.
The strongest examples avoid this by embedding change into work that educators are already doing. Kenya’s peer coaching and lesson study model works inside normal teaching practice, not as an extra evening session. In Kenya’s refugee-hosting counties of Garissa and Turkana, a teacher wellbeing project led by the African Population and Health Research Center takes this further, focusing on psychosocial support and safe school environments for teachers working under real, ongoing strain, not offering optional extras aimed only at those with energy to spare.
The lesson for schools everywhere is the same. If a wellbeing effort works only for educators who already have the capacity to give, it will only ever reach the willing 20 percent. Reaching everyone else means designing for people who are stretched, not just for enthusiastic people.
Why This Is Worth the Effort
None of this happens quickly, and it does not require waiting for a national policy or a big budget. It takes a shift in focus: fewer one-off events for the already convinced, and more steady, visible, leadership-supported practices built into daily school life.
This is also how GEW works with schools. We begin by listening to everyone, not just the educators who are already interested. We help schools make wellbeing part of leadership and daily routines, instead of a side project for a few. The schools that succeed are not the ones with the loudest supporters, but those where wellbeing quietly becomes part of everyday work, including for the 80 percent who would not volunteer first but join in once they see it is real and supported.
GEW Takeaway
Lasting change in schools does not come from convincing those who are already on board. It comes from making wellbeing visible, led by leadership, and part of daily work, so the other 80 percent do not need to be persuaded. They need to see it working and have the chance to join in.
References
Education UAE. ADEK Launches Wellbeing Mark School Recognition Programme. 2025. https://www.education-uae.com/adek-wellbeing-mark-adek-abu-dhabi/
Gulf News. Abu Dhabi: ADEK Launches Wellbeing Mark School Recognition Programme. March 1, 2025. https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/abu-dhabi-adek-launches-wellbeing-mark-school-recognition-programme-1.500049445
Kariuki, D., Itegi, F., & Mutuma, W. Reorienting Teacher Professional Development in Kenya: Professional Learning Communities Paradigm. Journal of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, 4(2), 2024.
African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). Teachwell: Inclusive Teacher Professional Development System Support in Kenya. 2026. https://aphrc.org/project/teachwell-inclusive-teacher-professional-development-system-support-in-kenya/
Rogers, E. M. Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press, 1962.